Why does my email program ask for a username or password when I try to download mail?

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I am wondering if the question was worded correctly. My Outlook asked for name and password everytime I log into my email account. Even when I check the box to remember the password. When I log on it asks for a password and after the email is downloaded it again asks for the name and password. Is this what the question was ment to say?

Re: Comment 1 - That is my problem. I set up my account (following the instructions to the letter).
Difference here: When I try to save my Password I get a message saying the password cannot be save to this machine! Thus, the continual prompts for a password. This may be happening to the person (a guess on my part). If so, it should have been mentioned.
LEO: Is a followup in order here? Should this be posed as a "new" question?

I believe Norm has hit it on the head about username and password. But because I have two computers sitting side by side hooked up to the same network through a 5port nway switch hub and has always worked until there had been a change in ownership and my email on one machine always ask for a username & password that does not work.
Could it be the new company wants additional fees
for two PCs on the same simple network.

I have Outlook XP 2002 from Microsoft Office Pofessional XP 2002 and Vista will not remember your password even when you tell it to. The problem is with Vista and Microsoft will not fix this problem because they want you to buy a newer version of Micosoft Office

There is a fix that I found for the problem of computer not remembering the password even when the box is checked in outlook express. I found the fix by doing a search on the Microsoft site but it involves going into the registry and I was afraid to do so.

Have the same problem with Vista's Windows Mail and when I purchased MS Office and use Outlook 2007... everyone (HP and Internet Provider) blame it on Vista but don't know how to fix it!

I changed my password for accessing my Comcast email several weeks ago. Now when I try to use Outlook (not Express) it will ask fro my password. If I enter the new one, sometimes it process just fine. Other times it does not. But if I enter the old password, it will process.

How do I fix this?

One thing that you need to check is the "Protected Storage Services", with Service disabled, programs which needs password will experience the mentioned situation. The edit the service go to Start Then Run, Run %SystemRoot%\system32\services.msc
Look For Protected Storage, and make sure it is running, if not make it automatic and restart the PC.

Why is it necessary to re-list my password each time I open my email program, especially when I am the only one using this computer?

Depends on what email program you use. You may not have to, but there's no way for me to know.

20-Sep-2009

Setting up a new email address so that the password is not asked for repeatedly is, to say the least, VERY frustrating. It seems that EVERY time someone creates a new email address with their ISP, Yahoo, Gmail, or whoever - and then sets it up under "accounts" in their email program, they MUST go through this agravating hassle. and hope that eventually the request to enter the password stops appearing.

This problem is like going through a rite of passage. You apparently must keep trying to use that new email address until the gods are finally satisfied.

Complaints of this nature has been going on for years, and AFAIK no one has come up with an improved method for setting up new email addresses yet!

And it shouldn't be happening. In fact, it doesn't happen to the vast majority of users. The program needs to ask for the password at least once, but as long as you check "remember this password", or whatever the equivalent is in your email program, that should be the end of it, until you set up a new email program, change your password, or create a new email account. I've listed a number of possibilities in the article of things that can go wrong. I don't mean to minimize the problem you're having but I do need to be clear that it's not by design, as you make it out to be. It's a problem, and has some kind of root cause that can and should be fixed.

11-Oct-2009

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