Outlook Express Hidden Window & multiple instances in task manager

[Bill]

Outlook Express keeps freezing my system.

Can open outlook, use it and close BUT if open outlook
again it opens fine and can use it BUT when try to close
down system stops responding (sort of) Can still use
internet explorer and everything works fine. Can not
access any other programs. If try to close outlook the
second time get the following message.

"Outlook express hidden window"

or sometimes get

"Direct db listen wnd proc"

Checking task manager there are two or three different
instances of msoin running. One says "Not Responding" Can
close the second and third instance BUT if I try to close
the instance that says it is not responding then
everything freezes.

Already deleted all my *.dbx files. Had no effect.

Started after I upgraded to outlook 6. Uninstalled and
went back to 5 but still happening.

Any ideas at all? Can't find on newsgroup anyone else with
this multiple instances of outlook running and crashing
system.

Thanks,
Bill

[PA Bear]

Disable Background Compacting and frequently perform the alternative
discussed here: http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/files/maintain.htm#auto
--
HTH...Please post back to this thread

~Robear Dyer (aka PA Bear)
MS MVP-Windows (IE/OE)
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

[bill]

Did as advised. Turned off compacting in background. Still
getting multiple occurences of outlook appearing in task
manager. Can end all tasks in task manager except the
instance of outlook that is marked as not responding. As
soon as I try to end that task. Everything stops. Can't
even get back to task manager. Have to hit the reset
switch to get out of it.

Bill

>.
>

[PA Bear]

Did you compact all OE folders whilst offline? See if doing so helps.

Close OE. Find and delete Folders.dbx in your Identity's store.
Consequences of doing so:
http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/files/store.htm#deldbx.

If still no joy, create a new Named Identity and set up one or more accounts
in it. If all is well, add any other accounts and import messages from the
old Identity before deleting it (File>Identities>Manage Identities).

Don't use Inbox or Sent Items to archive messages. Move them instead to
local folders you've created for this purpose. If you were already doing
this in the old Identity, relocate these messages before doing the import
above.

--
HTH...Please post back to this thread

~Robear Dyer (aka PA Bear)
MS MVP-Windows (IE/OE)
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

bill wrote:
>> Did as advised. Turned off compacting in background. Still
>> getting multiple occurences of outlook appearing in task
>> manager. Can end all tasks in task manager except the
>> instance of outlook that is marked as not responding. As
>> soon as I try to end that task. Everything stops. Can't
>> even get back to task manager. Have to hit the reset
>> switch to get out of it.
>>

[Bill]

Everything is working again. Thank you for the helpful
advice. Ended up removing all the identities and making a
new one. Hasn't frozen in two days so I assume it is all
fixed since before it was freezing every 15 minutes or so.

Again, ---Thank you!!!

>.
>

[PA Bear]

YW, Bill.

~PA Bear