Outlook 2003 email sending & receiving suddenly stopped working

Question

_{Thursday, February 6, 2020 8:42 PM | 1 vote}

Sending/ receiving emails suddenly stopped working and now I get an error message every time I try to send or every time the program automatically tries to send/receive, error:Ox800cccOF

I am using a Toshiba Satellite Pro L100 laptop with XP Pro and Office 2003/ Outlook 2003.

I am still using this old system for a specific purpose, because I have numerous Office Contacts databases which I mailmerge to documents and will want to continue this for another year or so. At that point I will no longer need this and will move to using a modern computer with Windows 10 and an equally modern Office suit.  

To attempt to resolve the emailing problem I have tried all of the following:

I have removed/ reset the email account settings, did a test in account settings which failed saying it “could not connect to the incoming server Pop3 – check settings and verify email address”.

My email account settings are correct and the same as I have always used for years before this problem occurred.

I am using Outlook.com email address and am using their web-based mail without any issues. This is still set to send emails to Outlook 2003 as it has always been.

Opening Outlook 2003 in safe mode still has the problem.

I have done a ping test and can access the Outlook.com servers OK.

I have also run the scan.pst Inbox Repair Tool several times which repaired a few emails, then compacted the .pst files to ensure there is enough available space in the .pst folder.

I have removed all deleted, sent, inbox emails in Outlook 2003 and in Outlook.com web-based account to remove any corrupt emails which might be blocking send/ receive.

I have disabled Avast antivirus and Ms Firewall temporarily to check if this could in any way be blocking emails, but it is not. I have both of these set to allow Outlook.com/ Outlook 2003 .

The error shows up in the Outlook Event Viewer, a copy report is available.   

I had not made any changes or additions to the laptop or any software programs prior to the problem occurrence.    

I have not at this point tried to repair or re-install the Outlook 2003/ Office 2003 for fear of losing any of my files, settings or personal configurations. Also I would lose all of the many Windows updates and security patches installed over the years.

I am seeking help to resolve the emailing problem.

Many thanks in advance.

BarryA

All replies (9)

_{Monday, February 24, 2020 8:40 AM ✅Answered}

Hi ,

Thanks for your reply.

Since support and updates for Office 2003 is no longer available, old versions (such as Outlook 2003) may indeed do not support new SSL security settings. For better user experience, please update to newer versions such as Outlook2019 and Outlook365.

Thank you for your understanding.

Regards,

Jeff Yang

Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they helped. If you have feedback for TechNet Subscriber Support, contact [email protected].

_{Friday, February 7, 2020 8:44 AM}

Hi ,

>> Sending/ receiving emails suddenly stopped working and now I get an error message every time I try to send or every time the program automatically tries to send/receive, error:Ox800cccOF
Do you have any other error information besides this error code? To better understand your issue, please try to provide screenshots of your problem. You can upload the picture to OneDrive and copy the picture link to reply to me. (Notice: Please hide your personal information in the screenshot for security.)

I researched a lot and found that the error code"0x800ccc0f" you mentioned mostly related to the interrupted connections between outlook client and mail server. Please try the suggestions below：

1. If the send/receive file (.srs) of your account is corrupted, it will cause issues like this. Please delete the .srs file and restart outlook client to test.  Location of the .srs file:  C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook.
2. DNS caching is also a possible cause. Please try to clear the local DNS cache and see if it works. (Press Win + R, type “cmd ”, press Enter, Type ipconfig /flushdns and press Enter.)
3. A corrupted profile may lead this issue, please try creating and using a new Outlook profile via Control Panel > Mail > Show profile and see if there is any difference.

Besides, support and updates for Office 2003 is no longer available. For better user experience, please update to newer versions such as Outlook2019 and Outlook365.

Hope this can be helpful.

Regards,

Jeff Yang

Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they helped. If you have feedback for TechNet Subscriber Support, contact [email protected].

_{Sunday, February 9, 2020 4:34 PM}

Hi Jeff, thanks for your reply.

I have tried all three of your suggestions, but none worked.

I do not have OneDrive as this is for Windows 10 and I have XP.

The error when trying to send/receive says:  

> Task Receiving - Error Ox800cccOF - connection to the server was interrupted.

The error when testing in the account settings says: 

> Find incoming mail server(POP3) - could not connect to the incoming mail server(POP3). The problem could be the server name or port, or your server may not support SSL

> send test email - unable to send test message, please verify the email address field.

I have checked that my account settings are correct for using Outlook.com mail client and are the same as I have been using successfully for years until now.

regards........BarryA

_{Wednesday, February 12, 2020 8:45 AM}

Hi ,

Thanks for your reply.

Since Outlook 2003 had stopped updating and you have indeed tried so many troubleshooting methods, there may be some unfixed issues in the old version.

Support and updates for Office 2003 is no longer available. For better user experience, please update to newer versions such as Outlook2019 and Outlook365.

Regards,

Jeff Yang

Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they helped. If you have feedback for TechNet Subscriber Support, contact [email protected].

_{Wednesday, February 12, 2020 11:27 AM}

Thanks Jeff

I understand that is the desireable way to go. Unfortunately with this older computer running XP and with limited space it is not really an option. So I will need to find another option for email if I cannot find a fix. Do you know if running the Office Repair function will lose my Outlook files, folders or configurations?

Regards........Barry 

_{Wednesday, February 12, 2020 5:55 PM}

Hello Akshay

Well yes I have restarted Outlook a great many times since first experiencing this problem in December!

Also yes I have deleted .srs file as discussed a couple of posts before yours!

Do you know if using the Repair Office 2003 feature will lose any of my files, folders or configurations please?

Regards.....Barry

_{Friday, February 14, 2020 10:05 AM}

Hi ,

Thanks for your reply.

Generally, repairing your office will not lose your files, folders or configurations.

However, please backup your data before operation just in case.

Regards,

Jeff Yang

Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they helped. If you have feedback for TechNet Subscriber Support, contact [email protected].

_{Monday, February 17, 2020 2:41 AM}

Hi ,

I'm writing to see if these replies above are helpful to you.

If you have any update about this issue, please feel free to post back.

Regards,

Jeff Yang

Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they helped. If you have feedback for TechNet Subscriber Support, contact [email protected].

_{Thursday, February 20, 2020 2:02 PM}

Hi Jeff

I was advised that Microsoft may have made changes to it's SSL security and that this might block the older SSL settings such as Outlook 2003.

I have been trying a range of different mail account settings to see if any others work but so far without luck.

So now I am thinking about how I might find a workaround, maybe to have another small email client or small software that could transfer mail from Outlook.com to my Outlook 2003, a go between. This would have to be compatible with Outlook.com settings of course, but Outlook.com already has a forwarding capabilty that I use with my Outlook 2003.   

Any thoughts on this Jeff ?