# Solved: Outlook Express 6



## whippet85 (Mar 26, 2010)

Using Windows 2000 Pro. When I click on the Outlook Express icon, it takes 2 or 3 minutes before it opens. Once it opens, all works well. I have Googled for possible solutions. I have tried all the suggested solutions to no avail. This problem just started several days ago. Suggestions appreciated.


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## bicycle bill (Jul 11, 2003)

See if this applies to you. If you are comfortable going into the Registry. Fixed the problem for me.

Sometimes removing or disabling Windows (or MSN) Messenger causes OE to open slowly. This will be shown by an entry in the system error log: 

The server {FB7199AB-79BF-11D2-8D94-0000F875C541} did not register with DCOM within the required timeout. 

To fix this, open Regedit and navigate to this key:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
\CLSID
\{FB7199AB-79BF-11d2-8D94-0000F875C541}
\InProcServer32

In the right-hand pane, double-click on the (Default) value and delete whatever is entered there, leaving it blank. Click OK. Now perform exactly the same step with the key directly underneath, namely

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
\CLSID
\{FB7199AB-79BF-11d2-8D94-0000F875C541}
\LocalServer32

Once both (Default) values are empty, OE will open normally


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## whippet85 (Mar 26, 2010)

Thanks. That is one of the suggestions which I had previously tried. The registry items that are listed do not appear in my registry, so I assume from that that Messenger is not trying to load. I would appreciate any other suggestion.


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## EAFiedler (Apr 25, 2000)

Hi *whippet85*

Is your Inbox full?
If so, move messages, you want to keep, to folders of *your own creation* in Outlook Express.
Empty the Inbox completely and then compact the Inbox:
With the Inbox open:
File > Folder > *Compact*
****If by chance you should hit the *Compact All Folders* command instead, leave it be, walk away from the computer and allow the process to finish. Depending on the size of your message store, it may take minutes or hours. Interrupting the process could result in a loss of messages.​
Check this area, as well.
*Tools > Options > Maintenance tab*, 
If present, remove the check mark for *Compact messages in the background.*
Click Apply. 
Always check for this when creating a new Identity as allowing this process to run in the background can lead to corruption of your messages.

Close and restart Outlook Express to see if that makes a difference.

Let us know what happens.


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## whippet85 (Mar 26, 2010)

Thanks again, but this did not solve the problem either. It still takes 2 minutes to open.


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## EAFiedler (Apr 25, 2000)

Have you tried creating a new Identity in Outlook Express to see if the same behavior occurs?

If you open Task Manager before starting Outlook Express, does the *msimn.exe* process take a while to load, as well?


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## whippet85 (Mar 26, 2010)

I started Task Manager before starting Outlook Express. msimn.exe loaded immediately, but Outlook Express still took 2 minutes to open.

I already have 2 identities. When switching from one identity to the other, it takes 2 minutes to make the switch. I hesitate creating another identity.


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## EAFiedler (Apr 25, 2000)

If you make the second Identity the Default Identity using:
File > Identities > Manage
and selecting the second Identity using the drop down arrow.
Click: *Close*
Then close and restart Outlook Express, does having Outlook Express load the second Identity, as the default, make a difference?

Have you installed a different anti-virus/anti-spam software recently?
Had any updates to the software?
Notice any other processes starting when you start Outlook Express?

Do you have a lot of messages in your original Identity?
Are you using the default folders such as the Inbox, Sent Items, Drafts, Deleted Items or the Outbox as storage?


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## whippet85 (Mar 26, 2010)

Switching identities as suggested makes no difference.

This problem started after I deleted a few programs I hardly used and some personal files that I no longer needed. After doing that I did a defrag. I did a thorough check with my anti-virus Avast and ran a spyware check with Malwarebytes and superAntispyware. I then ran CCleaner. I am suspecting that it is the latter thing that may have caused the problem. I may have deleted something that is now causing a problem. I have run CCleaner in the past, however, and have not had a problem.


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## EAFiedler (Apr 25, 2000)

Does CCleaner happen to have a backup of the items removed?

Do you have a lot of messages in your original Identity?
Are you using the default folders such as the Inbox, Sent Items, Drafts, Deleted Items or the Outbox as storage?
If the above is true, move those messages into folders of your own creation in Outlook Express.

Run the steps shown in this link:
*Signs and Symptoms of DBX Corruption*
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/IE/community/columns/filecorruption.mspx#EKE

If the above steps do not improve the performance of Outlook Express, please create a third Identity and test Outlook Express with the third Identity as the Default Identity.
If the third Identity works as it should messages from one or both of the previous Identities can be Imported into the new Identity and the original Identities can be removed, after ensuring all messages have been retrieved.


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## whippet85 (Mar 26, 2010)

CCleaner does not have a restore.

I created a new identity and made it the default. OE still takes 2 or more minutes to load. I went through all folders in both original identities to see if there were any e-mails that needed to be kept. I deleted all e-mails that I felt were no longer needed. I then created new folders on the desktop and moved all the e-mails from both identities in OE to the folders on the desktop. If I ever need to refer to any of these e-mails, I can access them from the desktop. I am considering exporting my 2 address books to the desktop as .WAB files. I would then delete all the .dbx files for the 3 identities, and then create 2 new identities to replace the 2 that I normally use. Is this a viable solution? I have gone this far, so it should not take much more time to do this. I have spent 3 or 4 days working on this already, so another day isn't much. Your thoughts?


