Article ID: 245419
Article Last Modified on 5/7/2007
APPLIES TO
- Microsoft Outlook Express 4.01 Service Pack 1
- Microsoft Outlook Express 4.01 Service Pack 2
- Microsoft Outlook Express 4.0
- Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5
- Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5
- Microsoft Outlook Express 5.01 Service Pack 2
- Microsoft Outlook Express 5.0
- Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5
- Microsoft Outlook Express 5.01 Service Pack 1
- Microsoft Outlook Express 5.0
- Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5
- Microsoft Outlook Express 5.01
- Microsoft Outlook Express 5.0
- Microsoft Outlook Express 4.0
- Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5
- Microsoft Outlook Express 5.01 Service Pack 2
This article was previously published under Q245419
Microsoft offers two different e-mail programs (or clients), Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express. Although these two programs have several similar features and often work closely together, they are different. 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 upgrade Outlook Express, you may experience the following symptoms.
Upgrading Outlook Express 4.x to Outlook Express 5 or Later
If you upgrade Outlook Express 4.x to Outlook Express 5 or later, and then attempt to start Outlook Express from either the desktop icon or from Microsoft Internet Explorer, you may receive one of the following error messages or Outlook Express may not start:
Upgrading Outlook Express 5.0 to Outlook Express 5.01 or Later
When you upgrade Outlook Express 5.0 to Outlook Express 5.01 or later, and then attempt to start Outlook Express from either the desktop icon or from Internet Explorer, Outlook Express does not start, and you do not receive an error message.
CAUSE
This issue can occur if there is missing or corrupted information in the Outlook Express Identities registry key.
WORKAROUND
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 work around this issue, use the following methods in the order in which they are presented.
- Rename the Main Identity subkey.
- Back up individual identities subkeys.
- Delete the Identities subkey.
- Re-create you Identities subkeys.
- Re-create e-mail and news accounts.
Rename the "Main Identity" Subkey
Before you back up the Identities subkeys, you must rename the Username value of the Main Identity subkey. To do so:
- Click Start, and then click Run.
- In the Open box, type regedit.exe, and then click OK.
- Locate the following registry subkey:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Identities
To do so, in the left pane, click the plus sign (+) that is next to each registry key or subkey in the path to expand each branch until you locate the subkey that you want to delete. For example, in the following registry subkey path, the subkey is Identities:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Identities
- In the left pane, click the plus sign (+) that is next to the Identities subkey to expand that branch. Note the globally unique identifier (GUID) subkeys; each is named with a unique ID number, such as the following:
{AFE1AA0D-D202-4C52-AC8D-F68DE06421C1}
- In the left pane, click each GUID until you find the Username data value Main Identity.
- In the right pane, double-click Username.
- In the Edit String dialog box, type Main Backup in the Value data box, and then click OK.
Back up Individual Identity Subkeys
For each identity that you create in Outlook Express, an entry is automatically created in the Microsoft Windows registry. Back up these identities before you delete the Identities subkey. If you do not, you may be unable to use your current identities or shared contacts after you restart Outlook Express.
To back up your identity information:
- In the left pane of Registry Editor, click the Main identity subkey.
- On the Registry menu, click Export Registry File.
- In the File name box, type the user name for the identity. For example, if you export the Main identity subkey, type Main.
- In the Save as type box, click Registration Files.
- Under Export range, click Selected branch, and then click Save.
- Repeat steps 1 through 5 for each identity subkey.
For additional information about how to back up Outlook Express data, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
270670 OLEXP: How to Back Up and Recover Outlook Express Data
After you have successfully backed up all of the individual identity subkeys, proceed to the next method.
Delete the "Identities" Subkey
To delete the Identities subkey:
- In the right pane, click the Identities subkey.
- On the Edit menu, click Delete.
- In the Confirm Key Delete dialog box, click Yes.
- Quit Registry Editor, and then restart your computer.
Re-Create Your Identities Subkeys
To re-create your Identities subkeys:
- Start Outlook Express.
- When the Internet Connection Wizard dialog box is displayed, click Cancel, and then click Yes.
- In the Outlook Express Import dialog box, click Cancel, and then click Yes.
- Quit Outlook Express.
- On the desktop, double-click the My Documents folder.
- Double-click one of the exported identity subkeys, click Yes in the Registry Editor dialog box, and then click OK. When you double-click the subkey, the data is imported back into the registry, and the corresponding identity is re-created.
- Repeat this step until you have re-created all of the Identities subkeys.
For additional information about using identities in Outlook Express, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
209169 OLEXP: How to Create and Use Identities in Outlook Express 5
Restore Your E-mail and News Account Information
After you finish using the preceding methods to restore your identities, you need to manually re-create your e-mail and news accounts. For more information about how to create e-mail and news accounts in Outlook Express, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
171163 How to configure Outlook Express 6.0 for Internet mail
171164 OLEXP: How to configure Outlook Express for Internet News
NOTE: For questions about specific e-mail or news account settings, please contact your e-mail provider, your Internet service provider (ISP), or your newsgroup administrator.
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