[NTLUG:Discuss] Sending Email in Linux Problem

[Chuck]

I am having a problem sending email in Linux.  The distro is Mandrake 9.1, and 
it has worked fine for months.  This is over a DSL account  (SBC) from an 
address that has worked flawlessly for years (cfgraf at swbell.net).  The 
account works fine from a Windows 98 box on the same LAN, but it exhibits the 
same error when i send from the laptop, over the same lan from the same 
address.  The laptop uses Vector Linux (Slackware).  I use Kmail on the 
Mandrake box, but the problem also occurs in the Mozilla email client on that 
box.  I use Sylpheed and Mozilla on the laptop, and it exhibits this behavior 
in that also. 

The problem is that when I send an email from the Mandrake Linux box in Kmail, 
the message shows up in the Outbox, and the progress bar at the bottom of the 
screen goes to 88 to 97%.  The message never disappears from the Outbox, and 
blocks any other messages from being sent.  Now this is wierd.  The Monitor 
in GKrellm (or the chart on the taskbar in ICEwm) shows that the CPU is 
running at 99-100%, with pulses of data going out over eth0.  If I kill the 
transmission with the button next to the progress bar, the message stays in 
the Outbox, and the CPU goes back to normal.  Letting it run an hour makes no 
difference.

In Mozilla when I send a message from either Linux box, it first says it has 
sent, then gives me an error saying it could not contact smpt server 
mail.swbell.net and I should check my configuration settings.  This I have 
done many and varied times, with no success.  Sometimes the message arrives 
at the destination, sometimes it does not, and sometimes only part of the 
message arrives.  

The account works perfectly in Windows through the same network and router.  
Swapping connections makes no difference.  I was trying to set up another 
email account about the time this started, but I have abandoned that and put 
everything back like it was.  Any ideas would be much appreciated.  Thank 
you.

Chuck Graf