OE Hangs

[Ladycarpenter]

I have had my Windows XP for several years and had no problems until
this last ice storm. I cannot open Outlook Express. When I try to
open it it totally hangs. Everything else is still working
perfectly. Our power would come on and off but I am on a surge
protector. OE tries to open and just hangs and stays at the same
point. What can I do???????????????????
HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Bruce Hagen]

Start here.

When OE crashes or won't start:
http://www.insideoe.com/problems/errors.htm#crash

Outlook Express General Newsgroup:
news://msnews.microsoft.com/microsoft.public.outlookexpress.general

 

[Ladycarpenter]

Thank you so much. I don't have it totally fixed, but somehow found a
way around it. The problem is in 3 emails and I tried to repair them,
but didn't but in the process was downloading a newsgroup and it let
me get around the bad emails, download new ones. As long as I don't
click on those 3 bad mails it works.

 

[Bruce Hagen]

Where are those 3 emails located? If, for instance, they are in the Inbox,
create a new folder and move all the other messages to it and then delete
the Inbox.dbx file with OE closed and a new, fresh Inbox will be waiting for
you when you open OE.

Tools | Options | Maintenance | Store Folder will reveal the location of
your Outlook Express files. Press the Tab key to highlight the folder
location, then Ctrl+C. Close OE, then Start | Run | Ctrl+V will put the
location in the box - Click OK and you'll see the OE files. Otherwise, write
the location down and navigate to it in Windows Explorer.

In WinXP, Win2K & Win2K3, the OE user files (DBX and WAB) are by default
marked as hidden. To view these files in Windows Explorer, you must enable
Show Hidden Files and Folders under Start | Control Panel | Folder Options
Icon | View, or in Windows Explorer | Tools | Folder Options | View.

With OE closed, find the DBX file for the folder in question {?????.dbx} and
delete it. A new one will be created automatically when you open OE.

General precautions for Outlook Express:

Do not archive mail in default OE folders. They will eventually become
corrupt. Create your own user defined folders for storing mail and move your
mail to them. Empty Deleted Items folder regularly. Keep user created
folders under 100MB, and Default folders as empty as is feasible.

After you are done, follow up by compacting your folders manually while
working *offline* and do it often.

Click on Outlook Express at the top of the folder tree so no folders are
open. Then: File | Work Offline (or double click Working Online in the
Status Bar). File | Folder | Compact all folders. Don't touch anything until
the compacting is completed.

Turn off e-mail scanning in your anti-virus program. It is a redundant layer
of protection that eats up CPUs and causes a multitude of problems such as
time-outs and account setting changes. Your up-to-date A/V program will
continue to protect you sufficiently. For more, see:
http://www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#3

In Tools | Options | Maintenance: Uncheck Compact messages in background and
leave it unchecked. {N/A if running XP/SP2}.

And backup often.

Outlook Express Quick Backup (OEQB):
http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx