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Can't receive attachments from Yahoo

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John B

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May 3, 2007, 3:59:01 PM5/3/07
to
Through Apr 27 I could open attachments of all types in OE from Yahoo email
subscribers to my bellsouth.net address. Starting Monday I could not, and
this is true for both of my conputers as well as a next door friend who has
bellsouth.net email service. The problem quickly isolates to OE (even though
it involves at least 3 different computers and two different bellsouth
addresses). The reason is because I can get the attachments and open them
when I go to the bellsouth web-based email site, but when I access the emails
with OE, there is not even an indication that an attachment was included. So
far, the attachments that failed were .doc, .pdf, and .jpg.
There is a twist in this and that is that I can send and receive emails
with attachments to my self OK
I unchecked the "Do not allow attachments ...." block in my Security
settings, and that had no effect. I thought maybe an automatic upgrade may
have caused the problem, but then I tried the OE software on my laptop which
had not been turned on since before Apr 27, and had the same problem.
I called yahoo tech support and they said it had to be my problem. I
called bellsouth tech support and they it was my problem also.
Any ideas would be appreciated
--
John B

Kuay Tim

unread,
May 4, 2007, 7:44:52 PM5/4/07
to
Hi JohnB,

I don't have a definitive answer, but have two questions.

Is more than one sender involved?

There might be a clue provided by checking the properties, details,
message source of an e-mail known to have an attachment. Is there a
large block of coded text present that would be there for an attachment?
This should tell us if the attachment is not displayed by OE or if the
attachment has been stripped before delivery.

--
Tim K.
aka Kuay Tim
MS-MVP - Outlook Express
Lynnwood, WA
*
"John B" <Jo...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:B4345866-3F8D-4317...@microsoft.com...

Michael Santovec

unread,
May 5, 2007, 5:31:59 PM5/5/07
to
The only time that OE hides an attachment so that it gives no indication
that there is any attachment is if the sender used RTF format from
Outlook97/98/2000+. OE hides the Winmail.dat attachments because it
knows that it doesn't know how to handle them. But some web mail
services will can handle them.

If OE blocks an attachment due to security issues, then it will still
show that you have the attachment and its name. It just won't let you
open/save the attachment until you adjust your security settings.

The only other case would be if some software between you and the mail
server that is either stripping the attachments (such as an anti-virus
software scanning e-mail) or corrupting the message headers so that OE
can't properly interpret that there is an attachment (McAfee SpamKiller
is known to do this).

See the Problems and Complications section of
Decoding Internet Attachments - A Tutorial
http://pages.prodigy.net/michael_santovec/decode.htm#problem


--

Mike - http://pages.prodigy.net/michael_santovec/techhelp.htm


"John B" <Jo...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:B4345866-3F8D-4317...@microsoft.com...

nantondon

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May 6, 2007, 2:17:01 PM5/6/07
to
I'm havingthe same problem as John. It is only the yahoo.com senders from
different people, family with yahoo.com addresses and even a recipe club that
uses yahoo.com. It is so sad for us that no one wants to take the blame or
try to find the answer. But, BellSouth is notorious for always having things
"right" and it is always the users fault. I'm glad to see that I am not the
only one with this problem.

Michael Santovec

unread,
Apr 26, 2011, 10:22:56 AM4/26/11
to
To: microsoft.public.windows.
If you would like, you may send me one of the problem messages and I'll
take a look at it. It's best if you zip the message so that I get an
exact copy of it. To do that, do a File, Save As to an EML file of a
problem message. Then Right click the saved EML file and select Send
To, Compressed (zipped) folder. Then e-mail me the resulting ZIP file.
Alternately, you can do a Message, Forward As Attachment of a problem
message. This is not as good as the zip file since the headers can be
modified in transit which may obscure the problem. A simple Forward is
worthless since it does not include the headers.


--

Mike - http://pages.prodigy.net/michael_santovec/techhelp.htm


"nantondon" <nant...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:B84234F3-B3F0-497A...@microsoft.com...

---
* Synchronet * The Whitehouse BBS --- whitehouse.hulds.com --- check it out free usenet!
--- Synchronet 3.15a-Win32 NewsLink 1.92
Time Warp of the Future BBS - telnet://time.synchro.net:24

sg1223

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May 7, 2007, 3:53:04 PM5/7/07
to
John B:

It's not just you. I have had the same problem you describe for ~2 weeks
now. My problem appears to be only from a Yahoo account (I receive
attachments from other domains without problems). One day, I received his
Yahoo attachments just fine, and now I only get a message stating something
like "Forwarded message attached" but no attachment. Also, the size of the
e-mail (very large 4M) indicates that there IS an attachment, but nothing.
In addition, he is e-mailing to a different BellSouth account and she is
having problems receiving as well. No one else receiving e-mail from the
Yahoo account (i.e. non-BellSouth users) appear to have this problem.
I have BellSouth DSL with their Internet Security package.
I am still not convinced that the problem is Outlook. I have not called
BellSouth yet but will tonight.
Thanks for the original post. Hopefully we will have an answer soon.

