Re: No SMTP server? Can't get mail()

On Fri, 21 Jan 2011 13:07:02 +0700, "Paul S" <paul.s@roadrunner.com> wrote:

On Fri, 21 Jan 2011 12:28:16 +0700, Paul M Foster <paulf@quillandmouse.com> wrote:

On Fri, Jan 21, 2011 at 10:45:46AM +0700, Paul S wrote:

I am having problems with mail(). The problem is that the email just never gets there. Mail appears to be working. To start, I am investigating the SMTP server. I can't understand some things. 1) I am sure that the smtp server is and is set to "localhost", but I want to verify this ... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- error_reporting(E_ALL); echo 'display_errors = ' . ini_get('display_errors') . "\n"; echo 'register_globals = ' . ini_get('register_globals') . "\n"; echo "<br><br>"; echo "SMTP host: " . ini_get("smtp"); echo "SMTP port: " . ini_get("smtp_port"); echo "Sendmail From: " . ini_get("sendmail_from"); gets: 1 1 SMTP host: SMTP port: 25 Sendmail_from: Notice: Use of undefined constant sendmail_from - assumed 'sendmail_from' in /home/ Obviously SMTP is defined (?? because it is not undefined?), but nothing is echo'd for SMTP. WHY?

Think CASE-SENSITIVE. Check instead for SMTP, not smtp.

YES! I started with SMTP. Same result. I then switched to smtp lower case. Switched back. Both same. I'm sorry, I should have indicated that I tried both. Still. No result from echo.

sendmail_from is not defined on my machine either, for what it's worth.

No problem here either. I just would like to know so that I can be sure to define it. Get's time-consuming when you can't just type in "php info".

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    then ...

ini_set( smtp, "localhost" );

    gets:

Notice: Use of undefined constant smtp - assumed 'smtp' in /home/ ... SMTP host: SMTP port: 25 Sendmail_from: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Strange, SMTP was defined before ????, and it still won't echo. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Again, think case-sensitive. smtp is not a valid ini variable. SMTP is.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

      Both

error_reporting(E_ALL); ini_set( sendmail_from, "<sendmailfrom>@<localhost>" ); echo "SMTP host: " . ini_get("smtp"); echo "SMTP port: " . ini_get("smtp_port"); echo "Sendmail From: " . ini_get("sendmail_from"); $return = mail('<another user>@<localhost>', 'Test', 'Test');

The above is not a valid email address, as it contains a space. Not to mention, I'm not real sure about the brackets. Just use a regular email address without all the other stuff, as: jimbob@example.com.

var_dump($return);

     and

error_reporting(E_ALL); ini_set( sendmail_from, "<sendmailfrom>@<localhost>" ); ini_set( smtp, "localhost" ); echo "SMTP host: " . ini_get("smtp"); echo "SMTP port: " . ini_get("smtp_port"); echo "Sendmail From: " . ini_get("sendmail_from"); $return = mail('<another user>@<localhost>', 'Test', 'Test'); var_dump($return);

     return

no other errors SMTP host: SMTP port: 25 Sendmail_from: <sendmailfrom>@<localhost> and bool(true)

Although the documentation isn't entirely clear, I suspect that the return of true from the mail() function only means that the smtp server accepted the email for delivery. The smtp server on localhost still has to connect with the remote server and the remote server has to accept the mail for delivery. I suspect the return of true only means that the origin/localhost mailserver accepts the email. It can still fail beyond there.

YES YES. Same as on my PC with a windows mail server. There it DOES get to the SMTP server. My BIGGEST problem is, of course, how to figure out why it does not get to gmail.com or roadrunner.com or even my own UNIX server's email. It is the same email (text, recip, etc.). My PC server DOES forward the email to ALL addresses. My UNIX server I never get the SAME messages. But on my PC is IS forwarded to all email servers.

Yet NO EMAIL is ever received/returned at the local email address or when outside email addresses are used, and never when mail() is seemingly successfully used in a script. WHY can't I echo the SMTP address being USED? What am I doing wrong? (Please note that phpinfo IS DISABLED ON MY SERVER BECAUSE IT IS A SECURITY THREAT) How am I going to get this emailing straightened out?

I haven't seen a real email address used yet in your examples. Use a real address, and not a "localhost" one. A localhost address is likely not a valid one.

The real addressses mentioned are in fact my personal email address at gmail.com and roadrunner.com and are "coded" here for obvious reasons. My "localhost" email addresses are at my unix server and are "coded" because I don't want to involve them specifucally. Trust me, I got those right.

Thanks for your feedback which is all warranted advice on this. I agree that I believe that mail() success is only to the SMTP server and not beyond. But I am still wondering why SMTP and smtp will not echo and, most importantly, how to get beyond the SMTP server, which is obviously not forwarding.

And YES YES YES I have checked my @roadrunner.com and @gmail.com junk mail folders and NO NO NO no emails are going into those folders (and no email is being returned to the "sendmail from" addresses). -- Using Opera's revolutionary email client: http://www.opera.com/mail/