# Outlook Express email stuck in outbox but it sent



## mmbc_voltron

I have been sending mail to people and they have been recieving it. 
But i get an error when it does the send and recieve but there is no detail in the error.
All my email are in the outbox. Nothing in the sent box. Every time i send an email it resends all the mail that is the outbox from previous messages. I have to manually delete every email that i send from the outbox. So i have no record in the sent box unless i move it to the folder.
Anyone know what would cause the mail to be sent sucessfully but still hang in the outbox?
I tried deleting the email account and recreate it. no lcuk


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## kilowatt1

Open outlook express. Click on tools/options/send tab. Make sure that the "send messages immediately" box is checked. The "save copy in sents items folder" should also be checked. If they already have checkmarks beside them, uncheck each one, click apply then close out of OE and reboot the computer. Finally, go back into OE and recheck the boxes, apply, then reboot again.


Good luck.


Kilowatt


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## mmbc_voltron

Nope didn't work.


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## EAFiedler

Hi *mmbc_voltron*

Empty the Outbox in Outlook Express, move any messages you want to Send later to the Drafts folder.

Close Outlook Express.
Do a Search for *.dbx* files.
*Search*:

Start > Search > For Files or Folders > All files and folders,
In the field for: *all or part of the file name*
Key in:
.dbx
Below that, click on *More advanced options* 
in the field: *Type of File*, select (All Files and Folders)
place a checkmark in: 
Search system folders
Search hidden files and folders
Search subfolders
click *Search*

Locate the *Outbox.dbx* file and delete it.
Restart Outlook Express, a new Outbox.dbx file will be created.
Send yourself a Test message to see if it leaves the Outbox.

You may need to enable *Show Hidden Files and Folders* to see the .dbx files.
*Windows XP*:

Open My Computer,
Tools > Folder Options > View tab,
under Hidden Files and Folders, verify *Show Hidden Files and Folders* is selected.
Remove the check mark for *Hide Extensions for known file types*.
*Apply, OK* to save and close.

Let us know if that works for you or not.


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## misssoprano

wow fixed it.. all just the dbx file.. THANKS HEAPS.. ive joined up now, this seems to be a great site.

what is wrong with the dbx file that stops the mail from sending?????


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## EAFiedler

Hi *misssoprano*

Welcome to Tech Support Guy Forums!

Why it wouldn't work? The .dbx file was probably corrupted.
Renaming it to Outbox.old would work as well.
When Outlook Express starts, it looks for its default .dbx files, if it does not see them, it creates new ones.
Compacting your folders in Outlook Express helps remove the wasted space that accumulates when you move and delete messages from the folders.

Open Outlook Express
File > Work Offline
Click on the *Local Folders* folder
File > Folder > Compact All Folders
Walk away from the computer until the process is complete.
Avoid starting this process if the possibility of a power outage is imminent such as a thunderstorm in progress.

Should the compaction process ever be interrupted, restart it before accessing any folders and allow it to finish.

Glad we could be of help.


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## armenk

I tried deleting all files with outbox.dbx and worked for one test email and then went to being stuck. I have exactly the same symptoms as the original writer of this message.


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## EAFiedler

Hi *armenk*

Welcome to Tech Support Guy Forums!

Are you using Outlook Express or Microsoft Outlook?


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## ZOOM123

Hey, I'm new to these forums. I have the same exact problem with outlook express... My mail is stuck in my outbox, still sends but doesn't move to my "sent items" folder... there is an error message but there is no detail with the error... I did all the steps suggested above and I still have the same issue. I also tried unistalling and re-installing outlook express 6.0. My mail still remains in my outbox.

Any other suggestions?


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## terrace

Have a look in my posts"Outlook 2002 emails stuck in outbox and sending in multiples" there`s plenty of suggestions there. Also you may need to contact your ISP and your internet security "anti-virus" etc.,. EAFiedler in this forum has given me some good advice. It seems in my case emails with larger attachments 1mb and more will hang in the outbox longer and take a very long ime to send. Of course email accounts have a limit on the size of email you can send and my inbox has a limit of 10mb. All the best. Let us know how you went.


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## throoper

ZOOM123 said:


> Hey, I'm new to these forums. I have the same exact problem with outlook express... My mail is stuck in my outbox, still sends but doesn't move to my "sent items" folder... there is an error message but there is no detail with the error... I did all the steps suggested above and I still have the same issue. I also tried unistalling and re-installing outlook express 6.0. My mail still remains in my outbox.
> 
> Any other suggestions?


Offhand the only thing I can think of is to create a new identity and see if the same problem occurs.
T.


