Microsoft KB Archive/167593

= Microsoft Knowledge Base =

Err Msg: There Was an Error Starting Microsoft Outlook Express
Last reviewed: July 30, 1997

Article ID: Q167593



BETA INFORMATION BETA INFORMATION  BETA INFORMATION  BETA

This article discusses a Beta release of a Microsoft product. The information in this article is provided as-is and is subject to change without notice.

No formal product support is available from Microsoft for this Beta product. For information about obtaining support for a Beta release, please see the documentation included with the Beta product files, or check the Web location from which you downloaded the release.

BETA INFORMATION BETA INFORMATION  BETA INFORMATION  BETA

The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Outlook Express version 4.0 for Windows 95
 * Microsoft Outlook Express version 4.0 for Windows NT 4.0

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, you should first make a backup copy of the registry files (System.dat and User.dat). Both are hidden files in the Windows folder.

SYMPTOMS
When you try to start Outlook Express, you may receive one of the following error messages:


 * There was an error starting Microsoft Outlook Express.
 * The ordinal 508 could not be located in the dynamic link library Rasapi32.dll.

CAUSE
Possible causes for these error messages include:


 * The friendly name of a news server is invalid. For example, there is a space at the beginning of the name or the name contains only spaces.
 * An Internet Connection Wizard file is missing or is not the correct version.
 * A registry key is damaged.

RESOLUTION
WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall Windows 95. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the Changing Keys And Values online Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe). Note that you should make a backup copy of the registry files (System.dat and User.dat) before you edit the registry.

Correct Friendly Names
To correct an invalid friendly name for a news server, use Registry Editor to check each key under the following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Account Manager\ Accounts Each key must have a valid name. To be valid, a name must contain at least one character, and the first character must not be a space.

Verify Internet Connection Wizard Files
The Icwconn1.exe file should be located in the Program Files\Internet Explorer\Connection Wizard folder, and should be version 4.71.0.7629. Note that if you installed Microsoft Internet Explorer in a different folder, the file should be in the Connection Wizard folder in the folder in which you installed Internet Explorer.

The following files should be located in the Windows\System or Winnt\System32 folder:

File         Platform                    Version -  Inetcfg.dll   Windows 95 and Windows NT   4.71.0.7629 Icfg95.dll   Windows 95 only             4.71.0.7629 Inet16.dll   Windows 95 only             4.71.0.7628 Icfgnt.dll   Windows NT only             5.00.1476.1 If any of these files are missing, reinstall Outlook Express. If any of these files are the wrong version, rename the file, and then reinstall Outlook Express.

Note that you cannot selectively remove or reinstall Outlook Express using the Add/Remove Programs tool in Control Panel. You can reinstall all of Internet Explorer 4.0, or you can download the Outlook Express component from the Internet Explorer 4.0 Components Download page.

Correct Damaged Registry Key
If the Internet Account Manager key is damaged, you need to re-create it. Note that using this method causes you to lose existing account information. You may want to record your account information before deleting the key.

Use Registry Editor to delete the following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Account Manager On the Tools menu, click Accounts to enter your account information.

STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Internet Explorer 4.0 Platform Preview 1. This problem does not occur with Internet Explorer 4.0 Platform Preview 2. To obtain Internet Explorer 4.0 Platform Preview 2, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/ie/ie40/

MORE INFORMATION
For information about a tool to back up the Windows 95 registry files, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

ARTICLE-ID: Q139437 TITLE    : Windows 95 Emergency Recovery Utility