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## Ed999 (Aug 19, 2008)

"Outlook Express still took 2 minutes to open"

For a complaint of 'OE very slow when starting', I typically recommend this page:

http://www.insideoe.com/problems/performance.htm

Incidentally, there are a lot of extremely useful tools on that site for fixing a wide range of Outlook Express faults:

http://www.insideoe.com/resources/tools.htm


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## EAFiedler (Apr 25, 2000)

EAFiedler said:


> Does CCleaner happen to have a backup of the items removed?
> 
> Run the steps shown in this link:
> *Signs and Symptoms of DBX Corruption*
> http://www.microsoft.com/windows/IE/community/columns/filecorruption.mspx#EKE


Did you follow the steps in the link I posted earlier? 

Going back to your first post, you stated that you tried all the suggestions solutions.
What steps did you try?

With the third Identity exhibiting the same symptoms as the first two Identities, it seems you would not be making any progress creating two additional Identities. This is assuming that the *third* Identity was made the *Default Identity* and Outlook Express is loading the third Identity when it is started. Can you clarify that?
It would definitely be a good idea to copy the entire Message Stores of the first two Identities to a backup folder.
Each Identity's Message Store should be placed in its own folder, separate from each other.

You may need to reinstall Outlook Express.
What version of Internet Explorer is currently installed?

When you used CCleaner, did it ask you if you would like to make a backup before it did it's cleaning?
If it did, there is supposed to be a .reg file placed in your My Documents folder.


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## whippet85 (Mar 26, 2010)

I will attempt to answer all your questions. CCleaner, unfortunately, does not have a restore. My OS is Windows 2000 Pro and I'm using Internet Explorer 6 and Outlook Express 6. I have followed every step in the reference article http://www.microsoft.com/windows/IE/community/columns/filecorruption.mspx. After saving all the e-mails that I needed to a folder on my desktop, I found the Store Folder for each of the 3 Identities and deleted all the .dbx files for all the folders including the Folders.dbx folder. I did each Identity separately. Closing down OE after each Identity change. When starting OE after each change, it still took 2 minutes for OE to open. I now have 3 Identities with newly created folders, and the problem still exists. If the only remaining option is to reinstall Outlook Express, I can live with the problem. I would have to install Internet Explorer 6 also, since Outlook Express is bundled with it. The computer on which this problem exists is my desktop computer. I rarely use this computer. I have a laptop computer on which I do all my e-mailing. I use the desktop computer mainly when I need to scan something to be e-mailed. If I reinstalled Internet Explorer 6, would it install over the present installation, and would it preserve all my present settings and favorites?

Just as a side note, I read that Internet Explorer 6 is subject to safety issues, so I use Firefox as my default browser on the desktop. I cannot upgrade to Internet Explorer 8 with Windows 2000 or I would use it. I like Internet Explorer better than Firefox. On my laptop I have Vista Home Premium and Internet Explorer 8.


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## Ed999 (Aug 19, 2008)

The cause may be a missing or corrupt "Imagehlp.dll" in C:\Windows\System. Without this file OE will be very slow to open, although usually nothing else is affected.

Another cause of slow starts is opening OE at its home page, rather than the Inbox, because that page is a HTML file so is usually slower to display than the Inbox is.

Removing, or disabling, Windows (or MSN) Messenger also causes OE to open slowly.

Missing or corrupt settings or files for the Protected Storage Service, a Windows service that allows you to save passwords for your Identities, also causes OE to open slowly. You might need to replace the Protected Storage files.


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## EAFiedler (Apr 25, 2000)

I second *Ed999's* suggestion to check the Imagehlp.dll file and the other items.

There is a way to reinstall only Outlook Express bypassing the reinstall of Internet Explorer.
What version of Internet Explorer 6.0 are you using?
Help > About Internet Explorer will give you the build number.

Unfortunately, I do not have Windows 2000 to test. The steps which _were_ given in a Microsoft Knowledge base article have been changed to include only Internet Explorer 7 & 8. 

As another test, you could also try creating a new Windows 2000 *user account* to see if Outlook Express works correctly in that account.


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## whippet85 (Mar 26, 2010)

Thanks to all that offered suggestions and possible solutions to my problem. As noted on all previous posts none of the suggestions solved the problem. My solution to the problem was to upgrade from Windows 2000 to XP. I have wanted to do this for quite some time and this was the time. My desktop computer is now updated and operational. Thanks again to all.


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## whippet85 (Mar 26, 2010)

whippet85 said:


> Using Windows 2000 Pro. When I click on the Outlook Express icon, it takes 2 or 3 minutes before it opens. Once it opens, all works well. I have Googled for possible solutions. I have tried all the suggested solutions to no avail. This problem just started several days ago. Suggestions appreciated.


I failed to say in my last message that I uninstalled Outlook Express the reinstalled it to no avail. since this did not solve the problem, I upgraded my computer from Windows 2000 to XP.


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