Unable to Empty Outlook "Deleted Items" Folder

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Guest

I use Outlook 2000 (SP-3)(9.0.0.6627) on a computer running Windows 2000
Professional. Recently I began having the following problem: In Outlook, when
I attempt to empty the "Deleted Items" folder, I get the error message, "The
message interface has returned an unknown error. If the problem persists,
restart Outlook." and nothering is removed from the Deleted Items folder. I
have rebooted the computer an restarted Outlook many times. I have run the
Outlook Repair Tool, without success. In the mean time, my Deleted Items
folder is getting bigger and bigger. How can I fix the problem, empty the
folder, and prevent it from happening again?
 
Sandy said:
I use Outlook 2000 (SP-3)(9.0.0.6627) on a computer running Windows
2000 Professional. Recently I began having the following problem: In
Outlook, when I attempt to empty the "Deleted Items" folder, I get
the error message, "The message interface has returned an unknown
error. If the problem persists, restart Outlook." and nothering is
removed from the Deleted Items folder. I have rebooted the computer
an restarted Outlook many times. I have run the Outlook Repair Tool,
without success. In the mean time, my Deleted Items folder is getting
bigger and bigger. How can I fix the problem, empty the folder, and
prevent it from happening again?
Click to expand...

Try this. Select a number of messages in the Deleted Items folder, hold the
Shift key and press Delete. Do they go away?

One thing that will ALWAYS work is the creation of a new PST and the moving
of everything BUT the Deleted Items folder to the new PST, afterward making
it your delivery location.
 
I had already tried the Shift+Delete method, and it works with the most
recently deleted emails. But I always reach a certain point on the list (the
same email every time) where I again get the "The messaging interface has
returned an unknown error" error message. And I get that same error message
if I try to remove any of the items dated earlier than that email.

....... Sandy
 
Sandy said:
I had already tried the Shift+Delete method, and it works with the
most recently deleted emails. But I always reach a certain point on
the list (the same email every time) where I again get the "The
messaging interface has returned an unknown error" error message. And
I get that same error message if I try to remove any of the items
dated earlier than that email.
Click to expand...

What mode is your OL 2000 in? See the second line in Help>About. You
should see Internet Mail Only (IMO) or Corporate/Workgroup mode.
 
I'm having the same problem in OL2003

Brian Tillman said:
What mode is your OL 2000 in? See the second line in Help>About. You
should see Internet Mail Only (IMO) or Corporate/Workgroup mode.
Click to expand...
 
Brian,

Thanks for your efforts.

The second line of Help>About reads: Internet Mail Only - Security Update.
 
Sandy said:
The second line of Help>About reads: Internet Mail Only - Security
Update.
Click to expand...

OK, then. Here's what I'd do if I were in your shoes. I'd create a new PST
with File>New>Personal Folders File. I'd then make that PST my delivery
location by delecting it and clicking File>Properties. There's an option
there to select the PSt as the delivery location. I'd then stop and restart
Outlook and data to the new PST. For the non-default folders, right-click
each folder and choose Copy. Specify the new PST as the destination. For
the default folders, open each in turn, select all the content with CTRL-A
(for the Calendar, a list view like By Category will need to be chosen),
then click Edit>Copy to Folder, specifying the corresponding new default
folder as the destination. Naturally, I'd skip the Deleted Items folder,
since that's the one with the problem and that stuff's for deletion anyway.
I'd then close the old PST with a right-click>Close and then stop and
restart Outlook.
 
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