OLEXP: Error Message: The Identity Login Could Not Be Started (249893)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5 for Windows Millennium Edition
  • Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5 for Windows 98 Second Edition
  • Microsoft Outlook Express 5.01 for Windows 98 Second Edition
  • Microsoft Outlook Express 5.0 for Windows 98 Second Edition
  • Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5 for Windows 98
  • Microsoft Outlook Express 5.01 for Windows 98
  • Microsoft Outlook Express 5.0 for Windows 98
  • Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5 for Windows 95
  • Microsoft Outlook Express 5.01 for Windows 95
  • Microsoft Outlook Express 5.0 for Windows 95
This article was previously published under Q249893
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

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

SYMPTOMS

When you start Outlook Express you may receive the following error messages:
The identity login could not be started. Some components are either missing or incorrectly configured.

-and-

Outlook Express could not be started. It may not be installed correctly. Make sure that your disk is not full or that you are not out of memory. Contact Microsoft support for further assistance (0x80040154)

-And-

Outlook Express could not be started because MSOE.DLL could not be initialized. Outlook Express may not be installed correctly.

CAUSE

The error messages may be caused by damaged or incorrect versions of either the Msident.dll file or the Msidntld.dll file.

RESOLUTION

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

Outlook Express on Windows Millennium Edition

To resolve this error message on a Windows Millennium computer follow these steps:
  1. Double-click My Computer, and then double-click Control Panel.
  2. In Control Panel, double-click Add Remove Programs.
  3. Click the Windows Setup tab.
  4. Click to clear Outlook Express, and then click OK.
  5. Close Add Remove Programs, and then close the Control Panel.
  6. Click Start, point to Run, and then type regedit.
  7. Navigate to, and then delete, the following keys:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Activesetup

    -And-

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Active Setup

  8. Close Registry Editor.
  9. Download and install Internet Explorer 5.5 from the Internet. The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:

    http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/download/ie55.htm

Outlook Express on Windows 98 or 98


This behavior can occur under one of the following circumstances:
  • The Outlook Express installation procedure did not complete properly.
  • The Identities registry key in the HKEY_CURRENT_USER subtree does not exist.
  • There are no Outlook Express registry keys in the following subkeys:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft

    -And-

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft

To check the registry, click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.

CAUTION: Do not change any registry settings. If you change the registry settings, you computer may not start.

If you do not have an Identities key but there are Outlook Express keys in the registry, you can correct the problem by extracting both the Msident.dll file and the Msidntld.dll file from the Ie_extra.cab file, or by using Microsoft Windows System File Checker (SFC) in Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition with Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5.0. If you have Internet Explorer version 5.01 you must extract these files from the Ie_extra.cab file.

How to Extract the Files by Using System File Checker

Make sure that either you have the Windows 98 Second Edition CD-ROM in your CD-ROM drive, or that you have these files available on our computer. To extract both the Msident.dll file and the Msidntld.dll file by using SFC:
  1. Click Start, click Run, type sfc.exe in the Open box, and then click OK.
  2. In the Select an option and click Start box, click Extract one file from installation disk, type msident.dll, then click Start.
  3. In the Restore from box; type the path to your CD-ROM. For example, if your CD-ROM is drive D, type d:\win98.
  4. In the Save file in box, type c:\windows\system, and then click OK.
  5. Click Extract one file from installation disk, type msidntld.dll, then click Start.
  6. In the Restore from box, type the path to your CD-ROM. For example, if our CD-ROM is on drive D, type d:\win98.
  7. In the Save file in box, type c:\windows\system, and then click OK.
After the files are restored, you must run Regsvr32.exe on the Msident.dll and Msidntld.dll files. To do this, click Start, click Run, type regsvr32 Msident.dll in the Open box, and then click OK. Repeat this process for the Msidntld.dll file. If you do not register the Msident.dll, and Msidntld.dll files correctly, you still receive the error messages.

How to Manually Extract the Files

To manually extract the Msident.dll and Msidntld.dll files, you need the Ie_extra.cab file that is available on either your hard drive or on an Internet Explorer CD-ROM. If you download Internet Explorer from the Internet, this file is in the Windows Update Setup Files folder. Extract this file to the Windows\System folder.

After you locate the Ie_extra.cab file, restart your computer in MS-DOS mode. To do this, click Start, click Shut Down, click Restart in MS-DOS mode, and then clicking OK. Then extract the files from Ie_extra.cab. For additional information about the extract utility, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

129605 How to Extract Original Compressed Windows Files

If you do not register the Msident.dll, Msidntld.dll files correctly; you still receive the error messages. After the files are extracted, you must run Regsvr32.exe on the Msident.dll, and Msidntld.dll files. To do this, click Start, click Run, type regsvr32 Msident.dll in the Open box, and then click OK. Repeat this process for the Msidntld.dll file. If you do not register the Msident.dll, and Msidntld.dll files correctly, you still receive the error messages.

No Outlook Express Registry Keys

If you do not have Outlook Express registry keys in the registry, rename both the Msident.dll file and the Msidntld.dll file, and then uninstall and reinstall Outlook Express. For more information about changing the name of a file, click Start, click Help, type change the name of a file or folder on the Search tab, and then click that topic in the list.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:7/14/2004
Keywords:kbpending kbprb KB249893
©2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.