HEEEELP !!

[hovis]

Ican't access Outlook Express...started last night..as soon as I click on outlook the McAfee security box headed "Processing messages" appears, then stops,the egg-timer appears and that'a it! nothing else happens,it freezes and the only way I can get out is to close the whole thing down which sends an error reprt to Microsoft. I have been on the online helpline to McAfee for an hour and a half this morning and no joy. I have run virus scans,updates,everything but no problems seem to appear.
Does ANYONE have any idea what could be up?
many thanks!!

 

[Fanum]

There's a possibility someone has sent you a compressed file, or even a 'compression bomb'.....some anti virus software doesn't know how to deal with these and it can seize them up.

As a workaround, try going to THIS site which you should be able to use to see your email......if there are any dodgy looking attachments, delete them from the server then try opening Outlook Express again.

 

[hovis]

thanks for that..tried it but didn't work...for some reason it would only show me the very last e-mail sent to me ? and wouldn't show any previous ones so I couldn't check for anything dodgy looking. Any further advice? Anything welcome!!

 

[Fanum]

You must have Outlook set to remove 'read' items from the server.

TBH, I'd remove Mcafee.........it's not, er, how shall I put it, very good at all anyway (try a search for it here and you'll see why)

Download Grisoft AVG free from http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/5390/lng/us/tpl/v5#avg-anti-virus-free

Then unisnstall Mcafee (you may have difficulty with that, it can be tricky to remove all remnants of it) and run the exe for AVG....I'd bet you'll be able to access your emails through Outlook after that

There's a removal tool for Mcafee HERE and lots of information on getting rid of the bloody prog HERE.


I'm 99% sure this will be a Mcafee problem, not an Outlook problem

 

[hovis]

Thanks Fanum...I'll try this this afternoon. I somehow don't think I'll be renewing our subscription for McAfe again.Hope you don't mind if I need to call on you again later?

 

[Fanum]

Thanks Fanum...I'll try this this afternoon. I somehow don't think I'll be renewing our subscription for McAfe again.Hope you don't mind if I need to call on you again later?

No worries......

There's quite a lot of info in this section that should be turned up easy enough with the search button, including some more about removing the prog......but shout if it doesn't work or the combined Nerd power here can help any more

 

[shugie]

If you have a webmail access with your ISP, you can use that to delete an email that is giving your system problems. It does happen occasionally that Outlook Express gets indigestion, and this might, stress might, be the same email giving McAfee problems.

 

[hovis]

Hi Fanum,just want to say thanks for your help earlier today.....guess what,the problem is McAfee spamkiller.......I unistalled the whole security suite,and outlook worked. I re-installed it, it didn't. I then uninstalled only Spamkiller, and outllook worked fine.
So I am pretty peed off at McAfee...one,because I paid up my subscription in January at a hefty cost and the darned thing aint working properly, and two...why the heck didn't their techy bloke tell me to do that this morning instead of waffling on for over an hour and a half about various files and zip files and goodness knows what else, leaving me no wiser!!!!!!! Grrrrrrr.......
Anyway, thank you again, and you too Shugie for your advice. I have also kept a link to the AVG virus thingumajig for future use !
Icequeen

 

[Fanum]

Glad you got it sorted I.Q


(PS I'd still ditch the rest of McAfee as well though......the alternatives are better, and they're free, so you wouldn't be losing anything as such )