Unable to send/receive e-mail

  • Thread starter Thread starter David A Gourlay
  • Start date Start date
D

David A Gourlay

I was using Outlook 2003 beta, but uninstalled it in favour of my original
Outlook XP.

Now I am unable to send/receive e-mail. When I try to do so, I immediately
get an error message "Operation failed".

I've checked the account settings, and everything is OK. If I test the
account settings, all tests are successful.

I have already uninstalled and reinstalled Office XP twice. I'm not
especially keen to reinstall Windows (XP home), so where can I look to find
the cause of the error?

Each time I reinstall Office XP, it maintains my original settings. Maybe
there is a hangover from Office 2003 which is not compatible. If so, how can
I get rid of them?

All advice welcome.
 
There have been numerous reports along these lines. It seems that a clean uninstall of the beta is a hit or miss afair. To be fair to MSFT, the beta docs are full of warnings to this effect.

One thing to try is the System Restore feature of Win XP. Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore. Select "Restore my computer to an earlier time", then browse through the Calendar to the date when you installed the beta and look for the relevant restore point. Be careful - this will wipe out ALL system setting changes made since that time, meaning other software which you have installed in the mean time will likely need to be reinstalled.

Other than that, IMHO you are looking at having to reinstall the OS. I'd strongly suggest making an image of the clean install, especially if you plan to participate in more betas. PowerQuest Drive Image and Symantec Ghost both perform this function very well. Using an image set, a full reinstall of the OS and any other apps on the image takes 10-20 minutes total!

Matthew Clark
A+, MCP, MCSE, MOS Master, Network+
 
BRILLIANT!

Problem solved - many, many thanks! Re-installing the OS was not an
attractive option!
 
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