Corrupt OE Program. Do I need IE OE reinstall? - microsoft.public.windowsme.general

Message from discussion Corrupt OE Program. Do I need IE OE reinstall?
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From: "BrianZ" <beezer...@gmail.com>
Newsgroups: microsoft.public.windowsme.general
Subject: Corrupt OE Program.  Do I need IE OE reinstall?
Date: 19 Nov 2005 05:13:35 -0800
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My Outlook Express program has taken ill:  My contacts list is gone
(message:  Address Book failed to load.  Outlook Express is incorrectly
configured, please re-install.)  OE retrieves new messages and I can
read inbound messages in the preview pane, but cannot launch the
messages.  (Message:  There was an error opening this message.  An
error has occurred).  Attempting to Create mail generates the same
message.

I am able to move items between folders and empty my Deleted Items
folder, for whatever that's worth.

>From browsing these posts, I understand that OE is intimately tied to
IE.  I am running Internet Explorer 6.00.2800.1106 under Windows ME
4.90.3000.  My OE version is 6.00.2800.1123.  The OE functions appear
to be running fine.

Is there any reasonable expectation of being able to cure Internet
Explorer in place?  Or do I need to wander down the scary path of
uninstall/reinstall for IE/OE?  If the former, what is suggested to
attempt a quick fix?

If the latter, can someone direct me to the extensive discussion of
this process that I know is somewhere on the net?  I remember seeing a
reference to this process someplace amongst these postings (from Noel
Paton, perhaps?), but cannot find it now that I need it.

Thanks for any assistance.

Regards,
Brian Z
beezer...@gmail.com