OL97: How to Troubleshoot Mail Stuck in the Outbox

ID: Q162343

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Outlook 97

SUMMARY

In some situations, your sent mail may move to your Outbox folder but never move to your Sent Items folder. This article describes how to troubleshoot problems with mail that remains in your Microsoft Outlook 97 Outbox.


MORE INFORMATION

Any of the following can cause sent mail to remain in your Outbox:

  • You opened the message from your Outbox before it was sent.


  • You are working offline and have not made a remote connection.


  • Your Personal Folders (*.pst) file is damaged.


  • Your Personal Address Book (*.pab) file is damaged.


  • You have an outdated or incompatible add-in.


Message Opened From Your Outbox

After you send a message, Outlook moves it into your Outbox. When Outlook establishes a connection to your mail server, it attempts a delivery and a copy of the sent message appears in your Outbox. If you open and close a message while it is still in your Outbox, you change the status of the message and it is not sent. The message title will no longer appear in italics in the Outbox Messages view.

To return the message to a Send status, open the message and click Send on the message toolbar. The message title should become italicized in the Outbox Messages view. During the next connection with the mail server Outlook should deliver the message.

Working Offline

If your profile uses Internet Mail service, you can use these steps to set your service to work online:
  1. On the Outlook Tools menu, click Services to open the Services dialog box.


  2. Under the Services tab, select Internet Mail service and click Properties.


  3. Under the Connection tab, click to clear the "Work off-line and use Remote Mail" check box.


  4. Click OK and OK again to close all dialog boxes.


  5. Quit and restart Outlook.


If your profile uses Microsoft Exchange Server service, you can use these steps to set your service to work online:
  1. On the Outlook Tools menu, click Services to open the Services dialog box.


  2. Under the Services tab, select Microsoft Exchange Server and click Properties.


  3. Under the General tab, click to clear the "Work offline and use dial-up networking" check box.


  4. Click OK and OK again to close all dialog boxes.


  5. Quit and restart Outlook.


NOTE: When working offline with your Exchange service your Microsoft Fax service is in an offline state as well. Fax messages remain in the Outbox when it appears that the only service set to offline is the Exchange service.

Damaged Personal Folders or Address Book Files

  1. The first troubleshooting step is to run the Inbox Repair Tool. To do so, follow these steps:
    1. On the Tools menu, click Services, click Personal Folders, click Properties and write down the path and name of your .pst file.


    2. Quit Outlook.


    3. Click the Start button, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Inbox Repair Tool.


    4. In the Inbox Repair Tool, click Browse and select your Personal Store file (.pst), recorded in step 1.a above.


    5. Click Start to begin scanning your file.


    6. When you are finished with the Inbox Repair Tool, restart Outlook.


    7. Copy the contents of the message stuck in your Outbox and paste it into a new message.


    8. Delete the original message and try sending the new message.




  2. The second troubleshooting step is to create a new Personal Store file. To do so, follow these steps:
    1. In Outlook, on the Tools menu, click Services.


    2. Under the Services tab, click Personal Folder, and then the Properties button to open the Personal Folders dialog box.


    3. Make a note of the path and file name and click Cancel to return to the Services dialog box.


    4. With your Personal Folders still selected, click the Delete button to remove your old Personal Folder from the profile.


    5. Click the Add button to open the "Add Service to Profile" dialog box.


    6. Select Personal Folders, and then click OK.


    7. In the File Name box, type the name of a new Personal Folders file (*.pst), click Open, and then click OK.




  3. The third troubleshooting step is to create a new profile with a new Personal Store file (PST) and a new Personal Address Book (PAB). To do so, follow these steps:
    1. Quit Outlook if it is running.


    2. In Control Panel, double-click the Mail And Fax icon or the Mail icon.


    3. Click Show Profiles and click Add to add a new profile.


    4. Follow the Inbox Setup Wizard to create a new profile with a new PST and PAB file.


    5. Start Outlook and try to send a message.




  4. The fourth troubleshooting step is to search your system for multiple Personal Store (PST) and/or Offline Store (OST) files. Rename each file and create a new profile.


  5. The fifth troubleshooting step is to check for the addressee's e-mail name in the Personal Address Book. If it isn't present, add it. If it is present, delete the entry and re-add it.


  6. The last troubleshooting step is to try another client with your profile. Quit Outlook and search your hard drive for Exchng32.exe. Run Exchng32.exe using your existing profile to send mail.


Add-ins

Outdated or incompatible add-ins may cause mail delivery problems. By default, Outlook installs Exchange Extensions and Mail 3.0 Extensions add-ins. If your profile includes the Internet Mail service, you may also have the Internet Mail add-in.

Add-ins, such as old Netscape Extensions or Fax software, may cause e-mail delivery problems. Follow these steps to check your active add-ins:
  1. On the Outlook Tools menu, click Options to open the Options dialog box.


  2. Under the General tab, click the Add-In Manager button. Your active add-ins have check marks beside the add-in name.


  3. To deactivate an add-in, either remove the check or click to select the add-in and click the Remove button.



REFERENCES

For additional information, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q161790 OL97: Error Message That Sent Items Remain in Outbox
Q161323 OL97: Undeliverable Mail Message When Sending Internet Mail
Q162046 OL97: Remote Mail, Offline Folders, and Working Offline
For more information about installing services, type services in the Office Assistant, click Search, and then click to view "Install an information service."

Additional query words:

Keywords : MsgOutb
Version : WINDOWS:97
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type :


Last Reviewed: October 11, 1999
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