Really uninstalling Outlook Express 6

[Dr. Dos]

Win XP Pro SP2 with all updates.
Outlook Express is NOT an installed program on this machine, however:
When an e-mail address hyperlink is inadvertently clicked in a word
processor, Outlook Express 6 starts!!! (this is connected to some
"mailto" function and msimn.exe. I cannot remove it with add/remove
windows components because it is not installed. I do not want it
installed nor running.

I've stripped it out of the registry and deleted it from program files
|outlook express, yet it persists (although "wounded," i. e., IExplorer
starts in many iterations (maybe 15-25 IE screens and icons in the
programs running bar Can some some one suggest how to get rid of it?

My mail client and browser are Mozilla, and I have no use for Outlook
Express. This phenomena started after "an (who knows which)" automatic
update from Win XP (as far as I can recall."

Thanks.

 

[Mark Dormer]

All you need to do is go into Internet Options and on the Programs tab
select Mozilla or whatever as your email program.
Then anytime a link is clicked it would open that program and not OE.

Sometimes the defaults get reset, but it is trivial to fix the setting.
Ripping out pieces of the OS seem a little drastic.

Regards
Mark Dormer

 

[Dr. Dos]

All you need to do is go into Internet Options and on the Programs tab
select Mozilla or whatever as your email program.
Then anytime a link is clicked it would open that program and not OE.

Sometimes the defaults get reset, but it is trivial to fix the setting.
Ripping out pieces of the OS seem a little drastic.

Regards
Mark Dormer

I checked in IE about the program settings as you suggested. "Mozilla
Mail" is the selected preference for E-mail, but this still does not
stop OE6 from starting when an e-mail hyperlink is clicked in my word
processor. While drastic, if I did not install Outlook Express on this
machine and do not want it on my machine, how do I get rid of it (in the
alternative, of course is just to stop this behavior)?

 

[lvee]

I may be wrong, but I believe it's an inherent part of Internet Explorer, so
you didn't necessarily install it as a stand alone product, but a by-pass of
I.E. You can alternately disable it from access via 'Set Programs Access
and Defaults' which can also be found on the Add/Remove Programs applet. I
do wonder, though, why it's not listed in Add/Remove Windows Components..I
can see why it's not in Add/Remove Programs, but not Components.
Here is a link to an M$ article that gives instructions on removing it,
although, I don't think you can remove it and keep it removed. I think that
it's one of those things that you can disable, but not remove without
impairing the integrity of your operating system.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/263837

And this..basically the same thing,
http://people.cornell.edu/pages/drb1/Windows/OutLookExpress/OutLookExpress.htm