Outlook97 - should it have been called LOOKOUT ???

[Vince Averello [MVP-Outlook]]

Mark, I have a similar setup (Outlook 97 / MSN / ISP / CServe) but here
it's all hanging together pretty well. Have you tried running SCANPST on
your Personal Folder (PST) file? If there is/was damage in it prior to
Outlook's install, the install might have made it worse. This isn't to say
there aren't bugs lurking around in the product but I haven't heard of the
install toasting a PST file yet.

Mark P. Chmielewski <Mark_P_Ch...@msn.com> wrote in article
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> Greetings to all Outlook97 users who are experiencing problems:
>
> I must admit, that I have been a long time advocate of MS to the dismay
and
> ridicule of others. The thing that impresses me the most about MS is
it's
> ability to jump into areas where it will (eventually) dominate (to some
> degree, perhaps - impact or influence only...) and influence the
direction
> of product development.
>
> The thing that I find *VERY DISAPPOINTING* lately about MS is that they
> appear to not test the products that they sell. I have beta tested for
> many companies in the past, including MS. However, when I put my cash on
> the counter and install a product using default settings, I expect my
> system to at least run properly - even if the product that I installed
> doesn't (it *SHOULD* run, as a production off-the-shelf product but
> sometimes they don't...). I am *REALLY* disappointed in OUTLOOK97 and I
> think that it should be called "LOOKOUT !!".
>
> It should be recalled as an anti-productivity tool.
> It's very slow, resource intensive and just plain cranky!
>
> Since I installed it on my system it has corrupted my Exchange inbox
files
> to the point that I can't receive e-mail via MSN - my ISP (yes, I was an
> original "bug crusher" of MSN and Win95 and proud to say that I lived
> through it...).
>
> However, how can anyone have faith in a product that not only *does not
> work* but actually DAMAGES other products from the same vendor? This is
> just plain nuts !!
>
> I don't have a bizarre configuration or system.
>
> I just want to get my e-mail from MSN (when I'm lucky enough to get past
> all the start-up animated icons and stuff to get to it - but that's
another
> story).
>
> I sent an e-mail 2 weeks ago to MSN member support outlining my problem
and
> requesting help; as my e-mail doesn't work on MSN I asked for a reply to
my
> CompuServe account (it's sooo fast by comparison to MSN lately). I'm
still
> waiting and now wondering if I'll get an answer back....
>
> So, what should I do? Pay for support for a 15 day old product? Return
it?
> That's not the answer - the product should *function*; if not then OK -
but
> *not* destroy other programs....
>
> Now I see beta solutions (beta! - that's an insult onto injury) being
> posted to fix some of the known problems - what about my address book
that
> has been toasted? How do I fix that??
>
> regards,
> mpc
>

[Mark P. Chmielewski]

Greetings, Vince:
Thanks for the prompt reply.
I haven't tried your suggestion as yet and will get back to you. I did
find the TechSupport / Troubleshooting document and will read through it as
well. I'm a bit concerned as the outline of the document (...problems with
x...) *all* seem to apply to my situation. The Personal Folder was fine
prior to installing Office97 - I did exit all running applications, etc...

Perhaps it's just bad Karma with this, however, I'm still unable to get
Exchange to run properly either, since the installation of Office97. I
don't know if I should risk re-installing Exchange again...or deinstalling
OL97 then re-installing Exchange or OL97, what order, etc.

Does OL97 make a temp file in the process of installation or does it just
link to the Exchange Personal File during / after installation?
I'm 100% sure that it must have been OL97 that toasted the PF!
I'm using CSi 3.0.1 and would like to know what you did (settings, please)
to get the combination to work with MSN. I'm also getting a "CSxxxxx.dll"
file is missing error since installing / configuring OL97. It's very
coincidental that all was well prior to installing Office97 / OL97 and now
I'm getting these problems immediately after. I run Norton very regularly
on this system.

Any answers are appreciated - in the mean time I'll go through the
troubleshooting guide; I want to understand what went wrong here...
regards,
mpc

Vince Averello [MVP-Outlook] <vi...@maverick.com> wrote in article
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