Full Version: 549 Unread Messages And Other Weird Happenings
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Hi,
I'm running a desktop PC with XP. For about six months now when I switch on and get to the "Select User" screen, under my name there is a message stating "549 Unread Messages". The actual number varies day to day but is always somehwere between 500 and 600. I never use Outlook Express but when I open it up there appear to be zero messages in my inbox.
For roughly the same length of time I've had another problem which I suspect is related. When I'm on a website and it has a "contact" button which would normally open up an Outlook Express box, when I hit it (the "contact" button) my screen fills up with 73 blank screens in rapid succession. I need to shut the entire group down and can't send a message.
I've been able to live with this until today when the server which held my webmail account crashed and I now may have lost all of my emails! That's convinced me to start using Outlook but i can't do that until this puzzling problem is solved.
Many thanks.
Hi
For the unread email item please download TweakUI from Microsoft at
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloa...ppowertoys.mspx
On the right-hand side download and then install TweakUI.
Start TweakUI, select "Repair" and then in the drop-down menu select "Repair unread mail count" and click "Repair now" button.
Does this help?
For the unread email item please download TweakUI from Microsoft at
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloa...ppowertoys.mspx
On the right-hand side download and then install TweakUI.
Start TweakUI, select "Repair" and then in the drop-down menu select "Repair unread mail count" and click "Repair now" button.
Does this help?
Thanks Astra. That helps with the Unread Mail message but has no effect on the 63 windows popping up when I click on a contact link.
NB I forgot to mention that just before the 63 windows open up I get this message
"Could not perform this operation because the default mail client is not properly installed".
NB I forgot to mention that just before the 63 windows open up I get this message
"Could not perform this operation because the default mail client is not properly installed".
Hi
Sounds like the remaining problem could be due to not having a default email client not configured correctly. This is fairly straight forward to repair, first set to a different email clinet and then switch back to your preferred email client as follows.
Click start
Select run
in the box enter the exact text shown in bold below:
control inetcpl.cpl
Click the "OK" button. In the Internet Properties window that opens select the "Programs" tab then
In the E-mail dropdown menu select select a different email client to that currently selected (any will do as long as it is different) and click the "Apply" button.
Repeat this process but this time in the dropdown menu select the email client you wish to use by default and click the "Apply" button again.
This will reset your default email client, hopefully this will fix your remaining problem. Please post back if it works or not.
Sounds like the remaining problem could be due to not having a default email client not configured correctly. This is fairly straight forward to repair, first set to a different email clinet and then switch back to your preferred email client as follows.
Click start
Select run
in the box enter the exact text shown in bold below:
control inetcpl.cpl
Click the "OK" button. In the Internet Properties window that opens select the "Programs" tab then
In the E-mail dropdown menu select select a different email client to that currently selected (any will do as long as it is different) and click the "Apply" button.
Repeat this process but this time in the dropdown menu select the email client you wish to use by default and click the "Apply" button again.
This will reset your default email client, hopefully this will fix your remaining problem. Please post back if it works or not.
Thanks for your help. I followed your instructions to the letter but infortunately it made no difference. I'm getting the same message and the same 61 blank screens. Any other ideas?
Hi
One more thing to try is to check the appropriate registry key is correct. Could try this please. Click Start, select Run and enter the text in bold below:
cmd
click ok to start a command window. At the prompt in the command window type the exact text in bold below, including the spaces.
reg query HKCR\mailto /s > c:\regquery.txt
and then press the return key. This will query the mailto registry key and output the values to a text file called regquery.txt on your C: drive. Open this in Notepad, e.g. by navigating in Windows Explorer to c:\ and double clicking on the regquery.txt file and then cut and paste the contents into a reply.
Many thanks
One more thing to try is to check the appropriate registry key is correct. Could try this please. Click Start, select Run and enter the text in bold below:
cmd
click ok to start a command window. At the prompt in the command window type the exact text in bold below, including the spaces.
reg query HKCR\mailto /s > c:\regquery.txt
and then press the return key. This will query the mailto registry key and output the values to a text file called regquery.txt on your C: drive. Open this in Notepad, e.g. by navigating in Windows Explorer to c:\ and double clicking on the regquery.txt file and then cut and paste the contents into a reply.
Many thanks
QUOTE(Ad Astra @ Apr 3 2007, 02:43 PM) 
Hi
One more thing to try is to check the appropriate registry key is correct. Could try this please. Click Start, select Run and enter the text in bold below:
cmd
click ok to start a command window. At the prompt in the command window type the exact text in bold below, including the spaces.
reg query HKCR\mailto /s > c:\regquery.txt
and then press the return key. This will query the mailto registry key and output the values to a text file called regquery.txt on your C: drive. Open this in Notepad, e.g. by navigating in Windows Explorer to c:\ and double clicking on the regquery.txt file and then cut and paste the contents into a reply.
Many thanks
One more thing to try is to check the appropriate registry key is correct. Could try this please. Click Start, select Run and enter the text in bold below:
cmd
click ok to start a command window. At the prompt in the command window type the exact text in bold below, including the spaces.
reg query HKCR\mailto /s > c:\regquery.txt
and then press the return key. This will query the mailto registry key and output the values to a text file called regquery.txt on your C: drive. Open this in Notepad, e.g. by navigating in Windows Explorer to c:\ and double clicking on the regquery.txt file and then cut and paste the contents into a reply.
