When I send out an email, that person receives it two or three times. When I receive email, I get it two or three times. How do I fix this?

Email Service Issues
If you're using an email service such as Gmail or Hotmail, it could be an issue with the provider and may resolve itself as the ISP's technicians figure out what's wrong and correct the problem. For example, back in 2010, users of Google Groups apparently experienced a similar problem where their messages were sent and received multiple times.

Email Client Issues – Duplicate Accounts
Another possibility is that the email client you use, such as Windows Live Mail or Outlook Express, contains a duplicate default account. If there are two "default" accounts, then both could be sending and receiving the same message. Go to Tools > Options > Email Accounts. If you see two duplicate accounts, delete one and that should solve the problem.

Stuck Email Messages
Another possibility is that you have an email that's stuck. For example, if you have an email in your outbox that for some reason never completes the transmission (such as if it's too large to send), once that email fails, the entire transmission comes to a halt. When you send and receive the next time, all the messages that previously went through will be resent, and the stuck email will once again fail. The solution to this situation is to delete the troublesome email sitting in your outbox.

A similar issue involves with messages getting stuck in your inbox. If someone sends a message that's too big to download, the message may be residing on the ISP server associated with your email account. However, since it keeps failing to download, the messages in front of it arrive just fine, but the overall transmission fails. The next time you send and receive, the messages in front of the troublesome message are resent to you because the original transmission never actually completed. In this case, you'll either need to use your webmail access (if you have webmail access) and manually delete the troublesome message or call your ISP for help.

Is it possible to recover emails in my Hotmail account from between 2008 and 2009? I no longer have the computer that I opened the messages on.

Inactive Hotmail Accounts

First, how long has it been since you signed into Hotmail? Microsoft automatically deletes all folders, messages, and contacts from accounts it deems as inactive. For new Hotmail accounts, an account is deemed inactive if a new user doesn't sign in within the first 10 days of creating the account. For established users, Microsoft considers an account inactive if the user hasn't signed in for over 270 days. If it's been longer than about nine months since you've signed into your Hotmail account, your 2008 and 2009 messages are likely long gone.

How to Tell if Your Hotmail Account is Inactive

When Microsoft deems an account inactive, it will reserve your account name for you. However, any email sent to your inactive account will be returned to the sender as undeliverable. Knowing this, you could send your old Hotmail account an email using an alternative email address. If it comes back as undeliverable, then you'll know your account has likely been marked as inactive and its folders and messages permanently purged.

Accessing an Active Hotmail Account

Hopefully your account is still active and it's just a matter of signing in and retrieving your old messages. However, if your old computer used a POP3 email client such as Outlook Express to download your messages, it's possible that those older emails don't reside on the Hotmail server. This depends whether the email client had the "Always leave a copy of the message on the server" option enabled or disabled. If it was disabled and since you no longer have your original computer, those messages would be unrecoverable.

Assuming your account is still active and your messages remain on the Hotmail server, you may need to sign in on your new computer. If you've forgotten your password, you should be able to reset it as long as you know your original Windows Live ID and had previously completed the required reset options (such as supplying an alternate email address or mobile phone number.

Finding Incredimail Messages
All of your Incredimail messages that have been downloaded are stored in a folder on your computer where you can access them directly, even if your copy of Incredimail won't run. The trick is to find the folder. This is really easy Incredimail works (go to Tools > Options > General > Data Folder Settings) and reasonably easy when Incredimail doesn't work. Here's how:

• Go to Start > Run
• Type in "regedit" (without the quotes)
• Press Enter
• Navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\¬Software\¬IncrediMail
• Look along the right side for "ApplicationPath" and double-click
• Highlight the data in the "Value data" field
• Press Control + C (to copy this data)
• Go back to Start > Run
• Press Control + V (to paste the copied data)
• Press Enter

Converting Incredimail Messages
Unfortunately, your messages are in Incredimail's format and not readable by other email clients such as Outlook. You'll need to convert them in order to view them in other email clients like Outlook Express or Windows Live Mail. Consider trying either ABC Amber Incredimail Converter or Incredimail Backup PRO. These tools allow you to export the files to the .eml format which can then be imported into Outlook Express or Windows Live Mail.

