Outlook unstable? (2002 SP3; WinXP ProSP2)

[Auggie]

Just installed Outlook on fresh XP install on reformatted hard drive. Is extremely unstable, repeatedly crashing while dowloading mail. Anybody else seeing this? Keeps reporting crash to Microsoft, but nothing comes back.

[JohnBF]

Are you using a PST? Have you run scanpst.exe on your PST?

[Auggie]

I found Outlook .pst in my Application DataOutlook folder; ran scanpst.exe on it and it came through with flying colors. <img src=/S/shrug.gif border=0 alt=shrug width=39 height=15>

[unkamunka]

Are you working with a completely new PST etc etc, or have you tried to reinstate your previous settings, mail, accounts etc?

[JohnBF]

Also, do you have any add-ins, and are you using Word as your editor? One-by-one, try using Outlook's built-in editor, and disabling each add-in, and see if Outlook stabilizes.

[Auggie]

This was a brand new PST on the brand new install of the OS on the reformatted disk. Unstable from the very beginning.

[unkamunka]

Have you tried deleting and recreating your mail account profile? You now say "was". Does this mean that you have tried creating a second PST and that this is now running without problems? HTH

[Auggie]

> You now say "was".

It's the same PST that I've been struggling with since the reformat/OS reinstall three weeks ago. Still having problems. I'm not using Word as editor and have no add-ins. If I delete and recreate the email accounts, won't I lose the messages I've collected so far? (Maybe this is the price to pay?) Thanks.

[unkamunka]

> If I delete and recreate the email accounts, won't I lose the messages I've collected so far?

Definitely not. The downloaded e-mail is data already on your hard drive. Other than deleting it, there is no way of removing it.

HTH