For the last couple of months, I've been having problems sending and retrieving e-mail via Outlook Express.  I'm sometimes unable to connect to the server even though I can browse the Internet when this is happening.  There’s no pattern I can figure out.  All might work fine.  Or the system might hang for 10-30 seconds before successfully sending/receiving.  Or it might hang so long that it times out.

Because the trouble is intermittent, I know the e-mail account property settings within OE aren't the problem.  Because it happens with two different e-mail accounts, I assume the problem isn't with the hosts – or with the ports.  (Because it happens with two e-mail accounts and incoming + outgoing MESSAGES, three different ports are involved -- 8889, 110, & 587 –and I have periodic trouble connecting to all of them.)

This problem seems to have started right around the time that I switched from Verizon DSL to Verizon FiOS and received a new router: ActionTec MI424-WR - Rev. E.  I persuaded Verizon to swap routers in CASE the unit was defective, but that didn't help.  Otherwise, Verizon tech SUPPORT claims the problem must be with OE or XP – and, in any case, as long as I’m connecting to the Internet they can’t help.

Any thoughts?When you getting the hang up are you ABLE to ping your pop servers?

Haven't tried, but I sometimes do try to COLLECT my mail from the web-based version of the domain (presumably the same server?) -- and I'm always able to do so.  The problem seems to be limited to OE.