My setup has worked fine for ages until yesterday. Whenever I hit the "Send"
button on a new message or reply I get the error message: "The messaging
interface has returned an unknown error. If the problem persists, start
Outlook again." Obviously, I have restarted Outlook. And the computer. I have
Googled this for hours, including numerous MSKB articles. I have done the
"Help... Detect and repair" thing. I have done the scanpst thing. I have
emptied my deleted items folder. I have compacted my .ost folder. I can't
think of anything I did at the time to cause a problem, although I did change
some account settings. But I have re-checked them and they appear OK, and
sending test messages from the account settings windows works.

I am running Windows XP SP2 and Office 2003. I am connected (via Internet)
to SBS 2003. Windows and Office are fully up to date. I have tried disabling
add-ins. I am about at my wit's end.

You can safely delete your .ost file while Outlook is closed. It will
recreate again. With Outlook closed, rename the following files: outcmd.dat,
formcache.dat, and any .SRS file(s). Open Outlook to see if the issue is
resolved.
If that doesn't work, another option is to recreate your Outlook profile:

http://www.howto-outlook.com/faq/newprofile.htm

If that doesn't help, please look for any error numbers. Also please check
your application event viewer for any Office errors. If there are any, please
post the eventID and source.

--
Kathleen Orland
Outlook Tips: http://www.outlook-tips.net/
http://www.howto-outlook.com/



"Jim McGarvie" wrote:

> My setup has worked fine for ages until yesterday. Whenever I hit the "Send"
> button on a new message or reply I get the error message: "The messaging
> interface has returned an unknown error. If the problem persists, start
> Outlook again." Obviously, I have restarted Outlook. And the computer. I have
> Googled this for hours, including numerous MSKB articles. I have done the
> "Help... Detect and repair" thing. I have done the scanpst thing. I have
> emptied my deleted items folder. I have compacted my .ost folder. I can't
> think of anything I did at the time to cause a problem, although I did change
> some account settings. But I have re-checked them and they appear OK, and
> sending test messages from the account settings windows works.
>
> I am running Windows XP SP2 and Office 2003. I am connected (via Internet)
> to SBS 2003. Windows and Office are fully up to date. I have tried disabling
> add-ins. I am about at my wit's end.
>

Deleting the .ost file and renaming the other files did the job, Kathleen. I
didn't have to go beyond that. Thanks so much for the rapid and effective
reply!

Best,

Jim

"K. Orland" wrote:

> You can safely delete your .ost file while Outlook is closed. It will
> recreate again. With Outlook closed, rename the following files: outcmd.dat,
> formcache.dat, and any .SRS file(s). Open Outlook to see if the issue is
> resolved.
> If that doesn't work, another option is to recreate your Outlook profile:
>
> http://www.howto-outlook.com/faq/newprofile.htm
>
> If that doesn't help, please look for any error numbers. Also please check
> your application event viewer for any Office errors. If there are any, please
> post the eventID and source.
>
> --
> Kathleen Orland
> Outlook Tips: http://www.outlook-tips.net/
> http://www.howto-outlook.com/
>
>
>
> "Jim McGarvie" wrote:
>
> > My setup has worked fine for ages until yesterday. Whenever I hit the "Send"
> > button on a new message or reply I get the error message: "The messaging
> > interface has returned an unknown error. If the problem persists, start
> > Outlook again." Obviously, I have restarted Outlook. And the computer. I have
> > Googled this for hours, including numerous MSKB articles. I have done the
> > "Help... Detect and repair" thing. I have done the scanpst thing. I have
> > emptied my deleted items folder. I have compacted my .ost folder. I can't
> > think of anything I did at the time to cause a problem, although I did change
> > some account settings. But I have re-checked them and they appear OK, and
> > sending test messages from the account settings windows works.
> >
> > I am running Windows XP SP2 and Office 2003. I am connected (via Internet)
> > to SBS 2003. Windows and Office are fully up to date. I have tried disabling
> > add-ins. I am about at my wit's end.
> >