Member Avatar for smalt

Hi all,

I'm a new user....Having trouble with outlook express freezing on me after going from my inbox to my sent folder........Never had this problem before. Check for viruses daily and check for adware daily....nothing there....

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.undefined

  • 5 Contributors
  • 4 Replies
  • 216 Views
  • 11 Months Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by ssl4

Dani AI

Generated

OP reported Outlook Express (OE) freezing when switching from Inbox to the Sent folder. Replies from and pointed toward a folder/index issue and general updates; both are reasonable starting points. When OE hangs on one folder view the most common root causes are a corrupted folder database (a .dbx), a single malformed message or attachment that the viewer tries to render, or a broken folder index (Folders.dbx). Rebuilding or isolating the Sent folder is the safest next move. (learn.microsoft.com)

Quick, non‑destructive isolation steps:

  • Turn off the preview/reading pane (View → Layout → Use preview pane) and open Sent while OE is offline. If the freeze stops, the problem is likely a rendered message, remote content, or a server timeout. (sony-asia.com)
  • Confirm the OE message store path (Tools → Options → Maintenance → Store Folder) and copy that entire folder (all .dbx and .bak files) to a safe backup location before doing anything else. That backup preserves recoverable mail. (flylib.com)

Safe rebuild workflow (non‑destructive order):

  1. Close OE and make a second backup of the store folder.
  2. Create a new empty folder called Sent in OE (open OE, add folder, then close OE).
  3. In Explorer, with OE closed, either replace the new Sent.dbx with a backed‑up copy (if known good), or rename the original Sent.dbx to Sent.old so OE will create a fresh Sent.dbx when restarted. If a Sent.bak exists, restoring it by renaming to .dbx can recover messages. After OE restarts, run File → Folder → Compact All Folders while still offline. Check for very large .dbx files (OE has practical limits—large files commonly lead to corruption) and split big folders into subfolders. (learn.microsoft.com)

Practical cautions and next steps:

  • Temporarily disable only the AV mail‑scanning feature when testing; mail‑scanner hooks are a known source of hangs. (learn.microsoft.com)
  • Third‑party DBX repair utilities (as mentioned by ) can help if the old .dbx is badly corrupted, but run them only after backups and pick well‑reviewed tools. Regular backups, compacting while offline, and avoiding large default folders prevent most recurrences. (learn.microsoft.com)

Recommended Answers

All 4 Replies

Member Avatar for pcschrottie

Maybe the .dbx - file of your sent-box is damaged. I don't know if OE just creates a new one if you delete it. Maybe someone knows more.


Michael

Member Avatar for Sphyenx

Run a system update, and update all of windows programs (sevice pack etc) that should solve the problem.

Member Avatar for dolly

Hey
i have a problem when i export msg templates from outlook to MSFrontPage. the sent messages doesn't get stored in 'Sent' Folder. When I go to the options tab it shows 'Unknown' under where sent folder should have been.don't know why this is happening. has this got to do with outlook or with FrontPage.
would be a great help if someone could provide me with some solution.
thanx

Member Avatar for ssl4

It can help you.

- repair and recovery Outlook Express emails and folders. Undelete Outlook Express messages.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.