[RESOLVED] mail() function timing out

tibby

I am using extremely simple code to test out the mail() function on my computer. I have use IIS 5.1 and PHP 4.3.11 in order play around with PHP and get to know it a little.
For some reason, the operation is timing out (after about 2 minutes) giving this error:
CGI Timeout
The specified CGI application exceeded the allowed time for processing. The server has deleted the process.

The basic code I'm using is:

mail("address@domain.com", "Subject here", "Main message");

No headers, just the address to mail it to (obviously, a valid email address of my own), a subject and the message.

I have tried searching, but even the almighty Google is failing me on this one. Any ideas on what on earth is going on here?

gufmn

What do you expect to send the mail for you? You need to specify an smtp host in your php.ini. Or, just do the smart thing and move to a *nix host with sendmail 😛

tibby

Aaah... thanks for being so patient. I'm fairly clueless when it comes to working with servers.
I would set it up with nix but I've got my PC set up as a local server and it all boils down to the games I play - they all require XP. Bleh.
Out of interest - how easy would it be to set up a local server using nix on a personal computer?
Also, would the code I have work immediately if I uploaded the relevant pages to a server running Apache?
Thanks very much for your time.

gufmn

tibby wrote:
Out of interest - how easy would it be to set up a local server using *nix on a personal computer?

Depends on who's setting it up and which version is being installed.

tibby wrote:
Also, would the code I have work immediately if I uploaded the relevant pages to a server running Apache?

More than likely, yes. Assuming the host has sendmail running which the vast majority do.

tibby

I've only had experience with Mandrake and Knoppix, and very little experience at that, so perhaps I'll wait until I know a little more about things before I start trying to set up servers and all that wierd and funky stuff.
Many thanks for pointing me in the right direction.