SMTP with Apache/PHP on Windows

Need your help.

I'm already doing PHP scripting (it's indeed very easy and thanks everyone for the previous help).

I need to mail a form contents. I don't want to setup an email server just to use SMTP and I don't want to test my scripts on my web host which I consider a production machine. So I went back to IIS to setup the SMTP virtual server as localhost.

After setting it up and changing my php.ini file the script runs without a glitch, but email is not being sent. The event log viewer seems to reveal it can't connect to the domain gmail.com (the destination address).

My personal firewall is setup to allow outgoing connections from IIS. I didn't setup my black box firewall though as I don't see the need to make IIS Virtual SMTP Server available to the outside.

I can enter into more details on the setup I have in place for for the IIS virtual SMTP server. But if you have any idea alrady, please let me know.

Either that or some simple easy to use smtp server i can install on my machine.

Nevermind. Been digging around IIS and I'm having some problems with it due to a faulty .Net installation.

Solved the problem with a very handy free tool. A sort of smtp server that listens on locahost:25 and dispatches it to my ISP; Mobile TCP

Well this is what I got from a quick Google search:

http://www.softstack.com/freesmtp.html

http://www.postcastserver.com/


I haven't used them, but the PostCast one looks pretty professional just from a quick glance.

By the way, PHP Freaks (at www.phpfreaks.com) has some excellent PHP forums.

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Solved the problem with a very handy free tool. A sort of smtp server that listens on locahost:25 and dispatches it to my ISP; Mobile TCP

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Cool, I have only ever heard of free SMTP servers for Unix-like systems.

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By the way, PHP Freaks (at www.phpfreaks.com) has some excellent PHP forums.

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Heheh, I'm a regular on the PHPBuilder message board.

Yeah. I may have to create an account there. Thanks. This is feeling odd posting PHP related stuff on these forums.

I've seen those two by the way. PostCast is ideal. Worked like a charm. But too much for my needs and asks for money. Freesmtp on the other hand has two problems; depends on the isp allowing port 25 (mine doesn't) and doesn't register itself as a service or move down to the tray.

Mobile TCP solved those two problems. Thanks for the suggestions though David