Outlook Express outbox problem

I cannot send emails in OE. When I create an email (eg. to myself) it shows in the Outbox but when I click Send, nothing happens and OE just crashes. I had a look in the Identities folder and it shows outbox.dbx(1) which to me means that there is a message in there but which hasn't been sent. I deleted this Outbox,and the Sent Mail folder and rebooted. Tried to send the email again, but the same thing. Didn't send and still showing as (1) in Identities even after I had deleted the message from the Outbox! I can't reply to emails I have received and I have run scannow which ran normally. Really don't know what to do now:confused:.

FYI - the file name outbox.dbx(1) doesn't mean it has one mail waiting to be sent...OE crested the file when the original Outbox.dbx became corrupted...

Are you getting an error message with important infomation that can be googled

Thanks for the reply Steve. No, there is no error message. In fact, nothing happens except that I can from then on longer access OE unless I reboot.

hansi--As Steve R Jones has said, you have a corrupted Outbox.dbx. But it is Outbox.dbx which is corrupt, not Outbox.dbx(1). Do you find Outbox.dbx in the OE Store Folder? You should. (See OE Tools|Options|Maintenance tab for location of Store Folder.)
If so delete it and reboot. A new, fresh, empty one should have been created and you should be able to Send now.
You may be interested in this article.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/IE/...orruption.mspx
P.S. Your Sent Items.dbx folder may also be corrupt or too full. How many bytes is it?

Thanks.There is no Outbox.dbx in the list, only Outbox (1).dbx. And it won't create one. I have tried a few times to no avail. The article is good, but I have done that and still can't solve the problem.

Ok. This is what I've tried. I deleted Outbox (1) but it keeps re-appearing when I reboot, but if I close msimn.exe I can send mail at that time, but only once than I have to reboot. Is there a way to totally restore the OE programme, because i really can't think of anything else it could be unless it's a conflict with another programme, and that's like looking for a needle in a haystack!. Repeat, there is no outbox.dbx shown.

hansi--

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but if I close msimn.exe I can send mail at that time

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Well, that could be a different issue. OE Tools|Options|Send tab|check the box "send messages immediately".
If that does not fix things, where are you looking to find outbox.dbx? The Store Folder or the Folder List? (You keep referring to a "list".) If the Folder List, go to the Store Folder.
The PC should not be recreating an Outbox(1).dbx after deleting and rebooting unless the same folder already has an Outbox.dbx. Outbox.dbx is what you want to delete.
You could also try running a Search for Outbox.dbx.
What version of Internet Explorer are you using?

When searching for outbox.dbx, make sure to enable the options to search for hidden and system files.

OK. In order of your comments.

The "send mail immediately" is ticked
All my OE files are stored in OE Identities via Local Settings/Microsoft/OE/Identities
I do not have an outbox file there, only an outbox (1) which I keep deleting but it keeps re-appearing on reboot.
I have done a search for Outbox and deleted them all before re-booting
I am running IE8 SP3
I have also moved my folders file and no difference.

The following test is a long shot, but worth trying:

What happens if you try to rename your Outbox(1).dbx folder to outbox.dbx - do you get an error message, and is so, what is it?

hansi--

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Local Settings/Microsoft/OE/Identities

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Is that the location of your Store Folder?
Mine is C:\Documents and Settings\UserName\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\GUID number\Microsoft\Outlook Express

Yes, the same. I just shortened it for convenience.

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Originally Posted by jdc2000

The following test is a long shot, but worth trying:

What happens if you try to rename your Outbox(1).dbx folder to outbox.dbx - do you get an error message, and is so, what is it?

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No error message. Outbox shows again as two files i.e. outbox and outbox (1)

hansi--

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Outbox shows again as two files i.e. outbox and outbox (1)

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Well, now I am thoroughly confused. I thought you could not find an outlook.dbx file.

Sorry, I'm confusing myself now. Shows only one: outbox (1)

If you could rename the outbox(1).dbx to outbox.dbx with no errors, but Outlook Express is continuing to use the outbox(1).dbx file, then I am out of ideas. It may still be malware of some sort, but probably not.

Yeah, thanks to all for your help. I'm out of ideas too. I'm using webmail to send and OE to receive until I can resolve it.

The only thing I can think of to try now:

Backup all of your OE e-mail .dbx files and your address book.
Rename the folder where the files are stored, and create a new empty folder with the original name.
Re-install OE6 and recreate your OE profile.

If that doesn't work, try using OE on a different user login. If that works, then the user account profile may be corrupt.

OR

Switch to Thunderbird or some other e-mail program.

Ok. I've discovered something else now. I know I can't send emails from OE but if I delete msimn.exe from Task Manager and then open OE, it will send but for that time only. If I want to send again, I have to delete the programme from Task Manager. Weird or what!

hansi--Maybe I am just saying the same thing as jdc2000, but try creating a new Identity in OE.

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if I delete msimn.exe from Task Manager and then open OE, it will send but for that time only.

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You mentioned that earlier and I tried to give a reason for that behavior.

In an earlier post you said the version of IE you use is "I am running IE8 SP3". Should that be IE7 SP3? If IE8 is correct, you also could consider switching to Windows Live Mail. (WLM also works in IE7, but IE8 was developed assuming it would be used with WLM.)

Have you run scans for malware?