Outlook Express Compacting Messages

Compacting messages in OE is necessary for its health, and should be allowed to continue without interruption. This offer to compact is triggered automatically after OE has been opened 100 times, and cannot be disabled. You can also compact messages manually.

 

more info here:
http://www.insideoe.com/faqs/why.htm#compact
http://email.about.com/od/outlookexpresstroubles/qt/et_compact_oe.htm

As I said, you cannot prevent the periodic message to compact. Your error messsage indicates OE is already performing some other function, thus preventing compaction.

 

Try this, if you are using XP:

1) Boot into Safe Mode (without networking). This will prevent OE from sending/receiving email.
2) Start OE, and perform a manual compaction according to the instructions in the link I supplied above.

 

If you are using an antivirus with an email scanning option, disable it (the email scanner, not the AV!) as well. It provides no extra protection, and can cause problems with OE.

But my Outlook will not compact.  I receive an error message which I know is quite common, saying that the file needed is in use by another program.  I have tried many fixes for this problem, from Microsoft and other forums, and none of them work for me.  I just want to shut this message down.

I am using the Trend Micro Internet Security that came with my Dell, and just last night it blocked an incoming email that was potentially harmful.  I am puzzled that you say this feature does not provide extra protection and can be turned off.

Email scanners in  AV products do not provide extra protection. They just scan the email at another level, using the same virus definitions. It's basically a marketing gimmick. The fact is that even without the email scanner enabled, your real-time AV will detect any infection when you open the email (rather than when you try to download it). And if your AV does not detect it at this level, it will not detect it using the email scanner either.

 

The problem with these extra email scanners is that they can damage your OE, and cause problems like you are seeing (I'm not saying it is the cause of your problem- just a possibility). The standard advice from numerous experts is that if OE is having problems, you should disable the email scanner to see if it solves the problem. I have always disabled it in several AVs I have used, and have never been infected via email with it disabled.

 

See:

http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?p=187985&sid=4ca3e5b46b76f8f232b22cc289962a2c#p187985
http://www.vcn.com/knowledgebase/article.php?id=444
http://www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#3
http://thundercloud.net/infoave/tutorials/email-scanning/index.htm

 

 

Thank you for all this information.  I will turn off the email scanner and follow some of the links you have given me to try to fix this problem.

 

I bought my new computer with XP, just like the old one; and I couldn't understand why Outlook did not function exactly the same way.  However, with the old one I did not have email scanning. So this may very well be what has caused the problem.

You are welcome.

 

Good luck- and let us know how it goes.

I have turned off my email scanning and have successfully compacted my folders by the manual method.  No more error message!  Thanks again.

Sorry. That was just me being dumb.

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@Nanacama wrote:
I have turned off my email scanning and have successfully compacted my folders by the manual method.  No more error message!  Thanks again.

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Why do you give yourself the credit for the "Accepted Solution"?  You didn't provide it.  Joe53 should get the credit.

 

 

Nanacama:

 

You are welcome. Glad that worked, and thank you for the feedback.

No worries, Nanacama, I've fixed the Accepted Solution for you. ;)