Help, I Can't Delete a Message!
This is a problem I hear about over and over, "Outlook Express won't let me delete a message." Sometimes it is more than one message and sometimes it is "I can't empty the Deleted folder" or "I can't open or move a message".
This can happen for any one of several reasons. The power to the computer may have been disrupted or Outlook Express may not have been closed properly. A message for some reason may be corrupted. Whatever the reason, it is a very frustrating thing to happen and users want to fix it NOW!
This is really not hard to fix, but unless a user already knows how to fix this problem it can be hard to find out how to get those messages deleted.
To troubleshoot Windows or any part of Windows (and this includes Outlook Express), it is necessary to make some changes to viewing files and folders.
If you have not already enabled viewing 'Hidden files and folders'; do it now. To make the changes, open the My Documents directory (or any other folder in Windows). Click on Tools from the main menu and select Folder Options. Click the View tab and scroll down to the Hidden files and folders section. Check Show hidden files and folders and un-check Hide extensions for known file types. Click Apply, and then click OK to close.
Next move all the messages in the Inbox that can be moved into separate folders.
Now open Outlook Express and click Tools/Options and click the Maintenance tab. Click the Store folder button and make note of where the Store folder is located. The default path looks something like this in Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities. Your location may be slightly different, but the general path will be very similar. The folders all have the extension .dbx.
Close Outlook Express and in the Identity where your folders are located, find the folders named Inbox.dbx and Deleted.dbx and delete them. Outlook Express will re-create these folders when you open it again. The offending message or messages are now gone and Outlook Express should work as it should.
Just don't forget to keep Outlook Express from getting too big and keep up the maintenance to prevent file corruption!