Microsoft KB Archive/256219

= OLEXP: How to Manually Uninstall and Reinstall Outlook Express 5.x and 6.0 =

PSS ID Number: 256219

Article Last Modified on 1/24/2003

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5 for Windows Millennium Edition
 * Microsoft Outlook Express 5.0 for Windows Millennium Edition
 * Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5 for Windows 98
 * Microsoft Outlook Express 5.0 for Windows 98
 * Microsoft Outlook Express 6.0 for Windows 98
 * Microsoft Outlook Express 6.0 for Windows Millennium Edition

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This article was previously published under Q256219



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



SUMMARY
This article describes how to manually uninstall and reinstall Outlook Express. Because Outlook Express is considered a component of Microsoft Internet Explorer, you should first try to uninstall Outlook Express by using the procedures that are described in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base articles.

IMPORTANT: Uninstalling Outlook Express can be a complicated procedure that involves deleting and renaming files, and editing the Microsoft Windows registry. For these reasons, please do not try the steps that are described in this article if you have not already tried the methods that are described in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base articles:

171229 How to Add and Remove Internet Explorer Components

186218 How to Remove and Reinstall Outlook Express in Windows 98 and Windows Me



MORE INFORMATION
Use each of the following procedures in the order in which they are presented.
 * Back up the registry.
 * Back up message (*.dbx) files and personal address book (*.wab) files.
 * Back up e-mail and news account information.
 * Uninstall Outlook Express.
 * Delete any remaining files.
 * Delete registry keys.
 * Reinstall Outlook Express.
 * Recreate e-mail and news accounts, and restore message and Address Book files.

Back Up the Registry
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.

Microsoft recommends that you back up the registry before you uninstall Outlook Express. You can use a backup of the registry to restore your computer to its original configuration if an unforeseen problem occurs. To back up the registry:
 * 1) Click Start, and then click Run.
 * 2) In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
 * 3) On the Registry menu, click Export Registry File.
 * 4) In the Save as type list, click Registration Files (*.reg).
 * 5) Under Export range, click All.
 * 6) In the File name box, type Backup Registry.
 * 7) In the Save in box, click Desktop.
 * 8) In the upper-right corner of the Export Registry File dialog box, click Create New Folder, and then type My Backup Files.
 * 9) Click Open, and then click Save.

NOTE: You have just saved the Backup Registry file to the My Backup Files folder on the desktop. In each of the following backup procedures, you will be instructed to save your files to the same folder.
 * 1) On the Registry menu, click Exit.
 * 2) Verify that the Registry Backup.reg file is located in the My Backup Files folder. To do this, double-click the My Backup Files folder on the desktop and note the contents. If the file is there, close the My Backup Files folder. If the file is not there, repeat steps 1 through 9, but in step 8, do not create a new folder; instead, select the My Backup Files folder.

IMPORTANT: Do not double-click the Registry Backup.reg file on your desktop unless you intend to undo the changes that you are making to the registry.

Back Up Your Message and Personal Address Book Files
Microsoft recommends that you back up your message and personal address book files before you uninstall Outlook Express. The e-mail messages that you have sent and received and want to keep and the contact information in your personal address book are both saved on your computer. E-mail messages are saved in files with a .dbx extension. Personal address book information is saved in files with a .wab extension.

Back Up Your Messages
When you send or receive an e-mail message, a copy of the message may be saved automatically on your computer. To back up the e-mail messages that are currently in your Inbox, Outbox, Sent Items, and any custom folders:
 * 1) In Windows 98, click Start, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.

In Windows Millennium Edition (ME), click Start, point to Search, and then click For Files or Folders.
 * 1) In the Look In box, click My Computer.
 * 2) In the Named box, type *.dbx, and then click Find Now (in Windows ME, click Search Now). When the search is completed, you should see a list of files with the .dbx file extension in the Search Results window.
 * 3) On the Edit menu, click Select All.
 * 4) On the Edit menu, click Copy.
 * 5) Close the Find All Files dialog box.
 * 6) On your desktop, double-click the My Backup Files folder.
 * 7) On the Edit menu, click Paste.

Back Up Your Personal Address Book
Your personal address book is where your contact information (names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses) is stored. To back up your personal address book:
 * 1) In Windows 98, click Start, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.

In Windows Millennium Edition (ME), click Start, point to Search, and then click For Files or Folders.
 * 1) In the Look in box, click My Computer.
 * 2) In the Named box, type *.wab, and then click Find Now (in Windows ME, click Search Now). When the search is completed, you should see a list of files with the .wab file extension in the Search Results window.
 * 3) On the Edit menu, click Select All.
 * 4) On the Edit menu, click Copy.
 * 5) Close the Find All Files dialog box.
 * 6) On your desktop, double-click the My Backup Files folder.
 * 7) On the Edit menu, click Paste.

