"A connection to the server could not be established" error message when you download a message in Outlook 2002 (329911)
The information in this article applies to:
This article was previously published under Q329911 SYMPTOMS When you try to download a message that was received with
an MSN, the Microsoft Network, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)-based e-mail
account, you may receive an error message that is similar to one of the
following: A connection to the server could not be
established. http://services.msn.com/svcs/hotmail/httpmail.asp is now in
offline mode. A connection to the server
could not be established. http://oe.msn.msnmail.hotmail.com/cgi-bin/hmdata is
now in offline mode. CAUSE This problem may occur when a message or message attachment
is too large for Microsoft Outlook to download within one minute. Outlook stops
responding (server time-out) when one minute is complete.
You cannot
adjust this time allotment. WORKAROUND Use one of the following methods to work around this
problem. Method 1: Receive the Message in Microsoft Outlook Express and Export to Outlook Use Outlook Express to download large messages and message
attachments. Outlook Express does not have a download time limit. To do this,
follow these steps:
- Start Outlook Express.
- If you do not have the MSN or Hotmail account set up in
Outlook Express, click Accounts on the Tools
menu, click Add, click Mail, and then follow
the onscreen instructions. If you do already have the account set up in Outlook Express, go to step 3
- Click the inbox of the HTTP mail account (that was set up
already or that you set up in step 2). Then, double-click the header of the
message that you want to read to download and open it.
- When the download is complete, click Copy to
folder on the File menu of the open message. In the
Copy to folder dialog box, click local
folders, and then click new folder. Type a name for
the folder when you are prompted, such as Large, and
then click OK. Your new folder should now appear selected in
the copy to folder dialog box. Click OK to
copy the message, and then close the message.
- To move the message to Outlook, click
Export on the Outlook Express File menu, and
then click Messages. The following message will appear:
This will export messages from Outlook Express to
Microsoft Outlook or Microsoft Exchange. Click OK,
and then click Selected Folders in the Export
Messages dialog box. Next, click the folder that the message was
copied to, which you created in Step 4, and then click OK.
- Open Outlook. In the folder list, expand Outlook
Today (if the folder list does not appear, click Folder
list on the View menu). The folder that you created
in Outlook Express and exported should now exist in Outlook, and it should
contain the large message that Outlook could not download.
Note To download and export additional large messages, you do not have
to create a new folder (as in step 4). That folder can be reused.
Method 2: Obtain a Faster Internet Connection A DSL or cable modem connection permits you to download most
large messages or message attachments in less than one minute, which may
prevent the problem that is described in the "Symptoms" section.
Modification Type: | Minor | Last Reviewed: | 1/7/2006 |
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Keywords: | kbnetwork kbDownload kberrmsg kbprb KB329911 |
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