Outlook Express 6 Problem - Help!

[ospreylinks]

I have been using Outlook Express 6 as my email client for a couple of years with absolutely no problems.

Had it on all day yesterday with no problem. Shut off my laptop at work and took it home. Later in the evening went to check emails and Outlook Express will not load. It goes to the opening screen and then just hangs with the hard drive running and running....

When I do the "cntrl + alt + delete" thing it says that Msimm is not responding.

I did a complete virus check, (using an updated Norton scan), defraged my C drive and even reloaded IE6 (that includes Outlook Express) with absolute no correction to the problem.

Anyone know how I might solve this problem.

I have an old version of Outlook on my machine that I configured to use as my Email Client until I get this solved, but it is the 97 version).

Jeff

PS - I am using Win98SE as my operating system... I know I know, I should update!

[shoplineca]

Jeff
You are right. Tou have to update your operating system.
It is getting impossible to update one Microsoft system without updating all others. If your OS is a couple of years old, there are too many features in the new IE and other software programs to operate efficiently and you may end up getting some conflicts.

I suspect that it is an incompatibility problem with the new IE and old OS.

Braydon and I each have 3 different OS sytems loaded to choose when re-booting from but our other computers are all on XP only having just changed the last one over last Friday for my daughter.

Malcolm

[shoplineca]

PS Win98? Holy Carp,I havent used that OS in, well 3 or 4 years.

You need to update Jeff!

Malcolm

[ospreylinks]

Ya Ya Ya..... I know I know.....

But in the interium, you laughter in the background is not solving my problem.....

Jeff

[auctiondropnship]

You know there is a file that all you emails sits in

Pull those files

Then remove the program, readd the program . The place those files back

When you reopen outlook express they are sitting in the same places

Todd

[auctiondropnship]

You know there is a file that all you emails sits in

Pull those files

Then remove the program, readd the program . The place those files back

When you reopen outlook express they are sitting in the same places

Todd

[ospreylinks]

Okay, I removed all of the files, tried it and no luck.

I removed all of the files, reinstalled and again no luck.

Jeff

[muminlaw]

I can't help ... I'm also running Win 98SE with IE 6 - if I remember correctly, IE 6 is the browser that CAME with Win 98SE so there certainly shouldn't be a conflict. Are you saying that IE6 is the most recent version of IE? I find it hard to believe that Bill Gates would let any program live that long!

Anyhow Jeff, every once in awhile my OE6 hangs up on me and I get the same Msimm message as you. MS did say they would support Win98 until the middle of 2005, but you have to go to the site now and check manually for updates. Have you done that?

I usually use Mozilla as a browser but still use OE for email -- sounds like I'd better be prepared with all my email addies in Mozilla in case I have to switch for email as well.

Glenda

[auctiondropnship]

did you place the files back into there location

[ospreylinks]

Yes, What is really strange is that I moved all of the files from the Outlook Express folder just to a slush folder to hold on to them.

So the Outlook Express folder is empty.... I then reinstalled Outlook Express and files are restored in the Outlook Express folder, but when I check on a file such as my address book, all of my addresses are intact, although I have not moved them back from the slush folder that I was holding them in....

So somehow, when I think I am removing the files for a reinstall, it is reinstalling the original files but I don't know from where?

Also, after emptying the Outlook Express folder and clicking on the IE6 update, (and then clicking on custom load so I only download the Outlook Express files) the update tells me there is no need to do an download, because all of my files are up to date. however I have supposidly emptied all of the files from the Outlook Express folder.

I looked in other folders such as Internet Explorer to see if I could see some files that might give me a clue, but no luck......

The Msimn file that seems to be giving me a problem is in the Outlook Express folder....

HELP!!!!!


Jeff

[auctiondropnship]

Do a scan for the folders remove the new ones ...replace it for the old ones

[ospreylinks]

No luck.... it places folders such as inbox, etc in the Windows shared folder, other parts of the program are spread throughout the hard-drive....

I have backed up the various folders and address books that I have, but they are useless as if I reload them, they are not recognized....

Program still will not start....

Arghhhh.....

