Problems with Fetchmail & Sendmail

**casiodude** · 04-03-2003

When the email can't seem to be sent to the appropriate user it goes to the root user with the following error:

The original message was received at Thu, 3 Apr 2003 22:37:03 GMT
from localhost [127.0.0.1]
with id h33Mb2U04543

----- The following addresses had permanent fatal errors -----
<breathe@localhost>
(reason: can't create (user) output file)

----- Transcript of session follows -----
procmail: Lock failure on "/var/spool/mail/breathe.lock"
procmail: Error while writing to "/var/spool/mail/breathe"
550 5.0.0 <breathe@localhost>... Can't create output

since I ran this I have now a BOGUS.casio.AiJ and a BOGUS.tim.osJ a blank breathe mailbox, casio mailbox and a tim mailbox

Regards

Casiodude

**jasonlambert** · 04-03-2003

Originally Posted by casiodude

As I couldn't figure this out I did at 1 point removed the freeserve and sniffout accounts from fetchmail and then I created them again still using the local users for the mail. Would this cause the problem in that the system is trying to start a new mailbox instead of using the existing one?

It could do, but i dont know.

Originally Posted by casiodude

I have moved the BOGUS file back to tim but sendmail will not accept this as a vaild mailbox file - does this mean my exisiting mail is lost?

.

Try opening the BOGUS file in a txt editor, or run:

cat BOGUS.x.x | more

Originally Posted by casiodude

fetchmail: 5.9.0 querying pop.freeserve.net (protocol POP3) at Thu Apr 3 22:28:56 2003
fetchmail: POP3< +OK POP3 server ready (cmailg2.svr.pol.co.uk)
fetchmail: POP3> USER casson-smith.freeserve.co.uk
fetchmail: POP3< +OK
fetchmail: POP3> PASS *
fetchmail: POP3< +OK
fetchmail: POP3> STAT
fetchmail: POP3< +OK 0 0
fetchmail: No mail for casson-smith.freeserve.co.uk at pop.pol.net.uk
fetchmail: POP3> QUIT
fetchmail: POP3< +OK
fetchmail: normal termination, status 1

Sorry but there is no mail now at this account as it has all be re-routed to the root user even though the user tim exisits. Could there be also a problem with the mail folder? if so how can I deleted it a re-create while it has the symbolic link to /var/mail?

Regards

Casiodude

It is possible that the other mail folder has a permissions problem as well. Backup the files in it to another dir, remove the symlink, and the "proper" directory and recreate as root.

Fetchmail has removed the mails from Freeserves server, as Fetchmail appears to have been able to deliver them locally to sendmail. Sendmail however, does not appear to have correctly placed the mail into the users mailbox yet, my guess hence the creation of the BOGUS.x.x file?

Jason

**casiodude** · 04-03-2003

Just remind me how to delete a symbolic link in the case here the link goes as follows:

var/mail -> var/spool/mail

I also need reminding how to re-create this

Cheers

Casiodude

**casiodude** · 04-03-2003

Ignore my last post I have managed to re-create the mail acccount while I had sendmail stopped. This bothers me though - even after doing this I coped the "BOGUS" files back to their mailbox names. In webmin when I view these mailboxes casio and tim - only casio allows me to view the emails and tim is blank. However when I view tim through an editor they are there.

Does this mean when I receive the emails through outlook will I get those from tim or not?

**jasonlambert** · 04-03-2003

Originally Posted by casiodude

----- The following addresses had permanent fatal errors -----
<breathe@localhost>
(reason: can't create (user) output file)

----- Transcript of session follows -----
procmail: Lock failure on "/var/spool/mail/breathe.lock"
procmail: Error while writing to "/var/spool/mail/breathe"
550 5.0.0 <breathe@localhost>... Can't create output

Try fixing this first.

http://archives.neohapsis.com/archiv...2-04/0008.html

Jason

**casiodude** · 04-03-2003

you are a life saver! cheers for that - I still haven't yet tried to retrieve any more mail but I think it is ok now.

BTW as the mailboxes were locked at the time, how can i get the email that have been sent to root back to the correct user? these emails are on the error but as attachments

Regards

Casiodude

**jasonlambert** · 04-03-2003

Originally Posted by casiodude

Ignore my last post I have managed to re-create the mail acccount while I had sendmail stopped. This bothers me though - even after doing this I coped the "BOGUS" files back to their mailbox names. In webmin when I view these mailboxes casio and tim - only casio allows me to view the emails and tim is blank. However when I view tim through an editor they are there.

Does this mean when I receive the emails through outlook will I get those from tim or not?

Maybe not, it looks the format of the "tim" box may be invalid somewhere. make a copy of the boxes and give it a go.

Originally Posted by Casiodude

you are a life saver! cheers for that - I still haven't yet tried to retrieve any more mail but I think it is ok now.

BTW as the mailboxes were locked at the time, how can i get the email that have been sent to root back to the correct user? these emails are on the error but as attachments

Regards

Casiodude

Are they in "root"'s mail box? if so, is there a lot of messages?

Jason

**casiodude** · 04-04-2003

Maybe not, it looks the format of the "tim" box may be invalid somewhere. make a copy of the boxes and give it a go.

This problem has been sorted since I did the touch command.

Are they in "root"'s mail box? if so, is there a lot of messages?

There is about 10 and yes they are in the root mailbox but the actual email i want it self is an attachment of the error which reported :

----- The following addresses had permanent fatal errors -----
<breathe@localhost>
(reason: can't create (user) output file)

----- Transcript of session follows -----
procmail: Lock failure on "/var/spool/mail/breathe.lock"
procmail: Error while writing to "/var/spool/mail/breathe"
550 5.0.0 <breathe@localhost>... Can't create output

As this didn't just happen for this mailbox it happened for the freeserve user as well

Regards

CasioDude

**jasonlambert** · 04-04-2003

Hmm.

I dont know if there is an easy way to get to it, do you have P0P3 server running? setup an account within outlook to login as root?

Jason

**casiodude** · 04-04-2003

I did have a pop3 server running but it seems as though this has stopped. Could this be the reasons for my problems?

do you know what starts the standard pop3 process and I have tried to find it as a running process using ps -ef | grep pop but I am unsure what I should be looking for

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