Express takes over default from Office Outlook

  • Thread starter Thread starter Chris
  • Start date Start date
C

Chris

I purchased Office 2003 (Student and Teacher ed.) and
installed it. I want to use Outlook for email, not
Outlook Express. When I start Outlook it asks if I want
it to be the default email program and I say yes, but
Express seems to take over sometimes. For example, when
I click on an email link in Word or Excel, the new
message opens in Express.

I've tried
1. going in Outlook to Tools>Options>Other and
checking the box to make Outlook the default mail
program. The box stays checked, but Express still takes
over.
2. Control Panels>Add or Remove Programs>Add or Remove
Windows Components and removing Express.

3. Control Panels>Add or Remove Programs>Set Program
Access and Defaults and selected "my email program" as
default.

4. Control Panel>Internet Options>Programs and selected
Microsoft Office Outlook as default program, then OK, but
when I shutdown the computer, it returns to Express.

None of this works. Any suggestions? Thanks.
 
This issue of Microsoft Outlook Express taking over the default mail program to use can happen when you repair Microsoft Internet Explorer. I have not seen the issue occur in any other way. Especially not by just rebooting. All I can think of is that upon boot there must be a "repair IE" going on in the background. Check your start up scripts. See if there is any call to iexplore.exe in them or iesetup.
 
A quick fix is to rename "msimn.exe" to something like "oldmsimn.exe" (c:/programs/outlook express/..) this will prevent outlook express from loading. (Delete the shortcut from the startup folder as well)

You may then get the option to open with another program and a tick box to do so everytime.

Undo is easy if it fails.

HTH
8055
 
You know there is something you should be aware of. I am not sure if renaming msimn.exe will be what you want. It may and if it solves the problem there you go a "solution." But when Windows boots there is a call to your address book and as far as I know msimn.exe is necessary in this call.
 
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