P

unread,
May 7, 2007, 9:38:00 PM5/7/07
to
I'm having the same problem. An email sent from Yahoo with an attachment to
a bellsouth.net account and an aol account. Both addresses are in the "to"
box of the same email with the attachment.

Outlook express pulls the attachment with the IMAP folder for the AOL
account, but doesn't show an attachment with the bellsouth.net account.

Logged into web mail bellsouth and the attachment is there with the email.

Bizzarre

sg1223

unread,
May 7, 2007, 9:41:01 PM5/7/07
to
Follow up.......I was able to send an e-mail from my work account
(non-BellSouth, non-Yahoo) to my BellSouth account. The result: I received
the attachment just fine. I then logged onto my Yahoo account and sent the
same e-mail with attachment from my Yahoo account to BellSouth. The result:
NO ATTACHMENT. The two e-mails are both similar in size at ~80KB.
I had yet another friend e-mail me from his Yahoo account....I did not get
the attachment.
More information: if I log onto the BellSouth Web Mail site and retrieve my
messages, I AM able to get the attachments through. It is only when I then
download them using Outlook Express that I have the problem of the
disappearing attachments.
Technically, I have no idea what is going on here. I hope that some of you
more IT savvy people can help us out!
Thanks!

sg1223

unread,
Apr 26, 2011, 10:23:15 AM4/26/11
to
To: microsoft.public.windows.
I just spoke with BellSouth Support....they directed me to call Microsoft.
I'm not hopeful here for solution.

Do any of you also use the BellSouth Security package with your DSL? I do
and wonder if that is the problem since the BellSouth WebMail allows the
attachments to come through.


"sg1223" wrote:

---

Bruce Hagen

unread,
May 7, 2007, 10:46:40 PM5/7/07
to
And if you disable the BellSouth Security package?

I have no hands-on experience with BellSouth, but there have been a lot of
unhappy campers with other problems lately.

Wish I could add more.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
~IB-CA~

"sg1223" <sg1...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:D8C8367E-CA53-4921...@microsoft.com...

dawn_d72

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May 7, 2007, 10:50:01 PM5/7/07
to
I'm reading down the the list for yahoo problems with OE and found this
discussion group and noticed there are a few of us having this problem. It
must have been something going on around the 26th or 27th b/c I just noticed
that the last date that I received an attachment from a yahoo person was
April 26th.

Glad I ran across you all. Sorry we're all having this problem but know
it's not bellsouth. Netscape is working fine with yahoo attachments, so it's
not a bellsouth issue since I'm a bellsouth customer also. Yet I know how
they LOVE to put the blame on MS all the time, for once it actually is an OE
issue.

Any one remember doing any kind of security updates around that time?

Robert Aldwinckle

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May 8, 2007, 12:40:21 PM5/8/07
to
"P" <P...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:D1669080-BB50-448B...@microsoft.com...

> I'm having the same problem. An email sent from Yahoo with an attachment to
> a bellsouth.net account and an aol account. Both addresses are in the "to"
> box of the same email with the attachment.
>
> Outlook express pulls the attachment with the IMAP folder for the AOL
> account, but doesn't show an attachment with the bellsouth.net account.


Are they both IMAP? Then you could get a lot more comparitive detail
by activating troubleshooting logging for IMAP (via Options, Maintenance tab).


>
> Logged into web mail bellsouth and the attachment is there with the email.


Webmail is not IMAP. So what's the protocol that bellsouth uses?


HTH

Robert Aldwinckle
---


Message has been deleted
Message has been deleted

sg1223

unread,
Apr 26, 2011, 10:23:23 AM4/26/11
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To: microsoft.public.windows.
I haven't tried to disable the BellSouth Security package, but I did find
this board where this problem is also being discussed.

http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=28183.0

It sounds like user Vlk (about halfway down the forum page) may be onto
something. Any thoughts out there? I'll admit I have exhausted my knowledge
here.
Thanks!