NOTE: If more than one person uses your computer, you may have Profiles set up. If this is the case, you need to back up the files for each Profile.

Back Up E-mail and News Account Information
Microsoft recommends that you back up your e-mail and news account information before you uninstall Outlook Express. If Outlook Express is not uninstalled properly, you may not be able to recreate your accounts when you reinstall Outlook Express.

Back Up Your E-Mail Accounts

 * 1) Start Outlook Express.
 * 2) On the Tools menu, click Accounts.
 * 3) On the Mail tab, click the mail account that you want to back up, and then click Export.
 * 4) In the Export Internet Account dialog box, click Save.

NOTE: Be sure to export the e-mail account to the My Backup Files folder on the desktop. If you do not select this folder manually, Outlook Express may save the mail account to another folder by default. If that happens, you may have a difficult time locating this account when you want to restore it.
 * 1) Repeat steps 2 through 4 for each mail account that you want to export.
 * 2) In the Internet Accounts dialog box, click Close.

Back Up Your News Accounts

 * 1) On the Tools menu, click Accounts, and then click the News tab.
 * 2) On the News tab, click the news account that you want to back up, and then click Export.
 * 3) In the Export Internet Account dialog box, click Save.

NOTE: Be sure to export the news account to the My Backup Files folder on the desktop. If you do not select this folder manually, Outlook Express may save the news account to another folder by default. If that happens, you may have a difficult time locating this account when you want to restore it.
 * 1) Repeat steps 2 through 4 for each news account that you want to export.
 * 2) In the Internet Accounts dialog box, click Close.

After the registry, e-mail messages, personal address books, and e-mail and news account information are safely backed up, you can uninstall Outlook Express.

Uninstall Outlook Express
To uninstall Outlook Express:
 * 1) Close Outlook Express.
 * 2) Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
 * 3) Double-click Add/Remove Programs.
 * 4) Click Microsoft Outlook Express, and then click Add/Remove.
 * 5) If you are prompted to confirm the removal of Outlook Express from your computer, click Yes.
 * 6) Click Yes to restart your computer.

Delete Remaining Outlook Express Files
Before you delete any remaining files, make sure that the Show All Files option is turned on in Windows Explorer. To do this, use the appropriate method for your operating system.

Windows 98

 * 1) Click Start, point to Programs, and then click Windows Explorer.
 * 2) On the View menu, click Folder Options, and then click the View tab.
 * 3) Under the Hidden files branch, click Show all files.
 * 4) Click Apply, and then click OK.
 * 5) Leave Windows Explorer open.

Windows ME

 * 1) Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Windows Explorer.
 * 2) On the Tools menu, click Folder Options, and then click the View tab.
 * 3) Click to select the Show hidden files and folders check box.
 * 4) Click to clear the Hide File Extensions for known file types check box.
 * 5) Click to clear the Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) check box. Click Yes to the warning confirming your choice.
 * 6) Click Apply, and then click OK.
 * 7) Leave Windows Explorer open.

To finish removing Outlook Express, delete any files that remain in the following folders:
 * C:\Program Files\Outlook Express
 * C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Stationary
 * C:\Windows\Application Data\Identities
 * C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book
 * C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Express

NOTE: You may or may not see the C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Express folder on your computer. If you do not see the folder, it was removed when you uninstalled Outlook Express, and no files remain in it.

CAUTION: Do not delete the actual C:\Program Files\Outlook Express folder. If you delete this folder, Outlook Express may not function or may function incorrectly when you reinstall it.

To delete any remaining files:
 * 1) In the left pane of Windows Explorer, click the PLUS SIGN (+) that is next to Program Files to expand the branch.
 * 2) Click the Outlook Express folder.
 * 3) If the Outlook Express folder contains any files, they are displayed in the right pane. If not, the right pane is empty, and you can start this procedure over again with one of the remaining four folders that are listed earlier in this section. If the folder contains files, click to select one of the files.
 * 4) On the Edit menu, click Select All.
 * 5) On the Edit menu, click Delete.
 * 6) In the Confirm Multiple File Delete dialog box, click Yes.
 * 7) If the Confirm File Delete dialog box appears, click Yes to All.
 * 8) Repeat this procedure to delete any files that may be present in each of the five folders that are listed in this section.

Delete Registry Subkeys
To complete the removal of Outlook Express, you must delete any remaining Outlook Express subkeys that are left in the registry. You can do this by using either of the following methods.

Method 1: Download and Install the Outlook Express 5 RegClean Utility
NOTE: This tool will work for Outlook Express 5.x and 6.0.

