Help: mac help needed for outlook express

Subject: mac help needed for outlook express
From: GUEST,mgarvey
Date: 31 Jan 01 - 12:12 AM

help help help please. I can't get into outlook express email but I can get on the web. I put something in help message but not too many people go there I bet. So if you can help me figure out why when I click on my email icon in OE I get a message that says error occured while launching..end of file was reached....I was told I have to reinstall OE but I have tons of messges I don't want to lose. i can't get to the screen to save them. i am quite ignorant but only in this one aspect of life. Thanks for any help. mg

Subject: RE: Help: mac help needed for outlook express
From: katlaughing
Date: 31 Jan 01 - 12:24 AM

I don't know anything about macs, but do use OE. Have you tried closing the program altogether, then starting it back up? Or shutting down your computer, then rebooting? Sometimes i get a glitch and those seem to help. When they didn't help, I always called my ISP and they would walk me through the setup and options in OE and IE to make sure i had't inadvertently changed something. It could be also that they were just having a problem.

Good luck,

kat

Subject: RE: Help: mac help needed for outlook express
From: GUEST,mgarve
Date: 31 Jan 01 - 12:26 AM

thanks..I did all the above and called the ISP who have been great in the past...I think I'll call again. They said they would mail me a new cd and I could reinstall but that is what I am afraid of. Someone else did it before and I don't know which end is up. mg

Subject: RE: Help: mac help needed for outlook express
From: Amergin
Date: 31 Jan 01 - 12:33 AM

YOu might just have to delete your current account and then recreate it....

Subject: RE: Help: mac help needed for outlook express
From: wysiwyg
Date: 31 Jan 01 - 12:48 AM

Leave it be till the morning. I'll contact Amos and ask him to post to you here in the thread. He and his wife are Mac whizzes. She is a consultant too. OK?

~S~

Subject: RE: Help: mac help needed for outlook express
From: wysiwyg
Date: 31 Jan 01 - 12:49 AM

In fact I may snag him tonight, and MMario too.

~S~

Subject: RE: Help: mac help needed for outlook express
From: wysiwyg
Date: 31 Jan 01 - 01:02 AM

First, is this the same person and problem as in the unsigned help forum thread? If so you need to mention in each thread to check the other, so someone offering help does not knock their brains out after you've gotten the thing solved.

Also, the help forum thread is more specific on what equipment is invovled. Might want to put the info here.

Because-- I just e-mailed six really smart Mac folks, and not all of them are Mudcatters-- they won't probably think to look in the Help Forum. But I sent them the link to this thread to come see what's up and help if they can.

Good luck!! Do nothing till you are sure what to do!

~Susan (AKA Praise, I had a name change)

Subject: RE: Help: mac help needed for outlook express
From:
Date: 31 Jan 01 - 01:15 AM

If OE is the problem, this might help...

Mail, signatures, etc. are usually stored in the [documents] folder at the root level of your hard drive. You will find a folder entitled "Microsoft User Data". That is a folder that should be backed up to an external source if your mail and related files are very important to you.

On an OE reinstall, it will ask you if you wish to import data (the above) from another application. That is the data you should import to replace everything as it was. If an import cannot be accomplished, you can manually remove the newly created "Microsoft User Data" folder and replace it with your archived copy.

Bear in mind, that a fresh install will overwrite the User Data folder, so it should be backed up somewhere else if you intend to use it for a restoration (it should be backed up anyway it the data is critical).

Hope this helps,

Bob

Subject: RE: Help: mac help needed for outlook express
From: wysiwyg
Date: 31 Jan 01 - 01:20 AM

MG, Bob's top notch-- do e-mail him if you can, if this does not resolve. I'll watch the thread and e-mail him for you again if you are still stuck.

~S~

Subject: RE: Help: mac help needed for outlook express
From: wysiwyg
Date: 31 Jan 01 - 01:23 AM

Duh, I'm so scatterbrained tonight.

MG, you can use your browser to go to www.hotmai.com and get a free e-mail account there, and operate it from your browser, till you get this resolved, and thus communicate with people like Bob.

~S~

Subject: RE: Help: mac help needed for outlook express
From:
Date: 31 Jan 01 - 01:30 AM

Just another thought...

Before undertaking a reinstall, there are a couple of measures you can take to try and rectify the problem.

Move the OE preferences from the [Preferences] folder in the [System] folder to the trash. Do not empty it. In the event the preferences were somehow corrupted, a new clean set will be created when you launch OE again (you'll have to reset all your preferences, but that's a small price to pay). Another problem with OE is memory issues. Quit OE if it's running. Select (single click) the OE icon and press the [Command]+[I] keys, or select "get info" from the [File] menu when in the Finder. A window will pop up. In the drop down menu, you will see "memory'. In the lower box, TRIPLE the memory allocation. Repeat the procedure in the upper box. Close the window. The increased memory allocation to OE will solve a lot of problems.

Bob

Subject: RE: Help: mac help needed for outlook express
From:
Date: 31 Jan 01 - 07:13 AM

If your original problem is with Outlook Express itself, then you should reinstall Outlook Express, as described later. If the original problem was with your mail file inside your identity folder, then you will probably still have the same problem.

You can compact a mail file by starting up Outlook Express while holding the Option key while launching Outlook Express. Say "Yes" to both alerts as they come up (do a "complex rebuild").

If you need to reinstall Outlook Express, you should first back up your "Identities" folder, which contains your own Identity for Outlook, which itself contains, among other things, the file containing your email.

In one of two places, you will have a folder called "Identities." It will be either in your Outlook Express folder or in a folder on your hard drive called "Documents". Find that Identities folder. Copy it to some other location as a backup. Look inside it and see what is the name of your Identity. It will be either "Main Identity" or it will be named after you. Note the name. Then reinstall Outlook Express. When you start to use the new Outlook Express, you will have to create a new identity. If your old identity had a custom name then make your new identity the same name. If your old identity was just the default "Main Identity" then just let the program create whatever it wants to. Once you have started up the new Outlook Express and confirm that it is working, quit it. Find its Identities folder, and sae it somewhere else. Replace it with the Identities folder you backed up in the first place.

Restart Outlook Express, and do a complex rebuild of the data base as described at the beginning of this note.

Your Identity folder should be regularly backed up, because it contains everything about your own Outlook Express email. I have seen many, many Outlook Express mail files get corrupted. Although the mail appears to be in separate folders when you are using the program, in fact, all your mail is in one big file that is constantly being changed as you read and delete and save email. This vulnerability is why I use Eudora rather than Outlook Express. I don't like having all my mail in one big vulnerable file.

For now, see if you can save the file by rebuilding it and/or reinstalling the program. Then keep your Identity folder backed up frequently.

Daly Jessup

Subject: RE: Help: mac help needed for outlook express
From:
Date: 31 Jan 01 - 10:59 AM

thanks everyone. Either I will bravely try some of this stuff or I will see if I can get a young (or old) hot shot from the college to hire out. I have had so much trouble with this machine it might be best if I don't mess with it... mg

Subject: RE: Help: mac help needed for outlook express
From: Amos
Date: 31 Jan 01 - 07:59 PM

Probable cause is corruption in the OE preferences file. Throw it away, restart the machine, and let OE generate a new prefs file. You may have to reset a few parameters but won't lose your mail.

A.