dadiOH wrote:
THE PROBLEM

When my wife tries to access OE the splash loads but nothing else. Task
manager shows msimn.exe is using 100% (or close to it) of CPU.


THE MACHINE

CPU - Athlon
OS - XP SP3
IE - 6.00.2900.5512.xpsp.080413-2111)
OE - 6.00.2900.5512 (xpsp.080413-2105)


WHAT I'VE TRIED

1. I restored a recent image from when I *thought* OE was OK. No help

2. I restored an older image from when I *know* OE was OK. No help

3. I moved all dbx files from the store. No help

4. Checked machine for malware...couple of tracking cookies, nothing
else. Removed cookies. No help

5. I deleted msimn.exe from the Outlook Express folder so the system
would replace it from dllcache. No help

6. I deleted *all* files from the Outlook Express folder so the
system would replace them from dllcache. No help

7. Tried an over the top install of XP but it faulted out, don't
recall the specific reason.



WHERE NOW?

Danged if I know. Other than wipe the partition and reinstall XP
which I really don't want to do as her work place has installed stuff
which would be a nuisance to get back.

I could install a different mail client but she is used to OE and has
limited computer skills (limited = almost none). Besides, I hate to
be thwarted and would like to find the problem and the fix. The
thing that really puzzles me is why the problem persists after
restoring a known good image.

Any and all suggestions welcomed.
________________________________

RESOLUTION #1
I installed Eudora OSE on her machine. I set it to run in "simple mode",
seems nice and she should be able to adapt in a month or so

RESOLUTION #2
I kept thinking about why the problem persisted after putting back a good
image. Well, duh...because the OE dbx store is on a different partition. I
put it there so that if the XP partition ever had to be restored she would
still have all those so important emails.

After extracting the dbx file folder from an image of the correct drive and
putting it where it should be, all was well and I dumped Eudora.

COMMENT
I am sure many will say I should have kept Eudora, that it is *FAR* superior
to OE. May be but wifie isn't used to it. My wife is not stupid but like
many people she just doesn't "get" computers; for example, she doesn't
understand that all programs interface with the user in similar ways and
that a solution to some problem or difficulty in one can usually be applied
to a problem with another. Consequently, OE is better for her and being
better for her is better for me. Why me? Consider this...

HER - shouting because we are at opposite ends of the house Can you come
here?

ME - Why?

HER - This program won't do anything

ME - What program?

HER - My mail program

ME - OE or Mailwasher?

HER - OE I think

ME - What is wrong with it?

HER - It won't do anything

ME - Is it maximized? Does it cover the whole screen?

HER - Yes

ME - Well, minimize it and see if there is a message box under it

HER - How do I do that?

ME - Click the box with the "minus sign" at the upper right corner

ME (after a while) - Well? Did you minimize it?

HER - Yes. There was a thing under it.

ME - What does the thing say?

HER - It says that the program performed an illegal action and will be shut
down to protect my computer.

ME - Fine. Close the message box

HER - Will I lose my email?

ME - No

HER - OK, It's gone. How do I get my email back?

ME - Open OE.

The above exchange is fictitious but representative of many, many exchanges
over the years. I suspect it is familiar to many of you and is why I dumped
Eudora in favor of OE.

--

dadiOH
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