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## BillyJilly

ZOOM123 said:


> Hey, I'm new to these forums. I have the same exact problem with outlook express... My mail is stuck in my outbox, still sends but doesn't move to my "sent items" folder... there is an error message but there is no detail with the error... I did all the steps suggested above and I still have the same issue. I also tried unistalling and re-installing outlook express 6.0. My mail still remains in my outbox.
> 
> Any other suggestions?


I have read all the threads that relate to this and I have tried everything in the threads.... 
This message from "zoom 123" is the exact problem I have... 
Is there any resolve to this? I am so angry and tired I can hardly take it anymore
Please help


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## terrace

Hello, After installing a stick which made my computer faster, nearly 1gb, my emails now go out quickly, even larger one`s, and they don`t hang or sit and send in multiples. My computer technician suggested this solution. At one time my emails would hang an hang and even send one to the one recipient 20 times. Not now. Have a talk to someone with the expertise. Cheers:up:


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## throoper

BillyJilly said:


> I have read all the threads that relate to this and I have tried everything in the threads....
> This message from "zoom 123" is the exact problem I have...
> Is there any resolve to this? I am so angry and tired I can hardly take it anymore
> Please help


Hi BillyJilly,
Don't know if you tried this.
Move all items out of the Sent Items folder to a folder of your own creation or delete them if you don't want them.
Go into the Message Store folder and delete the Sent Items.dbx.
If you haven't already done it, delete the Outbox.dbx as well.
Let us know if that helps.
T.


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## CorvetteTex

I have the same problem. I will try your suggestions, I hope it fixes my problem.


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## CorvetteTex

throoper,,,,,,,your the man! or Women! Can't tell by your name  Your suggestion to delete my item sent box .dbx and the outbox.dbx WORKED !!!!!! YEA ! I tried the delete Outbo.dbx only an that didn't work . Then I went in and searched both the outbox and send box and deleted them and that worked. My emails are flying out of the out box and into the sent file with no errors ! THANK YOU SO MUCH !

P.S. When I search the Item Sent Box.dbx that file showed like over 2,000,000 kb in it. I guess when you delete the sent file in Outlook Exp it really doesn't delete.


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## throoper

Hi CorvetteTex,

Glad that worked for you.

Your file size won't go down until you Compact Messages. Deleting the DBX causes OE to make a new one, which also reduces the size. 
If you have XP with the SP2 update, OE will automatically compact every 100 times it's opened. 
BAK files are created and sent to the Recycle bin during the process. Use those to restore messages if you lose any from Compacting.

If you have a high volume of activity, Compact more often.
File>Work Offline
Click the Outlook Express folder so all folders are closed.
File>Folder>Compact All Folders
Walk away from the computer until it's done.
Check that everything is OK in OE.
File>recheck Work Offline.

To keep things running well, don't store messages in the default OE folders (Inbox, Sent Items, and Drafts). Move them to folders of your own creation.

T.


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## tulangs

Hi all!

TQ throoper! i also having same issue yesterday and i tried few ways.. lastly i read ur last msg need to compact all folders after delete outbox.dbx and sent items.dbx.. and its works!! 
tis forum really great!!! n now im one of the member..  TQ


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## craigmca

After months of this problem and deleting my outbox and creating a new identity without any benefit, I finally realized my sent items box was overloaded and was keeping sent items from moving from the outbox to the sent items box. As soon as I deleted a bunch of my sent items that box had room to recieve from the outbox and all was well again. No more messages stuck in the outbox and being re-sent over and over and over. Wow. What a relief.


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## terrace

good news:up:


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## xeneizita

Thank you very much for all your suggestion, I tried lots of Spanish forums (I'm Argentinean) and I couldn't solve my problem.
Let's hope that with your help I can make it 

Regards


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## EAFiedler

Hi *xeneizita*

Welcome to Tech Support Guy Forums!

Good luck and let us know your results.


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## xeneizita

It worked!! :up:
The thing is that I was only erasing the Outbox.dbx file and not the Sent_Messages.dbx file. 
The sent message folder wasn't full because I regularly move sent mails to new folders that I create such as " sent emails 2007" for example. But despite that the file "sent messages.dbx" weight 2GB. 

So I removed all the sent emails from the "sent message folder" to another folder and then I deleted the Outbox.dbx and Send Messages.dbx files (also just in case I deleted the backup file for the sent messages folder).

The I sent like 8 emails with several attachments and NO PROBLEM AT ALL 

PS: pardon my English


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## EAFiedler

Well done!
Thanks for posting back and letting us know your results.


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