Et bud:
OE loads very slowly
A new cause for slow performance when starting OE in WinXP is the integration of Windows Messenger. Is Messenger starting when Windows starts? If so, then the cause of OE's performance hit is something else. If it is *not* running at startup, then OE is probably launching Messenger and waiting for it to fully initialize before it continues initializing OE itself.
To prevent OE from launching Messenger, click Tools>> Options and remove the check mark for "Automatically log on to Windows Messenger". Then add a check mark for "When starting, go directly to my "Inbox" folder". Then click View>> Layout and remove the check mark for "Contacts". If you open the Contacts pane, or if you open the OE start page, then Messenger will launch in order to update the online status of your contacts.
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These steps apply to slow performance opening or using Outlook Express 5 - 6 on Win 98, Win ME, Win XP
IF you are troubleshooting Windows XP:
1) Check to see if Messenger is checked or Missing and Uncheck the Contacts Pane.
a. If Messenger is checked uncheck it and test.
b. If the option for Messenger is missing this is the problem. Do not proceed further until we have solved this problem.
c. Disable the contacts pane to see if that speeds up the process. If it does then messenger is the likely suspect.
2) Check for Rules. A lot of rules can slow down OE if you are downloading messages.
3) Check for Background compaction. A simple check mark can fix this and is easy to check. See the following MSKB article:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;311030Kilde:
http://www.5starsupport.com/faq/oe.htm#14-6