PC Win: Large Recipient List Stops Download of New Mail

• Microsoft Mail for Windows, versions 3.2 and 3.5

SYMPTOMS

When you receive a message with a very large recipient list, you will not be able to download new mail, and the broken network icon will appear in the lower right corner of the Mail client.

After you try to download the message several times, you will get the following error message:

   Mail cannot send or receive messages because of problems downloading a
   message.

CAUSE

The size of the To: list has exceeded the limit of the client. The message cannot be moved to the mail message file (.MMF) because of the size of the To: list.

WORKAROUND

To restore the client to normal operation, sign into your Mail account with the Microsoft Mail for PC Networks, MS-DOS workstation and delete the message.

Another workaround, with the assistance of Microsoft Product Support, is to delete the .MAI file associated with the message from the shared file system database.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in version 3.5 of the Microsoft Mail for Windows. A fix for this problem is in development, but has not been regression-tested and may be destabilizing in production environments.

Contact Microsoft Product Support Services for more information on the availability of this fix.