OL97: Status Bar Progress Indicator Appears to Stop Responding

• Microsoft Outlook 97

SYMPTOMS

When you start a long process, such as importing a file into Microsoft Outlook 97, a Progress Indicator is displayed in the Status Bar. The percentages do not appear to reflect the relative time for process completion. According to the Progress Indicator, Outlook can appear as if it has stopped responding (is hung).

CAUSE

The Progress Indicator Bar is a measurement of process steps rather than time. For example, with ten internal steps in a process, the Progress Bar indicates an additional ten percent for each completed step. If the first nine steps, combined, take one minute, and the last step takes thirty minutes, after one minute the Progress Indicator Bar displays ninety percent and the process still has thirty minutes left. Because of this behavior, Outlook can appear as if it has stopped responding.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Outlook 97. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.