"Bruce Hagen" wrote:

---

Michael Santovec

unread,
Apr 26, 2011, 10:23:24 AM4/26/11
to
To: microsoft.public.windows.
I've made this offer to several people with the Yahoo/BellSouth problem,
but so far no one has taken me up on it.

All the reports point to something happening as the messages is
downloaded from Bell South. Since the message is the right size after
download, it must be something getting screwed up in the message
headers.

If would like, you may send me one of the problem messages and I'll take

a look at it. It's best if you zip the message so that I get an exact
copy of it. To do that, do a File, Save As to an EML file of a problem
message. Then Right click the saved EML file and select Send To,
Compressed (zipped) folder. Then e-mail me the resulting ZIP file.
Alternately, you can do a Message, Forward As Attachment of a problem
message. This is not as good as the zip file since the headers can be
modified in transit which may obscure the problem. A simple Forward is
worthless since it does not include the headers.

Your 80 KB message would be a good size.


--

Mike - http://pages.prodigy.net/michael_santovec/techhelp.htm


"sg1223" <sg1...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:1A259703-4B1D-4BD6...@microsoft.com...

---

dawn_d72

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May 8, 2007, 6:00:00 PM5/8/07
to
Forgive me for being confused here, but before I go back to Bellsouth and
their escalation lines (which I know they will only tell me that it is an OE
issue, I know how they work) I just want to gather all the intel I can. I do
appreciate all the information you can offer.

I just don't understand how I can receive yahoo attachments in other
programs such as Netscape and MS Outlook on the same computer, yet OE will
not allow not yahoo attachments to come through. I've checked the headers
from previous messages before when I received them and compared them and they
look the same. I just don't understand could have changed.

"N. Miller" wrote:

>
>
>
> I have security updates installed 4/12/2007. Typically, those are issued by
> MSFT on the second Tuesday of the month.
>
> I have a Hotfix (KB915800) installed on 4/22/2007; but that is for Windows
> Desktop Search.
>
> I have sent a test email with images attached from a yahoo.com account to a
> pacbell.net account, and the images displayed properly in MS Outlook
> Express. The only difference between me and thee is your bellsouth.net
> account contrasted with my pacbell.net account.
>
> I can only conclude that your problem is with Bellsouth (which is now a part
> of AT&T). I expect that, at some point, you will be offered the opportunity
> to migrate to an "at&t Yahoo! HSI" account. I would strongly urge you to do
> so; that is what my pacbell.net account (which does not show your problem)
> is.
>
> --
> Norman
> ~Shine, bright morning light,
> ~now in the air the spring is coming.
> ~Sweet, blowing wind,
> ~singing down the hills and valleys.
>

Message has been deleted

dawn_d72

unread,
Apr 26, 2011, 10:23:29 AM4/26/11
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To: microsoft.public.windows.
I did take Mike's offer up. I sent him an email earlier today. However I
called Bellsouth after reading the link
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=28183.0
I know exactly how bellsouth's tech support works and how they push back on
MS all the time. I worked in the admin side of BS.

I did finally call BS tonight and after 45 mins I finally convinced them it
was their problem, not microsoft's or my computer. FINALLY they are putting
a ticket in. I can't even get attachments from yahoo addresses now on
webmail. Hopefully we are getting somewhere now.


"N. Miller" wrote:

> On Tue, 8 May 2007 15:00:00 -0700, dawn_d72 wrote:
>
> > "N. Miller" wrote:
>
> >> I have security updates installed 4/12/2007. Typically, those are issued by
> >> MSFT on the second Tuesday of the month.
> >>
> >> I have a Hotfix (KB915800) installed on 4/22/2007; but that is for Windows
> >> Desktop Search.
> >>
> >> I have sent a test email with images attached from a yahoo.com account to a
> >> pacbell.net account, and the images displayed properly in MS Outlook
> >> Express. The only difference between me and thee is your bellsouth.net
> >> account contrasted with my pacbell.net account.
> >>
> >> I can only conclude that your problem is with Bellsouth (which is now a part
> >> of AT&T). I expect that, at some point, you will be offered the opportunity
> >> to migrate to an "at&t Yahoo! HSI" account. I would strongly urge you to do
> >> so; that is what my pacbell.net account (which does not show your problem)
> >> is.
>
> > Forgive me for being confused here, but before I go back to Bellsouth and
> > their escalation lines (which I know they will only tell me that it is an OE
> > issue, I know how they work) I just want to gather all the intel I can. I do
> > appreciate all the information you can offer.
> >
> > I just don't understand how I can receive yahoo attachments in other
> > programs such as Netscape and MS Outlook on the same computer, yet OE will
> > not allow not yahoo attachments to come through. I've checked the headers
> > from previous messages before when I received them and compared them and they
> > look the same. I just don't understand could have changed.
>

