I am unable to delete email from my Inbox and Sent Items on Outlook Express. Can you help me?1 person needs an answerI do too

RonYour problem is most likely a corrupted Deleted Item folder. Simply delete the folder in Outlook Express and and close Outlook Express. Give it a minute or so and reopen Outlook Express. The system automatically recreates system created folders.You might care to read the rest of this message as it might help you avoid a similar problem in the future.Your Inbox and Sent Items folders should only hold messages awaiting relocation until you move them on. Do not have any sub-folders of the Inbox. In the next paragraph I describe a way to help to reduce the retention of messages in the two system created folders, which are so prone to folder corruption and loss of messages.In Outlook Express place the cursor on Local Folders and select File, Folder, New and name your new Folder. AAInbox and AASent may suit your requirements. Move any messages from your Inbox and your Sent Items folders to the newly created Local Folders. Repeat the process if you have created any sub-folders of either folder.You will still need to watch the overall size of individual folders, as too large a folder results in the system struggling to handle the folder. File corruption occurs most often when the compaction process is interrupted or if any read or write to file is taking place when Outlook Express is closed abruptly. This tends to happen more often with over large files. Others define a maximum file size by specifying a size e.g. 300mb as part of their recommendation. In my view this can be misleading as the size can be significantly less. It all depends on the capacity of the system to handle large files.You can control the Compacting process by doing it at a time that suits you at any time before the count reaches 100.In Outlook Express place the cursor on Local Folders and select File, Work Offline followed by File, Folder, Compact All. Do not attempt to interrupt or stop the process until it has completed. Close Outlook Express when it has completed but do not rush closure as changes will still be being made for a period after the compaction process appears to have completed.After compacting, check your Outlook Express folders are as they should be. Then select Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk CleanUp to Empty your Recycle Bin and Remove Temporary Internet Files. Run Disk Defragmenter.HOW TO: Use the Desktop Cleanup Wizard in Windows XPhttp://support.microsoft.com/kb/306542 Hope this helps, Gerry Cornell

Just adding my 2¢ to Gerry's. You have to delete the dbx file for Deleted Items from the message store to delete the folder.Move most of your messages out of the Inbox and move any messages you want to save out of Deleted Items and Sent Items. Locate the OE message store and then close OE.Tools | Options | Maintenance | Store Folder will reveal the location of your Outlook Express files. Write the location down and navigate to it in Windows Explorer or, copy and paste it into Start | Run.In WinXP, Win2K & Win2K3, the OE user files (DBX and WAB) are by default marked as hidden. To view these files in Windows Explorer, you must enable Show Hidden Files and Folders under Start | Control Panel | Folder Options Icon | View, or in Windows Explorer | Tools | Folder Options | View.With OE closed, find the Deleted Items.dbx and Sent Items.dbx files and delete them. New files will be created automatically when you open OE.Compact all folders as described below.To help prevent this in the future:Do not archive mail in the Inbox or Sent Items. Create your own user defined folders and move the messages you wish to save to them. Empty Deleted Items folder daily. Although dbx files have a theoretical capacity of 2GB, I recommend about a 300MB max for less chance of corruption.Information about the maximum file size of the .dbx files that are used by Outlook Express:http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=903095After you are done, follow up by compacting your folders manually while working *offline* and do it often.Click on Outlook Express at the top of the folder tree so no folders are open. Then: File | Work Offline (or double click Working Online in the Status Bar). File | Folder | Compact all folders. Don't touch anything until the compacting is completed.Turn off e-mail scanning in your anti-virus program. It is a redundant layer of protection that eats up CPUs and causes a multitude of problems such as time-outs and account setting changes. Your up-to-date A/V program will continue to protect you sufficiently. For more, see:http://www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#3Bruce HagenMS-MVP Oct. 1, 2004 ~ Sept. 30, 2010Imperial Beach, CA