Account Problems

Account Activation Error

MSFT Roopa S — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:47:00 GMT

This solution article provides information to users who are encountering an error while signing up for a new account or activating their inactive account.

Symptoms:

Users might encounter one of these error messages when trying to create a new account or activating their inactive account:

"Account activation error

There was a problem activating your Windows Live Hotmail account. Please try again later."

"Account creation error

There was a problem creating your Windows Live Hotmail account. Please try again later."

What should you do?

This is usually due to temporary issues on the backend. Please try again or wait an hour and try the action again. This should resolve the problem.

If you've experienced this for more than an hour, please click here to create a post in our Accounts and Passwords Forum.

How to optimize Internet Explorer browser

MSFT Roopa S — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 11:49:00 GMT

This solution article provides information to users on how to optimize the Internet Explorer browser to work well with Windows Live Hotmail.

Follow these steps to optimize and reset the default settings for Windows Internet Explorer 6 or 7:

1. In Internet Explorer, click the Tools menu, and then click Internet Options.

2. Follow the steps for your browser:

a) If you have Internet Explorer 6, do the following:

i. On the General tab, click Delete Cookies, and then click OK.

ii. Click Delete Files, select the Delete all offline content check box, and then click OK. It may take several minutes for the files to be deleted.

iii. Click the Advanced tab, and then click Restore Defaults.

b) If you have Internet Explorer 7, do the following:

i. Under Browsing history, click Delete.

ii. In the Delete Browsing History window, click Delete all, and then click Yes. It may take several minutes for the files to be deleted.

iii. Click the Advanced tab, and then click Restore advanced settings.

3. Click the Security tab, click the Internet icon, click Default Level, and then click Apply. Repeat this step for the Restricted and the Trusted zones.

4. Click Trusted Sites, click Sites, and then clear the Require server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone check box.

5. Under Add this Web site to the zone, type *.hotmail.com, and then click Add. Do the same for *.passport.com, *.live.com, and *.msn.com, and then click OK in Internet Explorer 6, or click Close in Internet Explorer 7.

6. Click the Privacy tab, and then click Sites.

7. Under Address of Web site, type *.hotmail.com, and then click Allow. Do the same for *.passport.com, *.live.com, and *.msn.com, and then click OK.

8. Click OK.

To optimize your IE8 browser, follow these steps:

A. Clear cache and delete cookies.

1. Open Internet Explorer.
2. On the Tools menu, click "Internet Options."
3. Under Browsing history, click "Delete...".
4. Put a check mark beside the "Temporary Internet files" and "Cookies" dialog boxes. (Note: You may prefer to put a check mark on the other dialog boxes as well.)
5. Click the "Delete" button.
6. Click "OK."

B. Enable the "Every Visit to the Page" option.

1. Open a new Internet Explorer window.
2. On the Tools menu, click "Internet Options."
3. On the General tab, click "Settings" under the Browsing history.
4. Under Temporary Internet Files, click the "Every time I visit to webpage" option.
5. Click the up arrow on the Disk space to use option for the maximum setting. (Note: Recommended setting: 50-250MB)
6. Click the "OK" button.
7. Click on "OK" again to close the Internet Options window.

C. Verify that Active Scripting, ActiveX, and Java applets are not blocked.

1. Click "Tools" and then click "Internet Options."
2. Click on the "Security" tab.
3. Verify if the slider is set to "Medium-high." If not, click on the "Default Level" button.
4. Click on "Apply" and then "OK."

Notes

# To determine the version of Internet Explorer that you're using, in Internet Explorer, click the Help menu, and then click About Internet Explorer.

# If you're using a browser other than Internet Explorer 6 or Internet Explorer 7 or Internet Explorer 8, see the documentation for that browser for more information about how to optimize your settings.

Error on login: Account Closed Access Denied

MSFT Roopa S — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 11:00:00 GMT

This solution article will provide information for users who are experiencing an error stating that their account has been closed and access has been denied on login.

Symptoms:

Users will experience the following error message when they try to login to their Windows Live Hotmail account:

“Account Closed Access Denied

This account has been closed. Your account has been closed because it seems to have violated our Terms of Use. “

What does the error mean?

