See if it will delete while working offline. File | Work Offline & View |
Layout, Uncheck the Preview Pane.

If not, move all the messages you wish to save from the Inbox to a local
folder you create. Then:

ToolsOptionsMaintenanceStore folder will reveal the location
of your Outlook Express files. Press the Tab key to highlight the folder
location, then Ctrl+C. Close OE, then StartRunCtrl+V will put the location
in the box - Click OK and you'll see the OE files. Otherwise, write the
location down and navigate to it in Windows Explorer.

In WindowsXP, 2K & 3K, the OE user files (DBX and WAB) are by default
marked as hidden. To view these files in Explorer, you must enable
Show Hidden Files and Folders under StartControl PanelFolder
OptionsView.

With OE closed, find the DBX file for the Inbox.dbx and delete it.
A new, empty one will be created automatically when you open OE.

Do not archive mail in default OE folders. They will eventually
become corrupted. 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: FileWork Offline (or double click Working Online in the Status
Bar).
FileFolderCompact all folders. Don't touch anything until the compacting
is completed.

In ToolsOptionsMaintenance: Uncheck Compact messages in background
and leave it unchecked. {N/A if running XP/SP2}.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS MVP - Outlook Express
~IB-CA~

"tge" wrote in message
...
I can't delete an email that was sent to me and it is on top of my list now
so when I try to read my email my Outlook Express just stops responding.
How
do I get rid of the darn thing?