Need to reinstall Outlook Express 6

[CW1]

Hi,
Other half has a prob with OE whereby his e-mails from 2010 and beyond were being received repeatedly - nearly 60000 of them so virtually impossible to delete them from webmail ! He can't use OE at all now, can't delete mail and isn't receiving any (though he gets the "noise" to say he has mail), getting error ox800c0133. His ISP have said he needs to reinstall OE.
I have an Office 2003 CD (which is where I think he installed it from originally) so presumably can use that but will the uninstall delete his current e-mails and contacts ? I've suggested backing them up first anyway but what files would he need ? .wab and .dbx - anything else ?

[Buenchico]

There's no need to reinstall Outlook Express. The problem lies with an error in the Inbox file. Simply deleting the Inbox, and then allowing Outlook Express to create a new Inbox (which the program will do automatically), will fix the problem.

Close Outlook Express
Click on Start > Search > For Files and Folders > All Files and Folders
Type 'inbox.dbx' in the search field.
Click on More Advanced Options
Put a tick next to 'Search Hidden Files and Folders'
Click Search
When the file is found, right-click on it and select 'Delete'
Click 'Yes'
Open Outlook Express, which will now have a brand new (empty) Inbox.

Please note that following those instructions will delete all mail in the old Inbox. If it's possible to do so, any important mail should be transferred to other folders first.

Chris

[CW1]

Thanks Chris.
Have backed up all the .dbx files, then installed Microsoft Outlook - realised my mistake when he didn't have a .pab file to import, whooops. I've imported all his e-mails, and his contacts anyway, but he doesn't like the layout so I do need to do something with his OE6. I'll give that a go tomorrow, cheers.

[CW1]

Chris, That worked so no need to reinstall, just as you said. Should've suspected that when I saw the inbox & deleted .dbx files were almost 2 GB apiece ! Thank yoooo

[Buenchico]

Thanks for your reply.

Thanks also for putting your trust in my answer. I know that being advised to delete a file which forms a key part of an important program can be rather disconcerting for some people!
;-)