Deleting messages in Outlook Express
I am unable to delete any of my email in any of the folders in Outlook Express. I can send and receive; I am just not able to dele email. I have Microsoft Outlook and I can delete in that program.1 person needs an answerI do too
May 13th, 2010 12:26am

You have some file corruption. Move most of your messages out of the Inbox and move any messages you want to save out of Deleted Items and Sent Items and then close OE. Tools | Options | Maintenance | Store Folder will reveal the location of your Outlook Express files. Write the location down and navigate to it in Windows Explorer or, copy and paste it into Start | Run. 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 Deleted Items.dbx and Sent Items.dbx files and delete them. New files will be created automatically when you open OE. Compact all folders as described below. To help prevent this in the future: Do not archive mail in the Inbox or Sent Items. Create your own user defined folders and move the messages you wish to save to them. Empty Deleted Items folder daily. Although dbx files have a theoretical capacity of 2GB, I recommend about a 300MB max for less chance of corruption. Information about the maximum file size of the .dbx files that are used by Outlook Express: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=903095 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#3Bruce Hagen ~ MS-MVP [Mail]
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May 13th, 2010 12:29am

Thank you. I'll do it and hope for the best. Scott
May 13th, 2010 12:45am

You have some file corruption.Move most of your messages out of the Inbox and move any messages you want to save out of Deleted Items and Sent Items and then close OE.Tools | Options | Maintenance | Store Folder will reveal the location of your Outlook Express files. Write the location down and navigate to it in Windows Explorer or, copy and paste it into Start | Run.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 Deleted Items.dbx and Sent Items.dbx files and delete them. New files will be created automatically when you open OE.Compact all folders as described below.To help prevent this in the future:Do not archive mail in the Inbox or Sent Items. Create your own user defined folders and move the messages you wish to save to them. Empty Deleted Items folder daily. Although dbx files have a theoretical capacity of 2GB, I recommend about a 300MB max for less chance of corruption.Information about the maximum file size of the .dbx files that are used by Outlook Express:http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=903095After 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#3Bruce Hagen ~ MS-MVP [Mail]Excellent solution and worked for me as a novice after struggling for weeks to correct.
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June 26th, 2010 1:23pm

Glad it worked for you. I imagine it did for the OP as well, but he never posted back.Bruce Hagen ~ MS-MVP [Mail]
June 26th, 2010 4:26pm

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