Out of Office - keep computer running?

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Guest

I have a problem when I try to set up my "out of office" message. I use
Outlook 2003 and have XP Professional. I do not have an exchange server so I
have to emulate it - which I did. So.........when I leave for vacation, I
have to leave my computer on and Outlook running to have the "Out of Office"
message sent to any incoming emails. This seems crazy to me. I run a small
business from my home - so what happens if the power goes off on the first
day of vacation - then I have no out of office message going to clients. Is
there any way around this?? Thanks in advance.
 
No. However, you can see if your ISP offers a "vacation message" - many do and this is the better alternative since the ISP should filter out spam before sending the vacation message and confirming your address as good to every spammer.

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. All
unsolicited mail sent to my personal account will be deleted without
reading.

After furious head scratching, judyjht asked:

| I have a problem when I try to set up my "out of office" message. I
| use Outlook 2003 and have XP Professional. I do not have an exchange
| server so I have to emulate it - which I did. So.........when I
| leave for vacation, I have to leave my computer on and Outlook
| running to have the "Out of Office" message sent to any incoming
| emails. This seems crazy to me. I run a small business from my home
| - so what happens if the power goes off on the first day of vacation
| - then I have no out of office message going to clients. Is there
| any way around this?? Thanks in advance.
 
judyjht said:
I have a problem when I try to set up my "out of office" message. I
use Outlook 2003 and have XP Professional. I do not have an exchange
server so I have to emulate it - which I did. So.........when I
leave for vacation, I have to leave my computer on and Outlook
running to have the "Out of Office" message sent to any incoming
emails. This seems crazy to me. I run a small business from my home
- so what happens if the power goes off on the first day of vacation
- then I have no out of office message going to clients. Is there
any way around this??
Click to expand...

Yes and no.

It might seem crazy to you, but, well, you're asking Outlook to do something
that only it can do. How is it going to be able to do it if your computer
isn't running?

That said, the first place I would go to is my ISP. Do they provide for an
Out of Office feature on your mailbox? Of course, that might require that
you have a business account, something that you may or may not have.
 
Thanks for the help. I'll call the ISP first thing tomorrow - this is
getting me crazy!!
 
Your PC has an option in the bios (unless it is a really old PC) to restart
in the event of a power failure to its last know power state. This means
that if the power goes off (and you have this set in the bios) the PC will
turn back on when the power is restored.

A UPS isn't a bad idea either - vacation or not.

squishy
 
Is this something I can set myself or should I have the "computer guy" do
it?? Also, what is UPS??? Do I need it and how/where do I get it?
 
If you have a computer guy - have him/her do it. They can do it in about 2
minutes and you know it was done right (I am assuming you aren't using Geek
Squad ;) ).

Usually you get to the BIOS by hitting the DEL, or F2 or F10 or F12 or F??
key (it will say so on your screen most of the time when the PC starts to
boot). What type PC do you have (manufacturer and model)? I may be able to
point you to the instructions.

UPS - Uniterruptable Power Supply. It's basically a battery that your PC
runs off of in the event of a power outage. Belkin's also condition the
power so that you are safe from power spikes and surges better than most
others. They also have connections for your cable, ethernet or DSL cables
to protect you from any lightning surges through those lines. And, the
better ones come with software that will (in the event the power stays off
long enough to drain the battery) safely shutdown your apps and your machine
to avoid hard drives crashing and data (or even your OS) getting corrupted.

UPS's typically give you time to save the work you are on and close your PC.
You can continue to run until it flashes a battery low warning on the
screen, but you should definitely save your work and close your apps if you
can. If not, the UPS software will try and do it for you if the power is
out so long that the battery is drained.

You can get them at Best Buy, Comp USA, MicroCenter, even WalMart.....but
the best value (price + quality) will probably be at NewEgg.com.

WalMart (I'm not familiar with the quality of the name brands on their page)
http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_constraint=0&search_query=ups&ic=24_0

Personally, I'd go with a 38 minute Belkin for $85 at New Egg
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16842101216) or a 100
Minute Belkin for only $106 at NewEgg
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16842121002). They
both offer ethernet/DSL/Cable surge protection as well as power surge
protection (and lightning WILL get your stuff via cable/DSL/ethernet lines
if you aren't protected.

Eevn with the UPS, you still need to set that BIOS to restart your PC in the
event of a power outage. The UPS will protect it from surges, run things
until the battery dies and safe ly shut it down if you aren't there to do it
yourself, but it won't resart your PC - that's the BIOS setting.

For max battery life, use your UPS for your monitor (LCDs use a LOT less
juice than analog monitors) and your PC. This is about protecting your
data. Your printing can wait (and, yes, printers really drain a UPS fast
too).

Good luck to ya!
 
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