Windows Live Hotmail users might encounter the above error message in 2 scenarios:

1. Hotmail uses various anti-spam technologies to identify questionable accounts. If an account sends mail that triggers spam filters on other services or if an account sends a large quantity of undeliverable mail, the account may be closed. We do not notify these users in advance, because this would give spammers the chance to modify their behavior before their accounts are closed.

2. We have received an abuse complaint against your account for sending unsolicited emails and your account has been closed.

What should you do?

Our Abuse team has to validate your account to determine if the account has been closed for a Terms of Use violation or has been closed incorrectly. Please submit a support request here with the following information: complete error message received, your email account and also an alternate email address for them to contact you back.

How do I Reset my Password?

Scott H — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 02:05:00 GMT

When we are asked about resetting passwords, this usually means that you've forgotten your password. But just in case you already know your password, and all you want to do is change it: Here are the instructions: All you need to do in order to change your password is to sign in to https://account.live.com and select the "Change" option next to Password. Or if you want a direct link, you can go directly to the Change Password Page.

But, if you're asking because you have forgotten your password or you believe you know your password, but you keep getting an error... the following information will help walk you through how to reset your password.

Before you try the reset options, you may want to check these following hints (just in case the password is not the issue):
1. Verify the email address is spelled correctly. You may want to check the spelling on the domain name (hotmail.com or live.com) as well. A simple mistyped letter is a big cause in access problems.
2. Check your domain name: new Hotmail accounts are being created under @live.com domain names. If you recently created your account in Hotmail, you may want to try @live.com as the domain to see if this resolves your problem.
3. Check your CAPS Lock on your keyboard when typing in your password. Our passwords are case sensitive and this simple check has been known to resolve access issues.
4. Try typing your password in another window or application (such as Notepad) to ensure that you are typing the correct password.

The above information has been known to resolve a large number of password reset issues, but if this did not solve your issue, then you may need to try the Forgotten Password options.

On any sign in page, you will see the link "Forgot your password?" under the section where you type in your password. In this case, you can go directly to: https://account.live.com/ResetPassword.aspx

1. Type in your account in the Windows Live ID section.
2. Type in the Characters from the picture.
3. Reset your password: (On this page, you might see two options depending on what you provided when you provided your profile):
a. Use my location information and secret answer to verify my identity.
b. Send password reset instructions to me in e-mail.
4. Depending on what you select, you will be provided options to complete step 3.

I do not see an option to provide my Secret Answer, but I know that I provided this in the past. Why can't I see this option now?
A. You might have provided the information in the past, but additional requirements were added to our online reset process that requires the country/region and postal code. If we do not have this information on record on your account, you will not see the option to provide the Secret Answer.

Why am I given the option to send a password reset to my @hotmail or @live.com account when I am unable to access it?
A. This option is available for those that automatically sign in to their @hotmail or @live.com email accounts. If you are able to log in automatically, then we can send a reset e-mail to your account. Another option is for those who can access their Windows Live Messenger can also access their email through their messenger, but have forgotten the password. This option will not work if you are not automatically signing into your account.

Why can't I see the Alternate E-mail in the list?
A. This is a security and privacy option that is there to protect you. You will not see the Alternate E-mail that you provided to us because only you (the real account owner) would know what the alternate e-mail address is that you provided when you created your account.

I tried the Alternate E-mail, but I am still not seeing any e-mail. What now?
A. If this is the case, and you know what your Alternate E-mail address is, you can try the Windows Live ID Validation Page as another alternative. Also provide in the notes to that e-form page that your alternate e-mail address that you believe is the correct address. If we are able to verify this e-mail and note that there is a problem sending to that e-mail, we can send to another e-mail address after further verifying your identity.

