Re: Blank message body

From: Steve Cochran (scochran_at_oehelp.com)
Date: 06/03/04 

Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2004 17:07:20 -0400

I don't know what to suggest then. Especially if you reinstalled IE and OE after all that.

You might try a defrag. Also go to File | Identities and set up a new Identity and see if that makes any difference.

steve

"ken steen" <ken.steen@kwibsoft.com> wrote in message news:1753101c448ba$8af49c20$a001280a@phx.gbl...
>I tried all those things. I ran cwshredder. found files
> to delete. deleted them. then reinstalled ie6. then ran
> cwshredder. then reinstalled ie6. then did windows
> updates. then deleted all cookies. then all temp internet
> files. then all internet history. then ran ad-aware.
> found 5 files that might be a problem. quarantined them.
> then checked for microsoft updates. turned off email
> virus checking. rebooted after each step.
>
> I'm lost.
>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>See if point 13 below helps.
>>
>>steve
>>
>>"Ken Steen" <ken.steen@kwibsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:16e8401c44860$790864b0$a501280a@phx.gbl...
>>>I am running IE6 and Windows 2000 professional. After
>>> downloading some Microsoft updates, my preview screen
> in
>>> email started missing message bodies. In fact, when
>>> clicking reply they were missing also. Using the up
> and
>>> down arrows, the text will come back, but not logic
> seems
>>> to apply. It happens both with text and html
> messages.
>>> After they bodies begin showing up again, I can click
> on
>>> previous messages that wouldn't show and now they
> show.
>>> Two or three up and down arrows and they may disappear
>>> again for a while.
>>>
>>> I downloaded IE6 and reinstalled it and outlook
> express,
>>> then went to the Windows update site and applied all
>>> patches and updates. Same problem.
>>>
>>> I am running Norton 2004 antivirus. I turned off email
>>> checking and it has no effect. I have booted the
> system a
>>> couple of dozen times after trying all this stuff, to
> no
>>> avail.
>>>
>>> Any ideas?
>>>
>>> Ken Steen
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>>1. Don't open attachments.
>>
>>Most computer infections are the result of the user
> opening email attachments. The attachment usually
> contains a virus or worm or trojan that infects the system
> when it is opened.
>>
>>Because of this tendency of attachments to infect,
> Microsoft has now set OE to block all attachments. See
>>these articles for explanations:
>>
>>Cannot Open E-Mail Attachments in Outlook Express After
> You Install SP1
>>http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=329570
>>
>>OLEXP Using Virus Protection Features in Outlook Express
> 6 (Q291387)
>>http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q291/3/87
> .ASP
>>
>>Note that Microsoft does not send security patches in
> email. See this article:
>>http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/news/patch_hoax.
> asp
>>
>>If you choose to adjust OE to allow attachments, make
> sure you save the attachment to disk first and then scan
> it with your antivirus software.
>>
>>The most significant thing you can do to prevent such
> infections, is to educate yourself on what attachments may
> constitute a threat to your system, and never open any
> such attachments, no matter who they are from.
>>
>>
>>
>>2. Turn off Background Compaction.
>>
>>When a message is deleted, moved or marked as read in an
> OE message file (dbx), then wasted space is generated in
> that file, and the folder must be compacted to remove that
> wasted space.
>>
>>By default, OE turns on a feature under Tools | Options |
> Maintenance called "background compaction", which turns
> itself on if the folders in your message store get too
> much wasted space. This feature uses 100% CPU time and
> slows down your system, while it is active. In addition,
> if the process is somewhat interrupted, then the entire
> message store can become corrupt.
>>
>>To prevent such corruption, turn off background
> compaction under Tools | Options | Maintenance for each
> Identity you have, and then compact manually and
> frequently using File | Folder | Compact all. This will
> make OE more stable.
>>
>>
>>3. Turn off email scanning in your antivirus software.
>>
>>
>>Antivirus software invades the Outlook Express program to
> try and intercept (incoming and, in some cases, outgoing)
> messages that might contain virus.
>>
>>The problem with this approach is that the antivirus
> software can trigger the destruction of an entire message
> folder or the entire message store, when it attempts to
> remove a message containing a potential virus.
>>
>>To prevent the possibility of such destruction occuring,
> turn off email scanning in your antivirus software. You
> will still be protected against infection. If you attempt
> to open a message attachment containing a potential virus,
> then your antivirus software will recognize that your are
> attempting to infect your system, and will block you from
> doing so. The best practice on the user's part is to save
> an attachment to disk and then scan it with the antivirus
> software prior to opening it. Messages opened themselves
> (if you have the latest security updates from Windows
> Update) will not infect your system -- only attachments.
>>
>>You do not need additional email scanning on top of your
