Re: SM store file - throttling

Tech-Archive recommends: Speed Up your PC by fixing your registry

From: Sandy (anonymous_at_discussions.microsoft.com)
Date: 09/03/04 

Date: Fri, 3 Sep 2004 11:43:50 -0700

Steve -- great info, but a question. I tried turning off
auto compacting as you recommend, but the only option on
my Maintenance tab (XP SP2)is "WHEN compacting messages:"
What am I missing?
Thanks
Sandy
>-----Original Message-----
>Try doing point 2 below.
>
>steve
>
>"rrose selavy" <rrose@selavy.com> wrote in message
>news:uYytZHXkEHA.3428@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
>> I continually get error message: "Too many open files
writing SMstore
>file -
>> throttling.
>>
>> What does it mean? And why does the program stop
responding afterwards,
>> requiring me to End Process?
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
>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. (Note that with
WinXP SP2, this feature
>is already disabled.)
>
>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.
>
>14. Issues with WinXP SP2.
>
>For general information on WinXP SP2 see:
>
>Windows XP Service Pack 2 Resources for IT Professionals
>http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/main
tain/winxpsp2.mspx
>
>For Internet Explorer changes with SP2 see:
>
>
>Changes to Functionality in Microsoft Windows XP Service
Pack 2: Part 5:
>Enhanced Browsing Security
>http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/main
tain/sp2brows.mspx
>
>883256 - How to manage Internet Explorer add-ons in
Windows XP Service Pack
>2
>http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-
US;883256
>
>For Outlook Express changes with SP2 see:
>
>
>Use the New Security Improvements in Outlook Express
>http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/web/sp2_oe.mspx
>
>Also:
>
>835935 - Release notes for Windows XP Service Pack 2
>http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-
us;835935
>
>Changes to Functionality in Microsoft Windows XP Service
Pack 2Part 1
>Introduction
>http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/main
tain/sp2chngs.mspx
>
>842242 - Some programs seem to stop working after you
install Windows XP
>Service Pack 2
>http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-
us;842242
>
>884130 - Programs that may behave differently in Windows
XP Service Pack 2
>http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=884130
>
>
>
>
>
>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.
>
>
>.
>

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