Jeff

[laplaya29]

I am watching this thread because my Outlook did the same thing 6 months ago. I have the same operating system. My work around was to subscribe to the MSN Mail, and use their browser and e-mail program. I now save all my e-mails in folders in My Documents. Its a bit of work draging and dropping the e-mails and replies to folders in My Documents, but I lost way too much stuff in Outlook when it would not open anymore. MSN automatically backs up your calendar and your address book etc onto their server so you can retrieve it from any computer through Hotmail. That was my solution to the Outlook not opening problem.
Bill.

[laplaya29]

I heard it is not good advice to install newer versions of operating systems over older versions so thats why I am still stuck in the windows 98 time warp. When I buy a new computer, I will get the newest and greatest and latest whatevers at that time.
Bill.

[llee2]

Bill,

If you do upgrade your OS, I would suggest you skip ME. It's notoriously unstable compared to the others. You're better off using 98 than you would be to "upgrade" to ME. Go straight to XP should you decide to upgrade. I upgraded several systems from 98 to XP without any major problems. In fact, 4 systems had ME originally and I reinstalled 98 back on them because ME was such garbage.

[ospreylinks]

Okay, I got it fixed...... here you go.....

As Todd had suggested earlier, it did have to do with a possible problem folder file. Thanks Todd.

I transferred all of the folder files just to a blank folder (if you do a find file and look up *.dbx you can find all of the various folders (inbox, outbox, etc)) and this left the folder that normally holds all of the mailbox files empty.

I then loaded Outlook Express (and this time it did not hang up) and what it does is re-establish all of the .dbx folders required (ie outbox, inbox, deleted etc) and of course they are all empty.... so the problem was probably due to the file size of the directory that contained all of my various mailboxes.....

Now I went to Options and click on the Maintenance Tab and you can redefine what file or folder is used to store mailboxes and information. I changed this to the directory that I had moved all of my old .dbx files to and it loaded and all of my old mailboxes were intact.

Plus after leaving the information as is as to where I now store incoming mail, etc, it still starts as it should.

Just some quirk..... but frustrating.....

So Bill (post #12) if you can't make heads or tails over how I explained how I made the fix, email me and I will try to walk you through it in a more explicit fashion.

Jeff

PS - Thanks to all who sent a suggestion.

[ospreylinks]

I looked at upgrading to XP, but the machine I actually work on is an older Dell Latitude Laptop, PII....

I use a local private tech guy to do my computer fixes (that are beyond my scope) and I was asking him about installing XP on my old PII machine, and he said it would run, but the machine really didn't have the horsepower to make it run properly....

I just bought my daughter a refurbished Dell PIII that came off lease (Dell Financial CA has a deal going until September 10th that refurbished laptops are 20% which means you can get a PIII Latitude, 10 Gig HD, 256 RAM for about $550 with carrying case) and installed XP on it.

It obviously runs faster and smoother than my old Win98SE system, so maybe I will take the plunge as well and buy one of these machines as well and make the migration.... (however I hate loading a new machine, it takes so much time to move files and programs that you use on one machine and transfer them to another...)


Jeff

[muminlaw]

Thanks for that info on the Dell refurbished computers -- I just might choose now to upgrade mine as well. I don't think we got a Dell flyer this weekend - that's got to be a first! For that kind of a price one could afford to add extra RAM and maybe an external drive for extra storage space ... hmmmmmmmm

Glenda

[auctiondropnship]

Who's the Man .....come on who is the man.....doing a little happy dance

[muminlaw]

Thanks for the link Jeff ... I had a quick look and I'm sorely tempted! We're leaving in a few days for a couple of weeks in Alberta and it's hard to concentrate on anything else right now -- ain't it always the way? Everything comes at once!

It's another working trip but we hope to get a round or two of golf in while we're on the road -- we'd suffer severe withdrawal otherwise. Sounds like we might have to bring our own golfing weather tho'!!

John (DH) is SO proud of himself -- he went around in UNDER bogey golf on Monday -- the best I've done is bogey and a half! Oh well ... we're still having fun and don't actually care all that much what we score, and we don't compete with each other - only try to better our last scores.

Glenda