Email sending & receiving issue, iBook G4

[Smooth Gecko]

One of my clients has email issues that are giving me a hard time.
It is an iBook G4 with OS-X 10.4 Tiger.
When I go to the Network settings in System Preferences, I get a pop up that interferes so badly you can't do any changes.
It says " Your settings have been changed by another application"
When you click OK, it is back quicker than you can do anything else.

They have just changed from one ISP to another, and although I have deleted the original smtp servers from the mail program, they are still coming up as an option when you try to send mail and it tells you it can't, using the default smtp server that I know is right?

They do have a couple of iPhones in the house, and I am currently following some posts that talk about the iPhone interfering with the iBook mailing.

I have found on google, some tips about locking the preferences so that they need a password for each change, but this does not seem like a fix to me.

Occasionally, one of the accounts goes into an "offline" state by itself too.

Yesterday, it would occasionally receive mail, but not send any, except once.?

Any help would be much appreciated, my time is getting out off hand on this one.

 

[anonymous Mac Tech]

The dreaded 10.4 network settings fubar caused by software update.

First you have to force quit system preferences if it is still popping up with that error by doing a command+option+esc. Go to library/preferences/SystemConfiguration. There should be anywhere from 3-5 .plist files in that folder. Take the ones that specifically deal with network settings, or all of them if you're not sure and drag those to the desktop. After you copy the originals to the desktop, take the originals from the library/preferences/SystemConfiguration folder and dump those in the trash. you'll probably be prompted for the admin password to do this. Empty the trash, restart and then go to network preferences and it will be a clean slate without the annoying message. Then just reconifigure their network settings. As far as the .plist files you copied to the desktop, just trash those now since the reboot created new files for you. You just had to drag the originals to the desktop to be able to delete them.

 

[Smooth Gecko]

Thank you

Thanks Anonymous Mac Tech,

That had me scratching my head.
I will put it to task in the morning, (yes I work Sundays )
The chap is at his wits end, be nice to sort it out for him.
I shall let you know how I go with it.
This is a great little community we are a part off.

 

[Smooth Gecko]

That worked

Got it Anonymous Mac Tech
Much appreciated.

 

[anonymous Mac Tech]

Got it Anonymous Mac Tech
Much appreciated.

Sure thing and thanks for posting back. That little trick has earned me a quick $20 bucks at the counter for 5 minutes worth of work plenty of times. Nobody has ever complained about paying it even for the short amount of time it takes because by the time they bring it to me, the customers are so frazzled by trying to fix it themselves they don't care and are happy it's fixed that fast.