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Resolved Outlook Express Will Not Open!

Discussion in 'Internet Explorer & Microsoft Edge' started by Evan Omo, 2006/11/20.

  1. 2006/11/20
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff Thread Starter

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    Hello all,
    I have been having this problem with Outlook Express not opening correctly ever since I got Windows XP. I have tried to reapir it by doing a repair install of Windows XP. I have ran chkdsk and chkdsk /r and sfc /scannow. None of those utilities in Windows XP have repaired Outlook Express. :( So I need some help on repairing Outlook Express. :)

    When I open Outlook Express I get the following error message: Outlook Express could not be started. The application was unable to open the Outlook Express message store. Your computer may be out of memory or your disk is full. Contact Microsoft Support for further assistance. Error Code 0x800C012E5.

    Then when I press OK then I get another error message: Outlook Express could not be started because MSOE.DLL could not be initialized. Outlook Express may not be installed correctly.


    I would greatly appreciate any help on why I am getting these error messages when I start Outlook Express! :)
     
  2. 2006/11/21
    Miz

    Miz Inactive Alumni

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    Miz,
    #2

  3. to hide this advert.

  4. 2006/11/21
    Arie

    Arie Administrator Administrator Staff

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    Or: OLEXP: Error Message When You Start Outlook Express After Windows 2000 Service Pack 1 Installation

     
    Arie,
    #3
  5. 2006/11/21
    Welshjim

    Welshjim Inactive

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    Evan Omo--Have you confirmed that "Your computer may be out of memory or your disk is full. "?
    Google finds many references to that error code,
    http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...ult&cd=1&q=OE+Error+Code+0x800C012E+5&spell=1
    Two of the more interesting are
    1)http://forums.techguy.org/web-email/310445-cannot-open-outlook-express.html
    2) And there is a site that seems to offer to solve the problem for FREE
    http://www.softlakecity.com/
    I have no idea what the catch is.

    And you might find this reference helpful
    http://www.microsoft.com/windows/IE/community/columns/filecorruption.mspx
    A similar error message is addressed about halfway down.
     
  6. 2006/11/21
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff Thread Starter

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    Thanks everyone for all the useful links. Welshjim I have confirmed that my computer is not out of memory and my harddrive is not full. :) I will try some of the solutions mentioned in the links you gave me and I will post back with the results. :)
     
  7. 2006/11/21
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff Thread Starter

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    Hello all,
    I have some good news and I have some bad news.
    The good news:
    I went to one of the forums on one of the links posted by Welshjim and they said to search for .dbx files and make sure there aren't read-only. Well I searched for them. Windows Search found 3 files, I went to properties for each file and unchecked the read-only box. Then I opened Outlook Express and guess what it worked. :D I am so happy. I didn't know that it would be that easy to fix. Thanks everyone for their help. ;)

    The bad news: After Microsoft Outlook opens if I go to Address Book I get the following error message: Unable to open the Address Book. The Address Book may not be installed correctly. If I click on the Address Book in the start menu I get the following error message: The Address Book file has been locked by another application. Please close the other application and try again later. :( :mad:

    So now I need to figure out why the Address Book isn't opening. Any suggesstions would be appreciated. :)
     
  8. 2006/11/21
    Bill Castner

    Bill Castner Inactive

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    Folders in XP are always Read-only marked. This is not what it meant in earlier OS versions. It is used as a flag to Explorer whether it needs to process a Desktop.ini file or not. You can change the Read only attribute of a folder all day long but it will revert the change when you exit the Properties sheet: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;326549

    Do a clean install of OE. I suspect your issue is a corruption in the Main identity profile, but a clean reinstallation should help. It is slightly tricky, but most certainly a doable project for you: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;318378

    Prior to doing that, I would nuke the entire identity key. XP will rebuild it for you after a reboot.
    Start, Run, regedit
    Navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Identities\long_funny_looking_number\Software\Microsoft\Outlook Express\5.0
    Right click and delete.
    Reboot and test.

    If no joy, follow the reinstallation steps from the link above.
     
