I don't think you need to replace anything. For OE, Deleted Items is
probably corrupt, but create a new identity.

You may have a damaged identity especially if it is the default Main
Identity. File | Identity | Add New Identity. Create a new one and test it.
If all is well, you can import your messages and Address Book from the old
identity and delete it.

How to Create and Use Identities in Outlook Express
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=209169

To help avoid this in the futu

Do not archive mail in default OE folders. They will eventually become
corrupt. 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 100MB, and Default folders as empty as is feasible.

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.

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#3

In Tools | Options | Maintenance: Uncheck Compact messages in background and
leave it unchecked. {N/A if running XP/SP2}.

And backup often.

Backup & Resto
http://www.insideoutlookexpress.com/backup/

This is a great two click program:

Outlook Express Quick Backup (OEQB)
http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA


"sjh" wrote in message
...
Bruce:
Thank you for your quick response.
I am on OE6 now, so I will be doing a replace of it.
Actually I have contamination in both OE and IE (6.0.2). This is based
upon
an analysis by my internet provider who spent some time looking into it.
I
frequently am unable to delete emails... I issue a delete and nothing
happens. And when using IE my home page is missing sections that should
be
there. Restarting my system doesn't help. Other than that I really can't
explain where the problem is.


"Bruce Hagen" wrote:

What version of OE do you have now? If you have OE6, there is no newer
version as long as you are fully patched at Windows Updates. If you are
using OE5x, then you need to download IE6 to get OE6. I don't believe you
have to remove IE5x before you download V6, so the internet is not a
problem.

What kind of contamination do you have? If it resides in the dbx files,
you
may be transferring the corruption to OE6 and eventually to the new
machine.
If it is some form of malware, etc., you need to deal with that first.

Backup & Resto

http://www.insideoutlookexpress.com/backup/

http://www.oehelp.com/backup.aspx

Backing up and Cloning your OE Identities:
http://www.insideoutlookexpress.com/backup/clone.htm

DBX File Location:

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.

How to Reinstall or Repair IE6 and OE6:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=318378

Although written for WinXP, it works for all Windows operating systems 98
or
newer.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA


"sjh" wrote in message
...
My copy of Outlook Express has been contaminated and its giving me
problems
so I'm planning to download a new copy from Microsoft's site.
Currently I
use Windows 98 which I know is no longer supported. I will be
replacing
this
system with a new one after the holidays.
Anyway, I have two questions. I want to Backup the various email
folders
that I currently have so that I can restore them when I download the
new
version of OE.
The problem is that when I search for the names of these folders using
Windows Express I can't find them so I can't do a backup. How can I do
these
backups?
My second question is will I have to do a uninstall of my current OE?
I
suspect the answer is no because I would have to uninstall IE too
inasmuch
OE
appears to be part of IE. If I uninstalled IE then I would have no way
to
communicate with Microsoft and download the programs. Is this correct?
Thanks...