Moving the Incredimail Messages
After converting the messages to the .eml format, you'll need to copy and paste them into your email client's message folder. For Outlook Express and Windows Live Mail, this is a simple matter of copying and pasting the files. If you have Microsoft Outlook (not Outlook Express), you'll first need to import the messages into Outlook Express before importing them to Outlook as Outlook doesn't support the direct import of .eml files.

I cannot retrieve Bellsouth.net email after switching to Yahoo/AT and T upgrade, etc.

Unfortunately, problems receiving or sending emails through Bellsouth.net after switching to the AT & T/ Yahoo upgrade appear to be quite common. The first thing that you need to check is whether or not you are using the old address format. If you are, that would account for your problems retrieving your Bellsouth.net email.

Troubleshooting Bellsouth email Problems: Check Settings

You should probably go through the entire process of setting up your email account on your computer or mobile device. One tiny symbol or letter out of place, and you can create havoc with your email account. It’s easy to miss some small aspect of setting this up, so take the time to go over your settings with a fine tooth comb, using the directions that you received from either Bellsouth or AT & T.

The settings/servers for BellSouth email accounts are:

• Incoming (POP): pop.att.yahoo.com
• Outgoing (SMTP): smtp.att.yahoo.com (does require authentication)
• Incoming mail server type: POP3
• Incoming/Outgoing User Name: Full AT&T email address with the domain. For example, name@bellsouth.net
• Incoming mail port #:995, this is a secure connection (SSL)
• Outgoing mail port #465, this is a secure connection (SSL)

Your settings need to be perfect, or you won’t be able to access your emails. I’ve done this myself, even though I’ve set up about a dozen different email accounts over the years. Take the time to double check as this is the most likely cause of your problem.

Troubleshooting Bellsouth email Problems: Account Sign In

AT & T recommends that you sign into your account using http://att.net/email. If you still cannot access your Bellsouth email, you should contact AT & T to resolve the issue.

Unfortunately, there is little you can do if you cannot remember your security question's answers, and you did not provide an alternate email address.

Software Applications
Designed to Retrieve Passwords

Several different applications are available for the
retrieval of forgotten passwords in email applications. If you decide to use
one of these applications, I suggest you research them first in order to verify
they are legitimate. You should also check to see if Yahoo is one of the
applications they claim they can retrieve passwords for.

Trying to Remember
Your Yahoo Password or Security Question Answer

I suggest doing a bit of guessing at this point just in case
you are lucky enough to chance upon your password or security question answer.
I do know people who were able to remember after a bit of trial-and-error. Many
people add numbers, symbols, or switch up the capitalization of the letters in
their passwords. Try using different variations of the old password first. You
can also try visualizing the moment when you actually changed the password with
your eyes closed as you try to remember every detail. Perhaps this will trigger
a memory recall for you.

Resetting Yahoo
Password with Mobile Phone Number

However, if you have a mobile phone number attached to your
account, you can use the following directions. Visit the "Sign-in Problems"
page with the following pieces of information: your Yahoo ID and your mobile
phone number. Provide the appropriate information in each field. Once you
submit the information, you should receive a text with a link that allows you
to reset your password.

Resetting Yahoo
Password with Alternate Email Address

If you do have an alternate email and just didn't want to
use it, you might have to do so if you want to get your password back or change
it entirely. Visit the page for "Sign-in Problems" with your Yahoo ID and your
alternate email address. Fill in the appropriate information. Once you submit
the information, you should receive an email with a link that allows you to
create a new password.

