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DADDY BOB'S COMPUTER Q & A
June 3,
2007
Q.
Outlook Express is taking longer and longer
to open. What can be causing this?
A.
There are several possible causes for this,
but the most likely is related to the
"AutoComplete" feature in Microsoft Internet
Explorer and Outlook Express. First, a
little explanation of this feature.
Microsoft
explains it like this:
"Internet Explorer includes a feature called
AutoComplete that keeps track of information
that you've recently typed, such as Web site
addresses, information in forms, and search
queries. As you type new information,
AutoComplete tries to anticipate what you
are typing and offers possible matches. You
save time because you don't have to type in
the full information—just select
AutoComplete's match and go!"
Although
this specifically mentions Internet
Explorer, it also affects the operation of
Outlook Express.
If the
AutoComplete list becomes very large or
corrupt, Outlook Express can take a very
long time to open. The quickest, and
possibly the best way to correct this
problem is to completely delete the
AutoCorrect lists.
Since
there is no viable way to easily edit these
lists, entirely deleting them is probably
the best option. If you do not use the
AutoComplete feature, you can turn it off,
thereby automatically deleting the lists.
Here's how.
On the
Internet Explorer Tools menu, click Internet
Options. This can also be accessed via
the Control Panel. (Click Start, Control
Panel, Network and Internet Connections,
then Internet Options). In the Internet
Options box, click the Content tab, and
click the AutoComplete button. The
AutoComplete Settings dialog will appear.
To turn
AutoComplete off and delete the AutoComplete
list, un-check all three boxes, "Web
address", "Forms", and "Usernames and
passwords on forms". Click OK, and OK
and the problem with the slow opening of
Outlook Express should be fixed.
If you
use this AutoComplete feature, like it and
want to continue to use it, then don't
disable it here. Instead, open the Internet
Options dialog again, per the steps above,
and click the General tab, then in the
Browsing history section, click the Delete
button and this dialog appears.
Here you
can choose to delete the separate items or
choose to delete them all. For sure you want
to delete the bottom three to fix the
Outlook Express problem. If you are not
using a dialup connection, also delete the
Temporary Internet files. They really do not
provide any real advantage when using
Broadband connections.
Deleting
the cookies will depend on what you are
using them for and what may be stored in
them. Of course, there is no way that this
information will be known to you.
Here's an
example of what is stored in a cookie that
may be useful to you. If you use "My Yahoo"
as your default home page, then the username
and password to access this page is stored
in a cookie. Other pages that require you to
enter a username and password MAY or may NOT
use cookies to store this information. If
you know all your usernames and passwords,
as you surely should, then delete the
cookies too. |
