Can't stop automatic downloading in Windows Live Mail

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  1. Posts : 12
    Windows 7
       #1

    Can't stop automatic downloading in Windows Live Mail


    I'm a long-time user of Outloook Express, and have recently switched to Windows Live Mail on a new laptop running Windows 7. I'm gradually coming to grips with the similarities and differences, and generally I'm quite happy with Live Mail. But I have one puzzle and one irritation, and I wondered if anyone here knows how (if at all) I can deal with them?

    The irritation
    Despite comprehensively UNchecking "Check for new messages every xx minutes" (several times) on different days, and subsequently closing and restarting Live Mail each time I've tried, it still seems to download emails from the server of its own accord: not frequently, but seemingly at random intervals, but especially when I "wake up" the latop in the morning. Is there some other setting I can alter to prevent it downloading any emails at any time unless I tell it to?

    The puzzle
    I've always liked the little popup box with the progress bar and success report that appears when you're downloading emails. Every time you installed a new copy of Outlook Express, you had to catch it in time to "pin" it so that it would subsequently stay open after downloading had fnished. You still get this box in Live Mail, and I've succeeded in "pinning" it, but it doesn't seem to appear of its own accord - only if you click the status bar at the bottom of the window during or after the download. Is there any way to make it appear on the screen of its own accord as soon as you click "Sync" for a chosen email account?

    Thanks to anyone and everyone!
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 1,299
    Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) *** Windows XP SP3 (32-bit), OSX 10.6
       #2

    Hi PeterWeb,

    Here's a thread addressing your WLM irritation for someone using Vista. Unfortunately it's implied that checking for new messages when that option is disabled is a bug - the workaround for which is to Work Offline until you want mail, then go online to download it, then Work Offline again.

    I'll take a look at your puzzle when I have more time :)

    Cheers,

    Walker
    Windows Outreach Team
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 12
    Windows 7
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Thanks, Walker. It's reassuring to know I'm not missing something, and that there is genuinely an issue here to be resolved.

    I looked at the thread you pointed me to, and found it very interesting. Live Mail definitely behaves as described there. Generally it doesn't download emails without being asked, but then arbitrarily (and especially in the mornings on waking) it definitely does - even though I've unchecked the option for it to do this.

    The distinction between synchronising and downloading is interesting, but I don't think it's outmoded or old-fashioned to want to avoid downloading emails except on demand. Why shouldn't this be an option? And Windows Live Mail's settings, plainly inherited from Outlook Express, clealr imply that you can set it up that way. I think it's a bug, not a feature!

    Why would anyone want it to work like this? Well, in my case I have an email address which attracts large amounts of spam, large amounts of genuine but unwanted email, and reasonably large amounts of email that I do want. I don't want all the rubbish, but I do need to be able to check manually to see which is which. Therefore I tend to use a separate utility to view the email headers on the server before downloading them, and I delete unwanted messages at that point, preventing them from ever getting on to my computer.

    When Windows Live Mail downloads messages without being asked, it thwarts this effort, and clutters my inbox or junk mail box with messages I never would have allowed in.

    If you can find some way of making it work in the old way, which the program itself suggests that it can do, I would be really pleased. I thought the migration to Windows 7 would be a forward step, and generally it is, but in this case it really is a nuisance!
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 2,066
    Windows 8 Pro w/MC 32-bit
       #4

    PeterWeb said:
    ...Despite comprehensively UNchecking "Check for new messages every xx minutes"
    Did you also uncheck "Send and Receive Messages at Startup"?

    Also, the Vistax64 thread asks whether this is a problem with POP or IMAP as it is for HTTP mail. If it's true that it's just a webmail issue, you may be able to forward all your webmail to a pop account. I've done this for my hotmail email.
    Last edited by roncerr; 29 Jun 2010 at 03:47.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 12
    Windows 7
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Yes, one of the first things I did when I noticed this problem was to uncheck Send and Receive Messages at Startup. And no, I don't think the POP/HTTP issue seems to be relevant here. All my mail accounts are POP already.

