Can't get email to work

[Tiger-kai]

Hi,

I've just gotten a second hand iMac running 10.6.8. I have both googlemail and hotmail email addresses. Hotmail is working with IMAP but I dont like it and want to use POP, the problem is I cant get either to work, they just say they cant connect to server in connection doctor. I've tried using the same settings on my older iMac as that worked perfect but its no use and I've tried other settings I've found on the internet but no with no luck. Does anyone know the correct settings I should be using for outgoing/incoming mail servers, ports, etc. Or is there a way I can just save a setting as a file on my previous mac and just import it on this mac?

Thanks for any help

 

[Fishrrman]

I realize the suggestion I'm about to make doesn't solve your problems with Mail.app, but…

… for the time being, you might consider using a non-Apple email app like Thunderbird, while you continue to work on the problems with Mail.app.

This will give you functional email while you try to get Apple mail working.
If T-bird works, you can "compare settings", and see if you can duplicate them with Mail.app.

You can also use T-bird to send and receive "test emails" back and forth.

Addendum:
One "trick" regarding Mail.app (at least the more recent versions) and POP:
Apple doesn't want you to use POP, and they try to "keep it hidden from you".
When you go to initially set up a new Mail.app account, you may not even see POP offered to you as "an option".
But you can work around that by doing this:
1. Choose to create a new account
2. Enter the -correct- email address, but…
3. Enter an -INcorrect- password for that account.
4. Now Mail.app will try to connect and fail (of course, the pword is wrong).
5. This time around, Mail.app will present you with an option popup menu that DOES include a choice for POP.

Apple makes it easy, eh….?