The Windows Live ID Validation Page in verifying account ownership:
A. If you've already tried these options, but you still are having issues accessing your account, there is one last alternative to assist you with getting access to your account. The Windows Live ID Validation Page was created to ask key questions about your account (only you would be able to provide to us) when you created or updated your account. The more information you provide to us, the better for our Support Agents to validate your identity. We will not provide you an verification to what answers you have gotten correct or what answers you provided that were incorrect. This is for everyone's security and privacy. We appreciate your understanding in this very sensitive matter. The direct link to the Validation Page is: https://support.live.com/eform.aspx?productKey=wlidvalidation
B. Some key items that will prevent us from assisting in resetting a password would be:
       1. You did not provide accurate information upon creation.
       2. You did not provide any information upon creation.
       3. You are unable to remember any detail on your account.
       4. The information on the account does not match what you have provided.
       5. You did not provide enough information to validate ownership.
              a. Before completing the validation page, you should try to provide as much information before submitting.
              b. Name and email address is never enough for validation purposes.

Please allow up to 24 hours for a response from our support team.

These are the basics of password reset, but to make sure we've covered everything, we want to remind you that you should update your information periodically to ensure that if anything was to go wrong in accessing your account, that we have up to date information to assist you. You can update your account information by accessing: https://account.live.com

We appreciate any feedback on the content of the solution, but we advise you to post feedback only. Do not provide account information in the feedback as this section is only designed for feedback and no interaction options for us. Use the support options above to resolve issues related to a compromised account. If this Solution did not answer your question, you can ask other users your question in the Accounts and Passwords Community.

I forgot my password.

Scott H — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 03:17:00 GMT

If you have forgotten your password, there are a couple of online options available to you to regain access to your account. We hope that the information below will help guide you in understanding how you can resolve your forgotten password issue.

The above information has been known to resolve a large number of password reset issues, but if this did not solve your issue, then you may need to try the Forgotten Password options.

I know my password! I just want to change it!
A. All you need to do in order to change your password is to sign in to https://account.live.com and select the "Change" option next to Password. Or if you want a direct link, you can go directly to the Change Password Page.

Please allow up to 24 hours for a response from our support team.

This is an overview of what you can do when you forget your password, but to make sure we've covered everything, we want to remind you that you should update your information periodically to ensure that if anything was to go wrong in accessing your account, that we have up to date information to assist you. You can update your account information by accessing: https://account.live.com

What to do if you think your account has been stolen.

Scott H — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 02:03:00 GMT

If you suspect that an unauthorized person has used your Windows Live ID to sign into your Windows Live Hotmail acccount, or any other Windows Live service, please read this article for further help.

Many times, an account is compromised because of a malicious website that was provided in an e-mail, Instant Message, or other website that asked you to provide your username and password. If you remember the site or link where this had occurred, please let us know so that we can work to have the site removed as soon as possible.

The important thing to note here is that if you still have access to your account, then you should change your password and other information right away by accessing the following links:
   > Change Your Password
   > Update/Change your Secret Answer
   > Update/Change your alternate e-mail

If you no longer have access to your account, you may want to try the suggestions found on our Password Reset Basics page. This will walk you through some basic password reset items that may assist you in getting access back to your account.

There is also a Windows Live Validation Page that we have set up to attempt to validate ownership of an account in cases where the Password Reset Basic steps do not work. The Windows Live ID Validation Page was created to ask key questions about your account (only you would be able to provide to us) when you created or updated your account. The more information you provide to us, the better for our Support Agents to validate your identity. We will not provide you an verification to what answers you have gotten correct or what answers you provided that were incorrect. This is for everyone's security and privacy. We appreciate your understanding in this very sensitive matter. The direct link to the Validation Page is: https://support.live.com/eform.aspx?productKey=wlidvalidation

Here are some key items that will prevent us from assisting in resetting a password would be:
       1. You did not provide accurate information upon creation.
       2. You did not provide any information upon creation.
       3. You are unable to remember any detail on your account.
       4. The information on the account does not match what you have provided.
       5. You did not provide enough information to validate ownership.
              a. Before completing the validation page, you should try to provide as much information before submitting.
              b. Name and email address is never enough for validation purposes.

Please allow up to 24 hours for a response from our support team. We hope that this information is helpful, and please be sure to let us know of any malicious sites or links you encounter.