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Outlook Express Outbox Issues

Has this ever happened to you? You've created a message in Outlook Express and tried to send it, but for whatever reason it just won't send?

Now typically this is caused by a loss of internet connection and can be easily fixed by reconnecting to the internet, opening the outbox in Outlook Express and attempting to send the message again. If that doesn't work it's usually best to delete the message from the outbox and create a new one.

However, there are instances where for whatever reason a message cannot be deleted from the outbox and becomes 'stuck'. In some cases, just the act of opening the outbox in Outlook Express causes the program to crash. So what can you do in this case?

One cool feature of Outlook Express is that it stores all your email, including outbox messages, in separate folders on your hard drive. If you delete the offending folder, Outlook Express will create a new empty one the next time you open the program. So how do you find your errant outbox, delete it and get going again? Here are the steps for most versions of Outlook Express.

1. From Outlook Express, select Tools/Options, then click the Maintenance tab.
2. Click the Store Folder button.
3. Select the entire path and name in the box. It doesn't look selectable, but it is. Just click and drag all the way through it (it will probably scroll when you drag).
4. Copy (Ctrl + C).
5. Click Cancel, then click Cancel again.
6. Close Outlook Express.
7. Open My Computer
8. Click in the Address bar or (Alt + D). If My Computer doesn't show the Address Bar, select View/Toolbars/Address Bar.
9. Paste (Ctrl + V), then press Enter.
10. Select the file called Outbox.dbx, then press Delete. Click Yes to confirm.
11. Open Outlook Express. The Outbox will now be empty and the problem should be corrected.