> system being continuosly scanned by antivirus software, so
> turn off email scanning to prevent destruction of your
> message store.
>>
>>>From a post by Frank Saunders:
>>
>>From
>>http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/nav.nsf/df0a595864594
> c86852567ac0063608c/65434372961d321d8825687f000003f8?
> OpenDocument&src=tr&Highlight=0,email,protection
>>
>>Disabling email protection does not leave you vulnerable
> to viruses and
>>malicious software in email. It is a separate layer of
> protection in
>>addition to Auto-Protect. Auto-Protect scans any incoming
> files, including
>>email, as they are saved to your hard drive. As long as
> you keep your virus
>>definitions up to date with LiveUpdate, and keep Auto-
> Protect enabled and
>>set to scan files as they are created or downloaded, your
> system is fully
>>protected.
>>
>>
>>4. Recovering lost messages.
>>
>>
>>The most significant contributors to lost messages are
> described in points 2 and 3 above. Turn these options off
> to prevent message store corruption.
>>
>>If you do lose your messages, you can try using my
> DBXtract program to
>>attempt to recover the lost messages. Note that dbx
> files are hidden in
>>Windows 2000 and Windows XP.
>>http://www.oehelp.com/DBXtract/
>>
>>Alternatively one can also use DBXpress, which is faster
> and more accurate than DBXtract,
>> and it also has the capability of reading directly from
> the disk and bypassing the file system.
>>http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/
>>
>>If you have upgraded your version of IE and OE or your OS
> version, and all
>>your messages are lost, then see this article (note that
> the technique in
>>the article does not only apply to the issue addressed in
> the article
>>title):
>>
>>OLEXP: Mail Folders, Address Book, and E-mail Messages
> Are Missing After You
>>Upgrade to Microsoft Windows XP
>>http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-
> us;313055
>>
>>If File | Import | Messages does not work, ignore the
> error message, which
>>is erroneous in itself, and try one of the following
> techniques to get your
>>messages back:
>>a. Right click on each dbx file or a selection of them
> and go to Properties
>>and clear the read only attribute of the files. Then try
> File | Import |
>>Messages again.
>>b. Import the dbx files individually. See the last
> paragraph on this page
>>for how to do that:
>>http://www.oehelp.com/backup.aspx
>>c. As a last resort use DBXtract or DBXpress
>>http://www.oehelp.com/DBXtract/ or
> http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/
>>
>>See also:
> http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/problems/bugs.htm#mailgone
>>
>>
>>5. How does one reinstall IE and OE?
>>
>>This article seems to work for other OSs than just XP:
>>
>>How to Reinstall or Repair Internet Explorer and Outlook
> Express
>>http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-
> US;Q318378
>>
>>See point 11 below first.
>>
>>
>>6. How does one backup and restore or transfer OE
> messages and settings:
>>
>>See: http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/backup/index.htm
>> http://www.oehelp.com/backup.aspx
>>
>>Note that there is also a link in this article to MVP
> David Guess's free
>>OEBackup programs (www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/)
>>
>>
>>
>>7. Links in email don't work:
>>
>>see the links on this page
>>
>>http://www.oehelp.com/
>>
>>
>>8. Outlook Express is slow.
>>
>>See the various performance issues and how to address
> them on this page:
>>
>>http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/problems/performance.htm
>>
>>
>>9. Outlook Express won't start.
>>
>>This is usually due to a conflict between what is
> recorded in the registry
>>and what is in the message store. Often, one can fix
> this problem by
>>deleting folders.dbx. If that doesn't work, then try
> moving all the dbx
>>files to another directory and see if that fixes it.
> Alternatively, see
>>these articles and also point 4 above:
>>
>>http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/problems/performance.htm#no
> start
>>
>>http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q245/4/19
> .asp
>>
>>
>>10. Address book information:
>>
>>see The Windows Address Book
>>
>>http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/files/wab.htm
>>
>>
>>11. Installation issues:
>>
>>Most of the problems with a faulty installation are due
> to other programs
>>running during the install and interfering with the
> updating of necessary
>>files. Antivirus software is notorious for this. To
> minimize such
>>interference, in Win98, WinMe, and WinXP go to Start |
> Run and type msconfig
>>and disable all startup items and non Microsoft
> services. Then reboot.
>>Then proceed with the installation. Startup items can
> then be re-enabled.
>>
>>For additional info see:
>>
>>Win98: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?
> scid=kb;en-us;281965&Product=w98
>>WinXP: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?
> scid=kb;en-us;310560&Product=winxp
>>
>>Since Win2000 does not have msconfig, one has to manually
> go to this
>>registry key:
>>
>>HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersi
> on\Run
>>
>>You can export this key and then delete all values under
> it. Then disable
>>all antivirus services under Computer Management |
> Services and then reboot.
>>Then install. After the installation you can import the
