The “Socket operation on a non-socket” error means that, for some reason, the Windows TCP-IP stack has been overloaded, and the socket channel (which is used for communicating with the Internet) has been shut down abruptly.
This error may have a lot of causes, which usually require a good network analysis and networking skills in order to be tracked down. But most of the times this is just a temporary error which will be solved simply restarting Windows.
If the error repeats, here are some hints:
- Before launching a mailing close all other programs and processes, expecially those who need internet access
- Temporarily disable your firewall, antivirus and other Internet security programs
- As a test, in order to track down timing problems on the network, configure SendBlaster’s “Send” settings to use just 1 connection and set a pause of 5 seconds between messages (if it works, you will gradually increase speed later)
- Perform a system scan and make sure that no spywares, trojans or other malware are running (they may be silently having Internet access)
- Update drivers for all network gear (modems, routers, USB dongles)
- If you are on a wireless connection, make sure the connection is good and stable
- Apply Windows updates if any are available
- If you are using an Smtp server, check that it is working (you may have to ask your ISP)
- As a last resort, install SendBlaster on another PC connected to the same local network (this way you will be able to check whether the issue is coming from your PC or from the network)
As this is a network-related problem, you may find additional information performing a search on a search engine with “socket operation on a non-socket” keywords.