    By the way, I have now unchecked "Include this account when receiving mail or syncrhonising" for each of my email accounts, and so far this seems to have reduced the inclination of Live Mail to download messages of its own accord. It's early days, but promising. I guess the downside is that I can't just click "Sync" to download emails, since nothing would happen, and have to select each account to download in turn. This is not a great hardship, though, since I often downloaded messages this way in the past.

    Bizarrely, though, despite what I said in the above paragraph, the odd one or two incoming emails still seem to be popping up without invitation - just once in a while. But far fewer than before.

    I may get my knuckles wrapped for digressing here, but just this minute I noticed another feature of Outlook Express that seems to have been withdrawn in Windows Live Mail. In OE, when composing an email that including a live URL link to a web site, you could click on the link in the preview pane to make sure you had typed it correctly, and this would open the web page in an Explorer window (assuming it was OK). Now this seems no longer possible; the link in the preview pane is inert, just as it is in the "compose" window. Presumably it doesn't become live until after you've sent the message - by which time it's too late if you got it wrong!
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 2,066
    Windows 8 Pro w/MC 32-bit
       #6

    PeterWeb said:
    ...All my mail accounts are POP already.

    ...I can't just click "Sync" to download emails, since nothing would happen, and have to select each account to download in turn.

    ...by which time it's too late if you got it wrong!
    I thought I would find it too confusing to have multiple sets of POP3 folders so I forward emails from a couple of other accounts to one main account. Now the POP3 accounts look like they did in OE/WinMail and when I sync to download, I only have to do it once for that account. It is set to NOT be included when receiving or syncing and I use IMAP access to it so I can view what's on the server before downloading.

    It's been so long I don't remember that OE (which I used in Win98) provided a preview. However I use a combination of spell check, being very careful, and, when I'm really uncertain of what it will look like, I send it to myself first and view it in the "Sent" folder.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 12
    Windows 7
    Thread Starter
       #7

    Wise choice to check emails first! And I must say I wondered if I should do what you've done and consolidate all emails under one inbox. However, so far I'm managing to juggle four separate accounts. There is some reassurance to be had in using the "Quick views" link at the top of the folder pane, which can be set to show a consoldated view of all incoming emails that are in other inboxes, and all sent emails from other accounts. If it could just consolidate all drafts as well, I could almost forget about the rest!
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 5
    Windows 7
       #8

    PeterWeb,

    Not sure why your Windows Live Mail does not let you consolidate the Drafts from multiple accounts, but mine does. There is a check box for All Drafts in the Quick View configuration screen. You might want to check the configuration options again.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 12
    Windows 7
    Thread Starter
       #9

    Duh! I'm an idiot! Thanks for pointing that out. I just kind of assumed it wouldn't be possible to consolidate drafts as well. I can't believe I've become one of those forum contributors who miss the obvious. Anway, it's getting better all the time ...

    Just by way of update, I have realised that when I previously said that I had unchecked "Include this account when receiving mail or synchronising" for all my accounts, I had missed one of them. So there's another aspect in which I which I'm being an idiot. I have now definitely unchecked all of them, and no emails are now being downloaded unless I request them. So I guess things are working pretty much as I want them. I still think it's a bug that you can't stop the synchronising on a more global basis, but I'm happy to live with things as they now are.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 1,299
    Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) *** Windows XP SP3 (32-bit), OSX 10.6
       #10

    PeterWeb said:
    I have now definitely unchecked all of them, and no emails are now being downloaded unless I request them. So I guess things are working pretty much as I want them. I still think it's a bug that you can't stop the synchronising on a more global basis, but I'm happy to live with things as they now are.
    Thanks for the updates on your situation, but what do you mean by this? It sounds like you did solve the automatic synchronizing issue - or does WLM still retrieve emails when you wake your computer?

    Walker
    Windows Outreach Team
      My Computer


 
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