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DADDY BOB'S COMPUTER Q & A
February 21, 2010
Q.
I tried to delete everything in my sent
files folder and Outlook Express locked up
and now I cannot delete any emails from any
folder. How can I fix this?
A.
I suspect that when you tried you
just pressed the Delete key or clicked on
Delete. The first thing I would suggest is
that you select one or two emails in the
Sent Files folder and then hold down the
Shift key while clicking on Delete. This
will probably delete the selected files.
When
emails are deleted in Outlook Express or
most other email programs, they are not
actually deleted but moved to the Deleted
Items folder. Should the Deleted Items
folder be too full or more likely contain a
corrupt file, it may not allow any more
files to be added.
When the
Shift key is held in conjunction with a
delete, the email file is actually deleted
and not sent to the Deleted Items folder. It
is not that uncommon for one of the email
folders to get hung up on a corrupt file.
Previously, I answered a question about an
email hung in the Outbox folder in Vista's
Windows Mail program.
To fix
the Deleted Items folder, we will just
delete it taking all the problems with it.
Then, when Outlook Express is started, it
will create a new, empty Deleted Items
folder and all should be well. The Email
folders are pretty well hidden so it may
take a little to find them and delete the
offending folder.
First,
since the location of these folders can vary
between computers, we will have to determine
where Outlook Express is keeping these
folders on your computer. Here's how.
Open
Outlook Express
Click on
Tools
Click on
Options
Click the
Maintenance Tab
Click the
Store Folders button
When it
opens you will see the path to the folder
where all the Outlook Express folders are
kept. You will have to click on it and then
scroll back and forth to see all of it which
will look like this: "C:\Documents
and Settings\yourusername\Local
Settings\Application
Data\Identities\{32D3E6C1-07DB-42B6-B88B-16A6AE3A5A9B}\Microsoft\Outlook
Express". Like I said, this folder
is hidden pretty well but this is the folder
you have to open. Now, be sure to close
Outlook Express.
To find
this folder and display its contents, you
must have your computer set to display
hidden files and folders. By default, hidden
files and folders are set to NOT display and
most users never change this setting.
Therefore the easiest way to get to this
folder is by clicking Start, Run and
entering this string exactly as shown:
"%userprofile%\Local Settings\Application
Data\Identities"
Click OK
and a folder will open up displaying a
folder whose name starts with a { followed
by hex characters in 8-4-4-4-12 groups,
followed by a }. Click on this folder to
open it, then click on Microsoft to open it
and finally click on Outlook Express.
All the
Outlook Express email storage folders will
now be displayed. Locate the one called
Deleted Items, highlight it, and then press
the Delete key to delete it. Close all the
open folders and when you are back to the
desktop, restart Outlook Express. As soon as
you try to delete an email or open the
Deleted Items folder, a new Deleted Items
folder will be automatically created. You
should once again be able to perform any
function that requires deleting an email. |