The Outlook Express 5 RegClean (OE5RegClean.exe) utility automatically removes all remaining Outlook Express registry subkeys. Editing the registry can be involved, and may result in unforeseen problems. Therefore, Microsoft recommends that you use this method to remove remaining Outlook Express registry subkeys.

To download and save the Outlook Express 5 RegClean utility:  Click the following link to the OE5RegClean.exe utility:

Download OE5RegClean.exe now

The OE5RegClean.exe file contains the following files:

Readme.doc

Readme.txt

Ula.doc

Ula.txt

 In the File Download dialog box, click Save to Disk. In the Save As dialog box, click My Documents, and then click Open. In the Save As dialog box, click Save to save the file. For additional information about how to download Microsoft Support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

119591 How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services

Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on secure servers that prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.



To install the utility:
 * 1) Double-click the My Documents folder on your desktop, and then double-click the OE5RegClean.exe file.
 * 2) In the Outlook Express 5 RegClean Utility dialog box, click Yes.
 * 3) Click Yes to accept the license agreement.
 * 4) In the Outlook Express 5 RegClean Utility Setup dialog box, click Continue.
 * 5) Click the button with the computer icon to begin the installation.
 * 6) When the installation is complete, click OK.

To use the utility:
 * 1) Click Start, point to Programs, point to Outlook Express 5 RegClean, and then click Outlook Express 5 RegClean.
 * 2) In the Outlook Express 5 RegClean dialog box, click Yes.
 * 3) Click OK.
 * 4) Restart your computer.

Method 2: Manually Delete the Registry Subkeys
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.

To finish manually uninstalling Outlook Express, you must delete the following registry subkeys:  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Identities</li> HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Outlook Express</li> HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\WAB</li> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Outlook Express

NOTE: The default value for the following key is Address Book5:

HKEY_USERS\DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Outlook Express

</li> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WAB

NOTE: The default value (in the right pane) for the following key is Address Book5:

HKEY_USERS\DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\WAB

</li> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components\{44BBA840-CC51-11CF-AAFA-00AA00B6015C}</li> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components\{7790769C- 0471-11d2-AF11-00C04FA35D02}</li> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components\{44BBA840-CC51-11CF-AAFA-00AA00B6015C}.restore</li> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components\{7790769C- 0471-11d2-AF11-00C04FA35D02}.restore</li></ul>

NOTE: If system policies are set up on your computer, delete the following registry subkey:

HKEY_USERS\ \Software\Microsoft\Outlook Express

To manually delete the registry subkeys:  Click Start, and then click Run.</li> In the Open box, type regedit.exe, and then click OK.</li> In the left pane, click the PLUS SIGN (+) that is next to each registry key to expand the branch, until you locate the subkey that you want to delete. For example, in the following registry subkey path

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Outlook Express

the subkey is Outlook Express.</li> On the Edit menu, click Delete.</li> If you are prompted to confirm the deletion, click Yes.</li> Repeat steps 3 through 5 for each subkey that you want to delete.</li> On the Registry menu, click Exit.</li> <li>Restart your computer.</li></ol>

Rename Outlook Express Files
<ol> <li>Click Start, point to Search or Find, and then click For Files and Folders.</li> <li> Find and rename the following files: <pre class="fixed_text">  Msoeacct.dll Msoert2.dll Msoe.dll Msoeres.dll Oeimport.dll Csapi3t1.dll Directdb.dll Wab32.dll Wab32res.dll </li></ol>

Reinstall Outlook Express 5

 * 1) Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
 * 2) Double-click Add/Remove Programs.
 * 3) In the Add/Remove Programs dialog box, click Internet Explorer 5.5 and Internet Tools.
 * 4) Click Add/Remove.
 * 5) Click Add a component, and then click OK.
 * 6) Under Communication Components on the Windows Update: Internet Explorer and Internet Tools dialog box, click Outlook Express.
 * 7) Click Next.
 * 8) When the installation is complete, click Finish to restart your computer.

NOTE: If these steps do not work, visit the following Web site to download the latest version of Microsoft Internet Explorer:

http://www.microsoft.com/ie

Recreate E-mail and News Accounts, and Restore Message and Address Book Files
The first time that you start Outlook Express after you re-install it, the Internet Connection Wizard automatically begins, to help you recreate your e-mail and news accounts and import your message and personal address book files from the backups that you made.

For additional information about how to recreate accounts and restore files, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

270670 OLEXP: How to Back Up and Recover Outlook Express Data

171164 OLEXP: How to Configure Outlook Express for Internet News

Keywords: kbenv kbgraphxlinkcritical kbhowto KB256219

Technology: kbOutlookExpress500Win98 kbOutlookExpress500WinME kbOutlookExpress550Win98 kbOutlookExpress600Win98 kbOutlookExpress600WinME kbOutlookExpress98Search kbOutlookExpressSearch kbOutlookExpressWinMESearch

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