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  1. #1

    Need ideas on 451 temp local problem mail error

    I'm having a mail related problem with one of my domains. I have limited access to the server and I'm having difficulty communicating with the host on this problem. Perhaps if I had some ideas on what to check I could get them to do it.

    The story -- Linux Apache cPanel. call the domain aaaaa.com. The main user name for this domain, i.e., the Main Account under Mail Account Maintenance, is aaaaa. Things worked fine before the server crashed a month ago and they did a restore onto a backup server. The problem is that any mail to the aaaaa mailbox is bounced and the error is host aaaaa.com[ip address] said: 451 Temporary local problem - please try later (in reply to RCPT TO command).

    I have sent mail from my normal ISP as well as 2 different web based accounts I have. None of the mail goes through, sometimes I get the above error msg, sometimes I get nothing back.

    Initially the aaaaa mailbox was the default mailbox so I wasn't getting any mail; I did not have any extra users/mailboxes or forwarders set up. I set up another user on the domain, call it bbbbb. Mail to bbbbb@aaaaa.com goes through fine. I made bbbbb the default mailbox and now I am getting mail, it comes through the bbbbb mailbox. But if I send mail to aaaaa@aaaaa.com I still get the 451 error.

    If I create a mail forwarder in cPanel so that aaaaa@aaaaa.com is forwarded to bbbbb@aaaaa.com then mail to aaaaa@aaaaa.com goes through and is received at bbbbb@aaaaa.com. If I remove the forwarder then I am back where I started where mail to aaaaa@aaaaa.com does not go through.

    On dnsstuff.com there's an email test tool. If I enter address aaaaa@aaaaa.com then it says aaaaa.com - [Could not connect: Got an unknown RCPT TO response: 451 Temporary local problem - please try later
    ] If I enter address bbbbb@aaaaa.com then it says aaaaa.com. - [Successful connect: Got a good response [250 Accepted]]

    The problem seems to be related to the mailbox named aaaaa. Since this is the Main Account mailbox, I cannot remove or change it. At least, if I can remove or change it, I do not know how. I have asked my host if I can remove or change it from cPanel and they did not answer.

    Early on my host suggested it was a problem with my ISP. I don't see how since mail I sent from 3 sources yields the same results. Plus consider the results from dnsstuff.com. Plus consider that if I create the forwarder for aaaaa@aaaaa.com then it goes through.

    I've seen a number of posts on 451 errors referring to something to do with DNS lookups on the sender. I don't think that's the issue either since mail to bbbbb@aaaaa.com goes through, as well as mail going through with the forwarder created.

    I found a couple of posts suggesting that the domain aaaaa.com is missing from /etc/localaliases. I don't have access to this file to check. But, if the entry is missing, would mail to bbbbb@aaaaa.com still go through? Seems to me that it would not, but I do not know.

    I have seen posts on 451 errors mentioning problems with MX records. Again, I do not see how since mail to bbbbb@aaaaa.com goes through, as well as it going through with the forwarder in place. But if someone can tell me otherwise, then please explain.

    I don't know of anything to check in my cPanel or files that could be causing this, unless it's some type of missing file, directory, or bad permissions that I don't know about. Everything looks in place, but I confess that I might not know what to look for. As I said, the only thing I can look at is what my cPanel allows me to look at, plus what I can look at with ftp, but that basically amounts to the same thing as far as the files and folders are concerned.

    I hope my description of the symptoms makes sense. Does anyone have any ideas as to what could be causing this error with these symptoms? Am I maybe missing a file/directory/permission related to the aaaaa mailbox that I might be able to check and correct myself? Or is it likely some config file or permission on the server somewhere that I have to get the host to check, and if so, an idea of what or where to look would help as I could try to get them to check it.

    Thanks for any help.
    Last edited by DomainOrders; 08-27-2004 at 08:34 PM.

  2. #2
    What? All that brain power out there and nobody has any ideas on this? Maybe that's why I can't get the host to fix it, nobody knows what might be causing this problem. I hate to just punt, but it looks like I might have to.

  3. #3
    I have new info -- the hosted domain that is having the problem is actually a domain/account I set up in a reseller account that I have on the server.

    The hosting provider set up my reseller account with a main domain and it appears that the main account mailbox for that domain has the same 451 error problem.

    Also, I created an entirely new site in my account. Using the email test in dnsstuff.com I used the new main account name at serverx.hostname.com and it gives the same 451 error. I set up the same account on another cpanel server and the dnsstuff.com email test works. Note that by using the server and host name for the email address I don't have to wait for any DNS propogations for the new domain to take place. The serverx.hostname.com address is a synonym for the actual email address using the domain name.

    So it appears that any new account I set up in my reseller account will have this same 451 error with its default main account mailbox.

    Does this give any clues as to the problem?

  4. #4
    This is just a shot in the dark, but here goes.

    Since they restored the site, my first suspicion is that it's a permissions issue -- the mta doesn't have permission to actually store the message.

    Other than that, maybe the disk is full or the quota is maxed out? Usually that's a 552 error, but I'd check anyhow.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Nothing but, net
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    2,064
    451 Temporary Problem usually means the email server is having trouble with something. Permissions, access to a socket, or something else.

    There is nothing you can do about it, if is a server problem.

  6. #6
    to investigate further include the domains, look at your /var/log/exim_maillog (cpanel/exim)
    Datums Internet Solutions, LLC
    Systems Engineering & Managed Hosting Services
    Complex Hosting Consultants

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Nothing but, net
    Posts
    2,064
    Originally posted by datums
    to investigate further include the domains, look at your /var/log/exim_maillog (cpanel/exim)
    Read alittle bit before posting next time..

    The hosting provider set up my reseller account with a main domain and it appears that the main account mailbox for that domain has the same 451 error problem.

  8. #8
    Without access it would be very difficult to troubleshoot this issue.
    Contact your host.

    Cheers
    Datums Internet Solutions, LLC
    Systems Engineering & Managed Hosting Services
    Complex Hosting Consultants

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