E-Mail Setup
In order to send and receive e-mail, you need an e-mail program, or client, and an e-mail account. If you have Internet access, you have at least one e-mail account available to you.
Before we get started, it's vital that we establish what you need to get started. Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) should have provided you with this information when you initiated the account.
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You need a user name. This will be the same as whatever is in front of the "@" in your e-mail address; if your address is me@myisp.com, then the username is me.
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You need a password. This should also have been pre-arranged with your ISP when you ordered the service.
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You will need the mail server names. These should have been given to you by the ISP.
The User Name and Password are your choice, unless the ones you want have already been taken. The server names are set up by the ISP.
If you don't know what these settings are, you will need to contact your ISP. If you know your User name and password, you should be able to log in to the ISP's website. Most ISPs have a "Customer Care" or Support page. Once logged in, look for a link for E-Mail setup. That should give detailed instructions for the most-used e-mail clients, usually Outlook Express and Outlook, along with the server settings.
If you don't know what your user name or password are, you will need to call your ISP. They are usually pretty understanding, and will help you get set up. What they will probably do in this case is to create a new account for you.
When you get the information for your e-mail setup, WRITE IT DOWN! I usually open a word processor like Microsoft Word, or even just Notepad in Windows, and write down the usernames, passwords, and server settings. Print it and save it where you know you will find it. As I've said elsewhere on this site, you should have a box with the CDs that came with your computer. That is a perfect place for this information.
OK. Let's get the e-mail client set up and start receiving e-mails. For our examples, I am using Outlook Express. Most e-mail programs are very similar in terms of setup. Note that if you are setting up a different program, things won't look quite the same, but again, the same information is required, and things will go somewhat the same way.