> Apparently something Bellsouth is doing is stripping a required blank line
> at the end of the header section. So it was reported in an Avast help forum.
>
> http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=28183.0
>
> It is damned hard for me to find a problem when email, with attachments,
> from my yahoo.com account to my pacbell.net account works just fine. Since
> the *only* commonality of the reported problem is that it afflicts users of
> bellsouth.net accounts, but no others, it can hardly be MSOE. If something
> about MSOE was broken, it would be broken the same way for users of
> pacbell.net accounts as it is for users of bellsouth.net accounts.
>
> Considering that nobody has taken up Michael Santovec's offer to send him a
> copy of the failing email that they are getting, I wonder if anybody really
> wants this fixed, or if people are just here to complain about MS Outlook
> Express.


>
> --
> Norman
> ~Shine, bright morning light,
> ~now in the air the spring is coming.
> ~Sweet, blowing wind,
> ~singing down the hills and valleys.
>

---

Michael Santovec

unread,
Apr 26, 2011, 10:23:50 AM4/26/11
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To: microsoft.public.windows.
I never received the e-mail.

What did you use for a subject? Maybe it got filtered out as spam. Try
sending again and I'll keep a look out for it. Be sure to use a
descriptive subject such as "Outlook Express Bellsouth problem". Not
something such as "here's your file" as so many spam/viruses use.

--

Mike - http://pages.prodigy.net/michael_santovec/techhelp.htm


"dawn_d72" <daw...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:4E89F690-2693-4817...@microsoft.com...

dawn_d72

unread,
Apr 26, 2011, 10:23:51 AM4/26/11
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To: microsoft.public.windows.
I used Subject: Yahoo/Bellsouth email issue. I resent the file again. I
just forwarded it this time but I zipped the original yahoo message, so you
shouldn't have a problem with it at all. Let me know if and when you get the
email.

Thanks again!
Dawn

Michael Santovec

unread,
May 10, 2007, 5:37:54 PM5/10/07
to
I don't know what's happening to the messages from you. I didn't get it
this one either. And I just checked my ISP's spam folder and nothing
even vaguely resembling your subject was there either.

Just to double check, this is my e-mail address.
michael_...@prodigy.net

--

Mike - http://pages.prodigy.net/michael_santovec/techhelp.htm


"dawn_d72" <daw...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:8D7801C3-1375-4637...@microsoft.com...

Puhzoo

unread,
May 13, 2007, 3:11:01 PM5/13/07
to
I am experiencing the exact same thing. Is there a phone number for IT at
yahoo? I will reward someone 50 dollars if they can fix this problem asap.
My bellsouth and other email account attachments are coming through just
fine.

Michael Santovec

unread,
Apr 26, 2011, 10:24:31 AM4/26/11
to
To: microsoft.public.windows.
The problem is at BellSouth, not Yahoo.

I've since heard from some other Bellsouth customers that Bellsouth has
admitted the problem is on their end and are working on a fix. I don't
know when that will be done.

The problem is caused by BellSouth's Anti-spam program.

What is happening, is that in Yahoo messages, the header as sent from
Yahoo ends:

MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="0-2033325884-1178660436=:23778"
Message-ID: <55037.2...@web51802.mail.re2.yahoo.com>

--0-2033325884-1178660436=:23778
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
boundary="0-2061803909-1178660436=:23778"

The blank line above is critical since that it what indicates the end of
the message header and the beginning of the message body. The values
for the message id and boundary string will vary from message to
message.

After passing through the Bellsouth spam filtering, the header becomes:

MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="0-2033325884-1178660436=:23778"
Message-ID: <55037.2...@web51802.mail.re2.yahoo.com>
X-Spam: [F=0.0001617944; S=0.010(2007050201); MH=0.500(2007050848);
R=0.015(s13/n830)]
X-MAIL-FROM: <X...@yahoo.com>
X-SOURCE-IP: [192.168.16.123]
--0-2033325884-1178660436=: 23778
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
boundary="0-2061803909-1178660436=:23778"

The 3 lines X-Spam, X-MAIL-FROM: and X-SOURCE-IP: have been added, which
in itself is OK. But the blank line has gotten lost. Another curious
change is that a space has been added in the boundary string that was
after the message id after the =: and before the ending 5 digit number.
But that doesn't seem to bother Outlook Express. I don't know if that
would bother Outlook (I've had reports that Outlook users are having the
same problem. It's not confined to Outlook Express recipients).

