/usr/tmp/.pop/{username} HELP!

POP3 email works as follows:

1)  machine receives a request to read / retrieve mail

2)  a copy of the user's mail file, ie. /usr/spool/mail/USERID is copied to some other file
     on the mail server, in some cases, it's /usr/spool/mail/USERID.pop, but it can
     potentially be something else..

3)  a POPPER session is established on the machine, and the .pop file is transfered
     down to the user..  meanwhile, new mail goes to the normal /usr/spool/mail files
     so it's available (and not lost) during the next pop cycle..

4)  after successful completion of the download of the .pop file, it's deleted from the
     system, (or recopied to the original if LEAVE MAIL ON SERVER is selected).. and the
     system POPPER process terminates..


if the files you're seeing remain on the server, the problem you're seeing is that users aren't successfully transferring their mail.. the end result is that when they try again, the system sees an existing process and throws it's hands in the air and says "you're already receiving mail, why try again..."  and fails..

to fix the problem, look for exisiting POPPER processes on the machine and kill them..
and recopy the .pop files to the users /usr/spool/mail/ file, appending it if needed (due to new mail since the process was attempted)..  remember to delete or rename the .pop files


if the problem persists after you've made the above corrective actions, then you need to look at the links between the client machines and your server..  


 good luck





 

I am aware of ALL of the above,  There are no pop processing running however, when the problem occurs.  I don't need to copy it back over /var/spool/mail/{username} as it is still ALL there.

I want to fix this problem permanently and not do what I am doing now (when someone complains, I delete it!)

it never had this problem with slackware 3.2, I got it first with slackware 3.4 and someone said, upgrade to 3.5, which I did at no advantage.

Is there a FIX for this problem?

Andrew

It's not quite an ANSWER but if it just can't be fixed then so be it.  It never used to happen with slackware 3.2 but I get it all the time with slackware 3.4 or 3.5.

Not tried 3.6 yet.

Q:

I agree that it's not a real answer but it works.

Also, I had this problem first time with slackware 3.2. In fact I think it's a problem in pop3d daemon. I download the source code for the latest pop3d daemons, compile and install -- and the problem was not solved. It's possible to comment out from the source code the test for this file -- but I think that this will introduce a more nasty problem, specially if the same pop client tries to log on at the same time.

 

I agree.. thank you for your help