Mysterious Outlook Express Issue Affecting Windows XP Users Running SP3

For several days, a new, mysterious issue has been driving Windows XP users crazy with constant Outlook Express prompts.

The issue, which has constantly appeared for the last several days, apparently involves a combination of Windows Search 4 and Windows XP SP3, has users frequently receiving prompts to compact their Outlook Express folders, even if they are using other e-mail clients.

The lack of any clear information on the issue is also problematic, forcing many of the affected users onto Microsoft's public newsgroups to vent their frustrations. "I get frequent (2 or 3 times per hour) login requests for OE6 and the 'compact folder to save space' message (similar frequency as the login requests)," writes one disgruntled user. Another writes: "I've read through a lot of posts and the only relevance I can find is that I have installed XP SP3 and that the counter somewhere in the registry is going a bit silly." Yet another poster experienced the problem under Windows Desktop Search 3.01, saying it "pops up the 'Compact Folders' for OE message every few minutes and I can't find a way to turn that off. If you are keying while it pops up, you accidentally start it."

The constant prompts have been attributed to several culprits over the entire period -- all include a combination of the same Windows component upgrades, paired with a list of third-party software that includes seemingly unrelated software such as Nero, Window Live Mail, Mailwasher and IBM Rapid Access Keyboard drivers. Symantec's Norton utility products have also been identified as a possible culprit.

No timeframe or solution has yet to be identified or distributed by Microsoft to rectify the issue; however, the easiest solution by far seems to be a total rollback to earlier versions of Windows Search components -- such as those distributed under the former Windows Desktop Search moniker -- and removing XP SP3, if necessary. The good news: Microsoft is at least investigating the issue.

In the meantime, Windows users experiencing this nagging issue can only wait -- and hope -- that a quick solution can be found before the problem really gets out of hand.

Source information obtained from the following links:

https://www.microsoft.com/communities/newsgroups/en-us/default.aspx?dg=microsoft.public.outlookexpress.general&tid=5d3b657c-13ee-47f2-a0dc-1de27efaf62f&cat=en_US_84883150-57ad-41d0-b145-8f6c650b58ef〈=en&cr=US&sloc=&p=1

http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.outlookexpress.general/browse_frm/thread/fcd35fbfa457fd6f

http://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=2643735&SiteID=1