Windows Mail won't send emails

Q My Vista PC came with Windows Mail, which appears almost identical to Outlook Express. However, it has one major annoyance. Specifically, when I write an email and click Send, the message does not get sent; instead, it stays lodged in the Outbox folder.

Hitting Send/Receive repeatedly does not resolve the issue. But if I close and relaunch Windows Mail, the application's status briefly reads ‘Sending mail' and the message is duly sent. This can't be right, can it?

John Tanner

A No – it's a bug that was long ago addressed (if not wholly fixed) by Microsoft.

Download and apply the relevant update to Windows Mail, which you'll find at the Microsoft support site. If this update does not resolve the problem, follow the two methods listed under ‘Advanced troubleshooting' on the same page.

However, we'd urge you to consider changing to a more modern email program. Try Windows Live Mail, which is a free download.