If the Spam filter had inserted the headers correctly, it should have
been:

MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="0-2033325884-1178660436=:23778"
Message-ID: <55037.2...@web51802.mail.re2.yahoo.com>
X-Spam: [F=0.0001617944; S=0.010(2007050201); MH=0.500(2007050848);
R=0.015(s13/n830)]
X-MAIL-FROM: <X...@yahoo.com>
X-SOURCE-IP: [192.168.16.123]

--0-2033325884-1178660436=:23778
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
boundary="0-2061803909-1178660436=:23778"

A workaround for Outlook Express users is to save the message to an EML
file (File, Save As), open in Notepad and insert the missing blank line
after the X-SOURCE-IP header, then save and double click the EML file to
open. It can be also dragged back to an OE folder to save and the
original message deleted.

--

Mike - http://pages.prodigy.net/michael_santovec/techhelp.htm


"Puhzoo" <Puh...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:25046ECF-4E8E-4A1B...@microsoft.com...

---

dawn_d72

unread,
Apr 26, 2011, 10:24:36 AM4/26/11
to
To: microsoft.public.windows.
I have received phone calls from Bellsouth and they are still working on the
issue with no ETR still. They are aware of the issue. At least they
acknowledge it and taking ownership. Hopefully they will have it resolved
soon. I am giving them a callback soon to see where the issue is, so that it
isn't pushed back and I suggest others do the same. The more they realize it
is important to us the more they will put it on the top of their list of "TO
DO" priorities and get it resolved sooner.

Thanks again Mike for looking over the emails and giving me my evidence when
calling.

jnor...@bellsouth.net

unread,
May 14, 2007, 10:40:15 PM5/14/07
to
On May 3, 3:59 pm, John B <J...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
> Through Apr 27 I could open attachments of all types in OE fromYahooemail
> subscribers to my bellsouth.net address. Starting Monday I could not, and
> this is true for both of my conputers as well as a next door friend who has
> bellsouth.net email service. The problem quickly isolates to OE (even though
> it involves at least 3 different computers and two different bellsouth
> addresses). The reason is because I can get the attachments and open them
> when I go to the bellsouth web-based email site, but when I access the emails
> with OE, there is not even an indication that an attachment was included. So
> far, the attachments that failed were .doc, .pdf, and .jpg.
> There is a twist in this and that is that I can send and receive emails
> with attachments to my self OK
> I unchecked the "Do not allow attachments ...." block in my Security
> settings, and that had no effect. I thought maybe an automatic upgrade may
> have caused the problem, but then I tried the OE software on my laptop which
> had not been turned on since before Apr 27, and had the same problem.
> I calledyahootech support and they said it had to be my problem. I

> called bellsouth tech support and they it was my problem also.
> Any ideas would be appreciated
> --
> John B

John,

I'm having the same problem but mine started only about a week ago.
Unfortunately, one of the Yahoo.com people who sends me e-mails is my
daughter who sends pictures of my granddaughter....now I can't get
them and I'm mad as anything. I've just e-mail BellSouth.net and
asked for help but from what I'm seeing online, help hasn't come from
them for anyone else!! I think this problem started on my computer
right after I did an MS update but I can't be positive about that. If
you have any info that you can share on the solution, please let me
know.

jbn

dawn_d72

unread,
May 14, 2007, 11:05:00 PM5/14/07
to
It is a Bellsouth problem. I just spoke with them again today. I would
suggest checking mail on webmail (I've been reading most of my mail in OE 6
and leaving a copying of mail on the server and if it is yahoo mail going
back to webmail and reading it there and deleting the mail from the server)
or setting your mail up in Netscape until this issue is resolved. This way
you don't miss out on any of those precious pictures of your granddaughter.
There is no ETR yet.

If you will read back through all of the post you'll see the other post
about this issue. Someone even found the post on DSL reports which I found
interesting.

Michael Santovec

unread,
May 15, 2007, 2:00:56 PM5/15/07
to
Until such time as BellSouth fixes their spam filter, there's a
workaround in Outlook Express to fix the problem messages sothat you can
recover the attachments.


--

Mike - http://pages.prodigy.net/michael_santovec/techhelp.htm


<jnor...@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:1179196815....@y80g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...

reganreese

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Apr 26, 2011, 10:26:28 AM4/26/11
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To: microsoft.public.windows.

"Michael Santovec" <michael_...@prodigy.net> -|+o-+-o--++:euQwTwqk...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

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