Confirm your AOL mail settings

Wow, what a terrible problem! No doubt, email drafts sending before you are finished writing and editing them could lead to some awkward situations. Until you solve the problem, I would suggest leaving the address bar of your email drafts blank until you are ready to send in order to prevent any premature communication.

There are a couple of possibilities here that we can discuss before we get to the most likely culprit. While I haven't been able to find any information about this setting in AOL or AIM mail, there is a function in Outlook that allows for messages to be preset to "send immediately". I think it is very unlikely that this is the cause of your problem, but you should most likely begin by starting in your AOL mail settings and looking for any such item and make sure it isn't somehow set to interfere with your email drafts.

Keyboard shortcut?

Secondly, it is possible, though also very unlikely, that your computer is set up for a shortcut command to send emails -- such as CTRL + S -- or something, although this would not be set in AOL, as they do not offer a send shortcut, for fairly obvious reasons.

Scan for and remove any viruses or malware

I think it is far more likely that you have acquired a computer virus or worm that is messing with your email account. Some malware programs are designed to hijack email accounts and use them and their unsuspecting address book to issue and spread viruses and spam. It is important to remove the malware as soon as possible, before it causes any more damage.

If you have any security software already installed on your computer -- which you should -- you can start by running an update check to make sure you have the latest releases, and then run antivirus scans until your computer comes up clean. It is important to keep your antivirus software current: many freeware programs do not include automatic updates, so it is vital that you regularly perform a manual check. Some of the most popular antivirus programs include; AVG, Kaspersky and Trend Micro.

Issues with up and downloading data

There are a lot of potential explanations for your problems with emails and downloads. I think that is is probably best to tackle the issue on two fronts; first, the email client, and, second, your Internet connection generally.

Update your software

Without knowing more about the email provider and operating system you are using, we can start by making sure that all your programs are up to date with the latest software releases and patches. You should perform a manual Windows Update check for new Microsoft software. You should also make sure to update any non-Microsoft software you are using, like Internet browsers, email programs and security software.

Run security software and check internal connection diagnoses

Not being able to read and send email or download suggests that you might not be connecting to the Internet properly. I think there are two possibilities here as well; first, you might have acquired a virus or other malware program that is interfering with your connection and data transfers. You might want to consider downloading and running a program like Malwarebytes, which will scan your system for issues and attempt to repair any problems. There are also built in tools like scannow that you can run from within your Windows operating system. Once you are sure that your computer is clear, you can move on to troubleshooting your connection.

Check your Internet connection

In Windows, open the notification area, right click the network icon and then click to select Diagnose and repair. Follow the prompts to troubleshoot connection issues. You should also double check all cables and connections. Once done, reset your modem and router to make sure these connections are good. If you are unable to solve the problem this way, you might consider contacting your Internet service provider for help, or write again and offer more information about your operating system, email client and system. Good luck!

Fortunately, it is not all that difficult to remove your email program from Mozilla Firefox, which is what you should do first. Then, you can set up Yahoo Beta Mail as your default mail client so that you can use it to send and receive mail through your browser.

Mozilla Firefox Mail Failure: Uninstalling an Existing Email Program

Uninstalling your existing e-mail program is as easy as opening "Add or Remove Programs," selecting your e-mail application, and choosing the "uninstall" button.

Mozilla Firefox Mail Failure:  Setting Up Your Default Mail Program

Since the steps you take to set up your default mail program vary according to your operating system, I am going to provide instructions for two popular ones. If you are using a different version of Windows, you should be able to figure out how to set up your default mail program using these instructions as a guideline.

Setting Up Your Default Mail Program in Windows XP

• Navigate to "Start," and open the Control Panel.
• Select "Add or Remove Programs."
• Select "Set Program Access and Defaults" from the left hand side.
• Select "Custom" to open that section.
• Navigate to "Choose a default e-mail program," and select the button next to the e-mail program, Yahoo Beta Mail, to set it up as the default.
• Select "OK" to finalize the process.

