Outlook Express Hangs When You Select Message Storage Location

• Microsoft Outlook Express versions 4.0, 4.01 for Windows 95
• Microsoft Outlook Express versions 4.0, 4.01 for Windows NT 4.0

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

When you first choose the folder to store your messages in after you upgrade to Outlook Express, Outlook Express may stop responding (hang).

CAUSE

This problem can occur if a program is running in the background when you choose the message storage location.

RESOLUTION

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it.

To resolve this issue, add a value named Store Root to the following registry branch:

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Outlook Express

NOTE: The Store Root folder contains a Mail folder and a News folder in which the data files for mail and news are located. The Store Root folder is not the folder containing the data files; it is the folder containing the Mail and the News folders. If you include the Mail folder in the Store Root path, a new Mail and News folder is created in the existing Mail folder. As a result, you cannot see the messages in the Outlook Express\Mail folder until you remove Mail from the Store Root path.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Outlook Express versions 4.0 and 4.01. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.