I've been getting a pop-up asking me if I want to compact messages in Outlook Express to free up disc space. It's very annoying and very frequent. I wouldn't know how to go about getting it to go away. Am I able to get rid of it and, if so, how?6 people need an answerI do too

not helpful...it is a pain to keep doing that and ties up the computer constantly

not helpful...it is a pain to keep doing that and ties up the computer constantly OK. What was not helpful? What have you tried? There are more options.Bruce HagenMS-MVP Oct. 1, 2004 ~ Sept. 30, 2010Imperial Beach, CA

You know if you read the previous threads on the subject, instead of jumping into the discussions without describing your circumstances, you would have fixed the issue by now. steve <orrlaw> wrote in message news:Email removed for privacy...not helpful...it is a pain to keep doing that and ties up the computer constantly

Using OE6 and have problems with compacting message. I have allowed it to compact without interuption and it still continuously pops up even if I haven't closed OE once since the last compacting.I have manually resent the counter which normally is only on 1, to 0.This is an irritation. What else can I try.

Is Windows Search or Nero installed on this machine?

Not Nero and not sure about Windows Search.It has Windows XP. Where or what should I look for to see if Windows Search is installed?Thanks

As mentioned above, it will be in the Control Panel. In the case of Windows Search, you have to tell it to stop indexing OE. Windows Search. Set Desktop Search Options:http://www.microsoft.com/australia/windows/desktopsearch/search/options.mspx In the Windows Control Panel | Indexing Options | Modify. Clear the check box for Outlook Express. If you see the prompt again, you may have to let it compact once to clear the counter in the registry. It will cause no harm. ********************* But, you also said you changed the registry back to 0. Did you ever let it compact once?Bruce HagenMS-MVP Oct. 1, 2004 ~ Sept. 30, 2010Imperial Beach, CA

Just to let you know, I have gone into Indexing etc. and Modified. I also went into regedit etc and changed the counter back to zero. Since the last time (just over 24 hours ago) it had a counter of 44. As I have just done all this, I don't know if it has worked successfully or not. Will let you know. Thanks for your time and patience.Last question (I hope), do I now need to manually compact OE or will it do it itself?Thanks again.

You're welcome and I hope this resolves it.Then you did find Windows Search? Hopefully eliminating the indexing will fix it. Now, even with that done, the prompt to compact is supposed to show up after 100 closings, so you will see it eventually at some time.It was always my practice to manually compact once a week and I never saw the prompt. The plus side to this is that you are controlling when you compact, not your machine. This is a tad OT, but I have included why OE needs to be compacted. (But not every few hours).Why does OE insist on compacting folders when I close it?http://www.insideoe.com/faqs/why.htm#compactAbout File Corruptionhttp://www.microsoft.com/windows/IE/community/columns/filecorruption.mspxCompacting your folders periodically is a must to keep OE functioning well and at some point, you may lose all your saved messages if you don't. When you delete, or move messages, the space they had used remains until you compact.***Never touch anything until the compacting is finished.***See:www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#2With SP2, automatic background compacting was removed due to problems it caused. Now you will get a prompt to compact after 100 OE closings, which you should do, and don't touch anything until it has finished. If you compact manually, at your convenience, this will also set the counter back to zero. See this for more information:http://www.insideoe.com/files/maintain.htm#compactIf you are fully patched, you will also now see a copy of your dbx files being copied to the Recycle Bin as BAK files. Should something go awry when compacting, the messages can easily be restored from this backup. A manual compact will also reset the counter in the registry back to zero now.For more info, see the information outlined in red here:www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#2To keep things running smooth, and for faster compacting:Do not archive mail in default OE folders. They will eventually become corrupt and you may lose mail. Create your own user defined folders for storing mail and move your mail to them. Empty Deleted Items folder regularly. Keep user created folders under 300MB, and Default folders as empty as is feasible.And backup often.Outlook Express Quick Backup (OEQB Freeware)http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx Bruce HagenMS-MVP Oct. 1, 2004 ~ Sept. 30, 2010Imperial Beach, CA