I'm sure others have much easier methods like highlighting the folder
containing the stuck mail while in Outlook Express, right clicking on it,
choosing "Properties", then the "Local Folder" tab, then using either the
"Remove Messages" or "Delete" option.
Here is one brute force way to try and remove the files in question
manually from XP Home Edition.
(1) Start with Outlook Express not running.
(2) You may need to turn on the option that allows you to see all hidden
folders. To do that you will need to go to your control panel, choose
"Folder Options" Then select the "View" tab. Under the category of
"Hidden files and folders" turn on the button that reads "Show hidden
files and folders"
(3) Go to your C: drive root folder. Do not use a Documents and Settings
folder that might already be on your desktop.
(4) Open the folder called "Documents and Settings"
(5) Locate the account folder you use when reading your mail and open it.
(6) Locate and open the folder "Local Settings", usually hidden.
(7) Locate and open the folder "Application Data", usually hidden.
(8) Locate and open the folder called "Identities"
(9) There should be a folder, or more, present starting with a "{" symbol.
Open it, or them and look for a folder called "Microsoft"
(10) There should now be a folder called "Open Express", open it.
(11) Locate the folder your outbound mail is being held in, ending in .dbx
and rename it to something else like "Sent Items.old. This way you can
rename it back it's .dbx filename if you need it back for some reason.
(12) At this stage you might try and start Outlook Express and see if the
"stuck" outbound mail is indeed gone but if it was me I would first
download and run Spybot Search&Destroy, and AVG.
Spybot Search&Destroy is a freeware program that looks for and tries to
remove spyware and adware, among other things. Be sure to use tell it to
get any updates after installing it and run the "Inoculate" option before
having it scan your entire computer for problems.
It can be found here at the authors website.
"
http://www.safer-networking.org/" minus the quote marks.
If you are already running a full time anti-Virus program that is supposed
to be checking your mailboxes for you then you might want to skip
downloading and running the AVG software. But AVG does do a good job of
keeping watch on Outlook Express if allowed to.
AVG is anti-virus software that can be purchased AND is available as a
Freeware version for personal use. The Freeware version can be download
at.
"
http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/5390/lng/us/tpl/v5#avg-anti-virus-free"
minus the quote marks.
You may also be able to go directly to the download file by using this
url, again minus the quote marks.
"
http://free.grisoft.com/softw/70free/setup/avg75free_432a904.exe"
Download any updates and run the program.
(13) Start Outlook Express and verify the problem entries are now gone.