Just a question to the experts :

Is it normal for a domain to point to the correct DNS servers but the mail servers not doing so?

Here is my case - Signed up with a host 24 hrs ago, switched the name servers with the registra, and this morning mydomain.com was pointing to the new host. The mail server (mail.mydomain.com) however, still registers as pointing to the old host, which means anything being sent to mydomain.com goes where?

I just haven't encountered this situation before and was wondering if it is normal. I am assuming that my 'mail.mydomain.com' will eventually get pointed to the new host but until then, does anyone know where my mail is being held hostage?

Any comments appreciated.

Well, I would give it another 24 hours or so for propogation to get through to a bunch more nameservers. Sometimes, when you have a new transfer, the switch will take place for a couple of hours, then revert back to the old one, then come back again to the new one and so on for a little while.

After a day or so, it usually clears out.

Probably you're running into DNS caching. The records are pointing to the new server but some systems are "remembering" mail.domain.tld as being the old IP.

Originally posted by Sydney
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I am assuming that my 'mail.mydomain.com' will eventually get pointed to the new host but until then, does anyone know where my mail is being held hostage?
Mail sent to your domain that is undeliverable (and not rejected by the receiving server) is usually held by the sending server, and a delivery attempt is made every few hours. So all the mail you're not getting now should arrive eventually (assuming the DNS information doesn't take a week to get straighted out, in which case the sending e-mail servers would have given up and send an "undeliverable" message to the original sender).

I'm totally agree with the last post from IntelligentHosting.com, but have some suggestions: you should be sure, that your new web hosting provider sets your DNS entires correctly. to know this, , please, do "nslookup mail.yourdomain.tld ns.yourwebhostingprovider.com"
If it'll show you the right IP address, then you have something like DNS caching, not yet completed propagation, etc. You should wai for some time, and this issue will vanish. But if not, if it shows the old IP, or even an error, than it's your new hosting fault.

Thank you for all your comments/suggestions/answers. The problem did work itself out early today, and I am getting mail again at the new host.

Whew, I'm a happy camper again :)

Congratulations! ;) Then it was just a domain name propagation issue...