    Last edited: 2006/11/21
  9. 2006/11/21
    Welshjim

    Welshjim Inactive

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    Evan Omo--Thanks for posting back. Glad to hear the good news about the .dbx files. Hope unchecking "Read-Only" will stick.
    Concerning Address Book. Was Address Book working before you made the changes to .dbx?
    The Address Book file is named Username.wab. It normally is in C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book. Run a Search for it. Do you find that file? Is it where it should be? If so, right click|Properties. If it is Read-Only, then uncheck the box. Is Address Book working in OE now?
    If that not did not solve the problem, what happens when you click on Username.wab? If nothing, right click on it|Properties. Near the top is a line "Opens With ". What do you see if you click the Change button to the right? One option should be Address Book. If so, click on Address Book|OK. If not, you may have lost your wab.exe file. Let's deal with that later.
    If you do not find Username.wab, do you find a file named Username.wab~? If so, click on it. This is a back up for your Address Book. If clicking on that opens Address book, change the name on the the Username.wab~ file to Username.wab. Does Address Book in OE work now?
    If still no cure, post back.
    You may want to read http://www.insideoutlookexpress.com/files/wab.htm
     
  10. 2006/11/21
    Bill Castner

    Bill Castner Inactive

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    This is not possible with Windows XP.

    It violates every aspect of the shell open functions of Windows Explorer if you attempt something different.

    It simply is impossible by normal means, and to be avoided if extraordinary means are take to make it so.
     
  11. 2006/11/21
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff Thread Starter

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    Hello Bill and Welshjim,
    Guess what I have even more good news. :) I went to C:/Documents and Settings/Evan Omo/Application Data/Microsoft/Address Book and there were 2 files. One was Address book and the other was Evan Omo.wa~. I went to properties for both of the files and sure enough they were read-only. I unchecked the boxes, pressed ok, rebooted the computer and Outlook Express and Address Book work like a charm. :D Its amazing how just having the files as read-only would make the entire program not be able to open at all. It was a pretty big problem but it had a very small and easy solution. :)

    Thanks again for all the help Bill and Welshjim. :cool: Without your knowledge and advice on this issue I would have totally given up on this problem. :eek: So thanks again; you guys are lifesavers. :D I wish you guys all the best in the future of computer troubleshooting. ;)
     
  12. 2006/11/21
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    I am a little confused regarding this issue of 'read only' .dbx files - by default they are not read only so I would imagine that reverting them back from read only to 'normal' would stick.

    My OE message store is located on my data drive for ease of backup and none of the .dbx files are 'read only' - if they were then it would not be possible to add emails to the folders??
     
  13. 2006/11/21
    Bill Castner

    Bill Castner Inactive

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    The read only condition would be a very rare instance, and would require a deliberate use of a utility such as ATTRIB.EXE.

    The important consideration is the one I mentioned earlier. Under Windows XP (which the original poster is using) all folders are Read Only if you look at their Properties tab.

    This does not mean what it did under Win9x. As I mentioned, it is now an attribute for a folder used under XP as a "flag" to whether there is a Desktop.ini to process or not.

    Which leads to some confusion. You can get a different set of attributes with ATTRIB.EXE than you can with the Property sheet for a folder.

    One unambiguous point is that any setting made to the Read-only attribute setting under the properties sheet for a folder is not preserved by Explorer. (Go in an uncheck it. Exit the Properties sheet. Go back. It is checked again).

    Microsoft explains this change in the Read-only attribute for folders rather well in this KB article: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;326549

    I can imagine as issue with an Upgrade from an earlier OS Version, or a new installation of XP in which backup copies of folders were brought over (from a CD is very likely). Using the Explorer GUI will not help. You would have to use ATTRIB.EXE at the command line with a -r flag on the folders.

    The issue is likely not the folders Read-only status, it would be that the user has a new GUID identity. This too can be easily resolved: Export the old GUID key from the registry, and in Notepad edit the key for the new GUID for the identity. This sounds harder than it really is. See:

    http://www.insideoe.com/backup/partial.htm#settingsres
    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/276511 (which applies to OE6, despite what Applies To section says on the page).

    But the notion that Read-only is an important factor in this discussion is just a false lead to follow. For XP, it simply cannot make a difference unless the user manually altered attributes outside of the Explorer GUI or installed older folders from a backup from CD.
     
  14. 2006/11/22
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    Bill

    Thank you for your full explanation which I follow clearly, but I think the source of the confusion which arises here is that the Outlook Express Mail Folders are not true folders in the Windows/XP sense. They have attributes - .dbx, unlike any other folder and, once outside OE and in Windows Explorer are often referred to as files - as in the URL you posted ........

    http://www.insideoe.com/backup/partial.htm#settingsres

    As files they may or may not be 'read only' - they should not be and I have seen the solution of unchecking those that had inherited a 'read only' attribute through some strange mechanism to solve similar problems with OE posted on the web for several years. Clearly unchecking the 'read only' attribute rewrites certain registry entries.
     
  15. 2006/11/22
    Welshjim

    Welshjim Inactive

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    Evan Omo--Thanks for posting back with the good news. Always nice to hear that a suggestion helped.
     

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