Setting Up Your Default Mail Program in Windows Vista

• Navigate to "Start," and select "Default Programs."
• Select "Set Program Access and Computer Defaults."
• Select "Custom" in the "Access and Defaults" area.
• The customs category expands. Select "Choose a default e-mail program," and select the button next to the e-mail program that you want to set up as the default (in your case, Yahoo Beta Mail).
• Select "OK."

Changing the password for incoming mail on Mozilla Thunderbird isn't easy to figure out even if you've done it before, but the good news is that it is fairly simple. Go through the process outlined below, selecting the set of instructions for your version of Mozilla Thunderbird. The process, while straightforward, is a bit confusing because you don't actually change the password until you go to open up Mozilla Thunderbird after first removing the "saved" password.

Changing Mozilla Thunderbird 3.x Password

Use these directions to change your Mozilla Thunderbird password with version 3.x.

1)      Open Mozilla Thunderbird.

2)      Select "Options" from "Tools."

3)      Select "Security."

4)      Choose the tab labeled "Passwords."

5)      Select "Saved passwords."

6)      Highlight the name of the email account that you are changing the password for and select the tab labeled "Remove." This step should make it possible for you to set up a new password the next time you are accessing this account.

7)      Select "OK" to finalize the password change.

Changing Mozilla Thunderbird 1.x or 2.x Password

Use these directions to change your Mozilla Thunderbird password with version 1.x and 2.x.

1)      Open Mozilla Thunderbird.

2)      Select "Options" from "Tools."

3)      Select "Privacy."

4)      Choose the tab labeled "Passwords."

5)      Select "Edit saved passwords."

6)      Navigate to the "Password Manager" dialog box and select the "Passwords Saved" tab.

7)      Highlight the email account that you are changing the password for and select "Remove." This step should make it possible for you to set up a new password the next time you are accessing this account.

8)      Select the "OK" tab to finalize the password change.

Please note that the directions may vary slightly if you haven't installed all of the updates that were available for your current version of Mozilla Thunderbird. If this is the case and you are having difficulty navigating these steps, why not update to the latest version?

Inserting JPEGs versus Attaching JPEGs

With most email programs, you have two ways to send JPEGs: inserting and attaching. With inserted JPEGs, the picture appears inside the body of the email message; with attached JPEGs, they are separate images and typically do not display unless the recipient clicks the attachment.

How to Insert a JPEG into an Email Message

Normally, inserting a JPEG is as easy as copying the picture and then pasting it into the email message using traditional copy and paste commands such as Control + C and Control + V. Most email programs also have an Insert feature as you mentioned. Unfortunately, results can be mixed as you have discovered.

When the X Appears on Your Side

When the "x" appears, is it appearing on your end or the recipient's end? If it's appearing on your end, it's possible that your email program is set to "plain text" rather than "rich text (HTML)." Changing from plain to rich text may be needed in order to insert your JPEGs into messages. The process varies from one email program to the next. As an example, in Windows Live Mail, you'd go to the File menu and click on Options > Mail. From there, you'd need to click the Send tab and find the section labeled "Mail Sending Format." Choose HTML and click OK to save your changes. You can also make the changes on an email-by-email basis by clicking the Rich Text (HTML) icon on the message's Ribbon bar.

When the X Appears on Your Recipients Side

If your emails look perfect, complete with the JPEG exactly where you placed it, but your recipients complain that they are only seeing an X, the problem is most likely originating on the recipients side. Because some spammers and malicious programmers use images to track the opening of emails and send viruses, many email programs now have security settings that block images found in HTML messages. Depending on the recipient's settings and whether or not you're listed as a "trusted" sender, the recipient's email program could be blocking the image. In this case, there's usually a "show images" link that the recipient should look for.

In Windows Live Mail, this security feature can be changed by going to the File menu and clicking on Options > Safety Options. Go to the Security tab and find the Download Images section.  

Hopefully it's a simple matter of changing the email format to rich text / HTML.