> key back into the
>>registry to restore the values and re-enable the services.
>>
>>
>>12. Screening unwanted email and Spam
>>
>>Everybody gets unwanted email these days. Much of this
> email is either
>>trying to sell you something you probably don't want or
> else is trying to
>>infect you with a virus via an email attachment. What
> can you do?
>>
>>a. Never open an attachment. First save an attachment
> to disk and then
>>scan it with your antivirus software to ensure it is not
> infected (make sure
>>your antivirus software definitions are up to date). If
> the attachment is
>>from someone you don't know, don't even bother opening
> it. Its not worth
>>it. See also point 1 above.
>>
>>b. Screen email. Disable the Preview Pane (you can put
> a button on the
>>toolbar to turn this on and off). Then go to View |
> Columns and enable most
>>of the headers. That way you can scan the headers and
> pick out the various
>>obvious unwanted mail. Once you find messages that you
> don't want to open,
>>select the headers of those messages without opening the
> messages and
>>perform a Shift-Delete to permanently remove them from
> the folder. Once
>>they are removed, they will no longer be accessible, so
> don't do this on
>>messages you might wish to keep.
>>
>>c. On messages left that might be worth opening, go to
> Tools | Options |
>>Read and check the box that says "read all messages in
> plain text"
>>(available only with IE6 SP1 or WinXP SP1 and higher).
> Reading in plain
>>text prevents any returns to the spammer's server, so
> your email address
>>cannot be validated in that fashion. In addition, it
> prevents malformed or
>>malicious HTML code from executing. If you find the
> message is worth
>>viewing as HTML, then you can go back to Tools | Options
> | Read and uncheck
>>the option to read in plain text only and then reopen the
> message to view it
>>as HTML (note that you can put this button on a toolbar
> with OETool
>>(www.oehelp.com/OETool/). You can also use OETool to
> view the message details without having to open the
> message. You can also use the "Compact Current Folder"
> button after deleting to shrink the file size.
>>
>>d. If you get unwanted email repeatedly from the same
> source, you can set
>>up message rules to block out some of these messages.
> See the help file in
>>OE and also
>>
>>http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/tips/rules.htm
>>
>>and
>>
>>http://www.mindspring.com/~oe_oh/message_rules.htm.
>>
>>
>>e. If you find a message that is spam and that offends
> you or is deceptive,
>>go to Message | Forward as attachment and send it to
> uce@ftc.gov .
>>
>>The US Federal Trade Comission is launching a major
> crackdown on deceptive
>>and offensive spam. Visit their site at www.ftc.gov/spam
> for more info.
>>
>>
>>13. Messages appear blank
>>
>>>From a post by Frank Saunders:
>>
>>Several possible causes and therefor several possible
> fixes:
>>1. Go to Start | Run and type
>>regsvr32 inetcomm.dll
>>and press <Enter>
>>2. Go to Tools | Options | Read | Fonts and set Western
> (ISO) as the
>>default.
>>3. Clear Temporary Internet Files and the Temp folder.
>>4. Turn off email scanning in your anti-virus.
>>5. Someone else reported that re-installing OE using
> method 2 in this
>>article fixed the problem:
>>How to Reinstall or Repair Internet Explorer and Outlook
> Express in Windows
>>XP
>>http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=318378
>>Method 2 works on earlier versions of Windows.
>>6. Eliminate any scumware.
>>See
>>Dealing with Unwanted Spyware, Parasites, Toolbars and
> Search Engines
>>http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
>>especially
>>http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm#Coolwebsearch
>>
>>Note that AdAware and SpyBot S & D will each catch some
> things the other
>>won't. Also, each needs to be updated before every use,
> even when just
>>downloaded. There's also a lot more to do than just
> those two programs.
>>CWShredder is also available here:
>>http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/regs_edits/cwshredder.zip
>>**Post your HijackThis log to
>>http://forums.spywareinfo.com/ or the Spyware forum at
>>http://forum.aumha.org/ for expert analysis, not here.**
>>Alternative download pages for Ad-Aware, Spybot,
> HijackThis and CWShredder
>>may be found on this page:
>>http://aumha.org/a/parasite.htm.
>>If trying everything at that site does not fix the
> problem please post back
>>in the same thread.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>I've left off some issues, but I believe these address
> the most
>>common problems that users encounter with OE. In
> addition, please check the
>>websites of the individual OE MVP's that address other
> issues not listed
>>here:
>>
>>
>>Tom Koch:
>>http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/
>>
>>David Guess
>>http://www.mindspring.com/~oe_oh/
>>
>>Jim Pickering
>>http://home.comcast.net/~jimpickering/
>>
>>Frank Saunders
>>http://www.fjsmjs.com/OE/index.htm
>>
>>and my site at http://www.oehelp.com
>>
>>
>>If you don't find your problem addressed, then feel free
> to post a question
>>in these newsgroups and we will be more than happy to
> respond and attempt to
>>help. Just go to Tools | Accounts | Add | News and add
> msnews.microsoft.com as a newsserver and then you can
> address your question to the appropriate newsgroup.
>>
>>
>>.
>>