No it wouldn't for the first question. Best I can say is that there is
something installed that is starting a hidden instance of Outlook and not
releasing/exiting cleanly when Outlook quits. Finding software glitches
like this takes a bit of trial and error. For example, does the problem
happen starting Outlook in safe mode?

Start Run outlook.exe /safe ok button


"~~~AAA~~~" wrote in message
...
No, I don't. Unfortunately it does not appear to be that simple. But, if
I had, wouldn't the icon still open up Outlook if I clicked on "Open
Outlook"? Since it does not open Outlook, is that a sign of some type of
problem?


"neo [mvp outlook]" wrote in message
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Do you have any 3rd party programs installed that use, sync, protect,
.etc Outlook data? Examples of said programs would be ActiveSync,
WinFAX, Outlook Addins (RSS), .etc. (Any of these can keep Outlook
resident in memory.)

"~~~AAA~~~" wrote in message
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I am using Outlook 2003 with Windows XP Pro SP2. Occasionally the system
tray icon remains for Outlook once I close it. It remains there until I
reboot. I do not have the item checked to hide when minimized. Also, if
I close Outlook and the icon remains in the tray, right clicking on the
icon and choosing Open Outlook does not bring up the program. I also
check the task manager and see Outlook.exe listed and when I remove that,
the problem icon disappears.