outlook express,when i send e mail i get an error message and e mail gets caught in the outbox or it sends too many messages.no detail on the error,just error message.

Most likely corrupted Sent Items folder.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/306542Select Start, Control Panel, Folder Options, View, Advanced Settings and verify that the box before "Show hidden files and folders" is checked and "Hide protected operating system files" is unchecked. You may need to scroll down to see the second item. You should also make certain that the box before "Hide extensions for known file types" is not checked. When you have dealt with the above you can deal with the corrupted Sent Items folder. Close Outlook Express. Enter Windows Explorer and using Tools, Find, Files and Folders search your C drive with "sent*.db*" without quotes as the search criteria. Delete the file and exit Test Outlook Express by sending an email to yourself. Hope this helps, Gerry Cornell

You have apparent dbx file corruption of either the Outbox, Sent Items, or both.Move most of your messages out of the Inbox and then create new Outbox and Sent Items folders after you move any messages you wish to save to a local folder you create.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 DBX files for the Outbox & Sent Items and delete them. New ones will be created automatically when you open OE.After 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.General precautions for Outlook Express: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=903095Turn off e-mail scanning in your anti-virus program. It is a redundant layer of protection that eats up CPUs, slows down sending and receiving, and causes a multitude of problems such as time-outs, account setting changes and has even been responsible for loss of messages. Your up-to-date A/V program will continue to protect you sufficiently. For more, see:http://www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#3 Why you don't need your anti-virus to scan your emailhttp://thundercloud.net/infoave/tutorials/email-scanning/index.htmNote that for some AV programs, it may be necessary to uninstall the program and reinstall in Custom Mode and uncheck e-mail scanning when the option arises. Compact often as specified above.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