Alexander: What to do if forwarded e-mail doesn't seem to arrive

Q: I'm on a committee whose members often forward e-mail to each other. But the forwarded e-mails from two members — who both have Gmail accounts — never reach my Comcast account. (I've searched for these e-mails in my inbox and spam folder.) However, I do receive forwarded e-mail from a member who has an MSN e-mail account. How can I fix this?

ELLEN KRAMM, Oak Grove, Minn.

A: Others have reported similar problems with Comcast e-mail, and the cause appears to be the company's spam filter. The filter sometimes intercepts legitimate e-mails and sends them to the spam folder instead of your inbox. After seven days in your spam folder, the e-mails are permanently deleted. This may be why you couldn't locate the missing e-mails in either your inbox or spam folder.

The first step in correcting the problem is to promptly search your spam folder for forwarded messages that you should have received. When you find one of these misplaced e-mails, open it and, at the top of the e-mail next to the world "delete," click the three horizontal lines. In the resulting list, click "not spam."

The forwarded e-mail should then automatically be sent to your inbox. And, if all goes well, future e-mails forwarded from the same sender should be sent to your inbox, not your spam folder.

But if forwarded messages continue to be sent to your spam folder, you can take the second corrective step: Turn off the Comcast spam filter. This might seem a like a bad idea because it will cause more spam to reach your inbox. But it's better than having to comb through your spam folder every day searching for important messages that were misdirected. And, even without the Comcast spam filter, you have other options for blocking spam.

To turn off the Comcast spam filter, click the gear wheel icon at upper right of the e-mail website and choose "e-mail settings." At the left of the screen, click "advanced settings," and under "spam filtering" check the box next to "override security filters."

If you then find that you're getting too much junk mail, try using spam filtering software from another company that can be connected to your Comcast e-mail account (see tinyurl.com/2p8jkxfh). Another option is to get a free e-mail account from a provider that's known for accurate spam filtering, such as Google (Gmail) or Microsoft (Outlook.com).

Q: When I print color pictures, I get white lines across the images. I use an Epson Expression Premium XP-640 printer. How can I correct this?

KARL KNEBL, Colorado Springs, Colo.

A: You probably need to do some maintenance work on your printer.

But first try some of the easier ways to make the white lines disappear: Make sure you correctly loaded paper of the right size. Turn off any "high speed" printer settings. Adjust the "print quality" controls. Make sure that the printer has enough ink.

If those things don't help, you'll need to check for a clog in the ink "nozzles" (see tinyurl.com/ycy5crnc) or clean the "print head" (see tinyurl.com/mr3eyv4s). If those things don't help, check the "print head alignment" (see tinyurl.com/rtpawr6u). As a last resort (because it uses a lot of ink) try "power cleaning" the printer (see tinyurl.com/yckub896).

E-mail tech questions to steve.j.alexander@gmail.com or write to Tech Q&A, 650 3rd Av. S., Suite #1300, Minneapolis, MN 55488. Include name, city and telephone number.