OLEXP: Unable to Start Internet Mail and News (158631)

For information about the differences between Microsoft Outlook Express and Microsoft Outlook e-mail clients, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

257824 OL2000: Differences Between Outlook and Outlook Express

SYMPTOMS

When you start Internet Mail or Internet News, you may experience one or more of the following symptoms:

You receive the following error message:
Some of the messages in the delete items folder could not be deleted on exit. An error has occurred.
When you click OK, the program does not start.
Internet Mail or Internet News appears briefly on the taskbar and then closes.

CAUSE

This behavior can occur if either of the following conditions exists:

Windows 95 and Windows NT

The Internet Mail or Internet News shortcut has been configured to run minimized.

Windows 95

You are running Windows 95 on a Compaq computer, and the Windows Explorer shell (Explorer.exe) is replaced with Compaq's Original Equipment Manfuacturer (OEM) version.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this behavior, follow the steps in the appropriate section below:

Internet Mail or Internet News Shortcut Runs Minimized

If Internet Mail and News has been configured to run minimized, change the properties of the Internet Mail or Internet News shortcut by following these steps:

Right-click the Start button, and then click Open.
Double-click the Programs folder.
Right-click the Internet Mail or Internet News icon, and then click Properties.
Click the Shortcut tab.
In the Run box, click either Normal Window or Maximized.

NOTE: If the Normal Window setting does not solve the problem, try the Maximized setting.
Click OK.

Windows Explorer Shell Is Replaced with Compaq's OEM Version

If the Windows Explorer shell has been replaced by Compaq's OEM version, change the Internet Mail or Internet News shortcut target path to point to Microsoft's version of the Windows Explorer shell. To do so, follow these steps:

Right-click the Start button, and then click Open.
Double-click the Programs folder.
Right-click Internet Mail, and then click Properties.
Click the Shortcut tab.
In the Target box, type the following command:

C:\WINDOWS\MICROSOFTEXPLORER.EXE /root,C:\WINDOWS\Internet Mail.{89292102-4755-11cf-9DC2-00AA006C2B84}
Click OK.
Repeat steps 3-6 for Internet News, typing the following command in step 5:

C:\WINDOWS\MICROSOFTEXPLORER.EXE /root,C:\WINDOWS\Internet News.{89292103-4755-11cf-9DC2-00AA006C2B84}

MORE INFORMATION

Some computer manufacturers replace the Windows Explorer shell with their own shell program. For example, Compaq replaces the default Windows Explorer shell with a proprietary version, and renames the default Windows 95 shell to Microsoftexplorer.exe. The shell that Compaq uses may not be compatible with Internet Mail and Internet News.

To determine if the Windows Explorer shell has been replaced by a third- party shell program, verify that the Explorer.exe file is the following size, date and version:

File Name     Size (bytes)  Date      Version
                   ---------     ------------  ----      -------

Windows 95       : Explorer.exe  204,288       07-11-95  4.00.950
Windows 95 (OSR2): Explorer.exe  204,288       08-24-96  4.00.950