Many thanks
Hi Astra,
I followed those instructions but got an "Access Is Denied" message after cutting and pasting (then double checking by manually typing) the second part you posted in bold. Also looked on my C drive to double check and there was no text file by that name.
Any other ideas?
Hi
Access denied suggests that there is a owernship / permissions problem with that registry key which would also explain the mail issue you have. It is a little more involed to check the permissions but if you take your time you should be able to do this.
Have a look at these general instructions from Microsoft.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?...kb;en-us;310426
from a user account with administartor privilage start regedit, click start select run and enter
regedit
and click ok to start regedit. in the left-hand column click the + sign to expand HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT then scroll down to mailto
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT is a large entry in the registry so it will take some scrolling to reach mailto
select the mailto item, and then on the edit menu at the top of regedit select permissions.
in the list of group or user names scroll down to the entry for Users (note not Power Users) and ensure that the Allow box for Read is checked (this is the only box that needs to be checked).
If this is not set then check the box to Allow Read and click OK.
If this fails you proably are lacking ownership rights. We can try that next if the above fails.
Access denied suggests that there is a owernship / permissions problem with that registry key which would also explain the mail issue you have. It is a little more involed to check the permissions but if you take your time you should be able to do this.
Have a look at these general instructions from Microsoft.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?...kb;en-us;310426
from a user account with administartor privilage start regedit, click start select run and enter
regedit
and click ok to start regedit. in the left-hand column click the + sign to expand HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT then scroll down to mailto
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT is a large entry in the registry so it will take some scrolling to reach mailto
select the mailto item, and then on the edit menu at the top of regedit select permissions.
in the list of group or user names scroll down to the entry for Users (note not Power Users) and ensure that the Allow box for Read is checked (this is the only box that needs to be checked).
If this is not set then check the box to Allow Read and click OK.
If this fails you proably are lacking ownership rights. We can try that next if the above fails.
I think the access denied error may have come from trying to write the output file directly to c:\ a non-admin user can't make a new file there.
QUOTE(Ad Astra @ Apr 10 2007, 08:53 PM)
Hi
Access denied suggests that there is a owernship / permissions problem with that registry key which would also explain the mail issue you have. It is a little more involed to check the permissions but if you take your time you should be able to do this.
Have a look at these general instructions from Microsoft.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?...kb;en-us;310426
from a user account with administartor privilage start regedit, click start select run and enter
regedit
and click ok to start regedit. in the left-hand column click the + sign to expand HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT then scroll down to mailto
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT is a large entry in the registry so it will take some scrolling to reach mailto
select the mailto item, and then on the edit menu at the top of regedit select permissions.
in the list of group or user names scroll down to the entry for Users (note not Power Users) and ensure that the Allow box for Read is checked (this is the only box that needs to be checked).
If this is not set then check the box to Allow Read and click OK.
If this fails you proably are lacking ownership rights. We can try that next if the above fails.
Access denied suggests that there is a owernship / permissions problem with that registry key which would also explain the mail issue you have. It is a little more involed to check the permissions but if you take your time you should be able to do this.
Have a look at these general instructions from Microsoft.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?...kb;en-us;310426
from a user account with administartor privilage start regedit, click start select run and enter
regedit
and click ok to start regedit. in the left-hand column click the + sign to expand HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT then scroll down to mailto
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT is a large entry in the registry so it will take some scrolling to reach mailto
select the mailto item, and then on the edit menu at the top of regedit select permissions.
in the list of group or user names scroll down to the entry for Users (note not Power Users) and ensure that the Allow box for Read is checked (this is the only box that needs to be checked).
If this is not set then check the box to Allow Read and click OK.
If this fails you proably are lacking ownership rights. We can try that next if the above fails.
Thanks. And sorry for the delay in responding. I tried what you suggested but when I try to select the mailto item I get an error message stating
Cannot open mailto : Error while opening key
Earlier in your post you mentioned a "user account with administrator privilege". There are only two users on this machine and I was the first. No idea if I've got "administrator privilege" though.
Many thanks.
Hi
First thing to check is if your account has Administrator privalge.
Open Control Panel and then double click User Accounts. In the Window that opens will be a section called "pick an account to change"
Under this will be a list of all accounts on the PC, for each one if it is an Administrator it will have the text "Computer Administrator" against the account details.
Post back if you have access to an Administrator account.
First thing to check is if your account has Administrator privalge.
Open Control Panel and then double click User Accounts. In the Window that opens will be a section called "pick an account to change"
Under this will be a list of all accounts on the PC, for each one if it is an Administrator it will have the text "Computer Administrator" against the account details.
Post back if you have access to an Administrator account.
QUOTE(Ad Astra @ May 1 2007, 05:35 PM)
Hi
First thing to check is if your account has Administrator privalge.
Open Control Panel and then double click User Accounts. In the Window that opens will be a section called "pick an account to change"
Under this will be a list of all accounts on the PC, for each one if it is an Administrator it will have the text "Computer Administrator" against the account details.
Post back if you have access to an Administrator account.
First thing to check is if your account has Administrator privalge.
Open Control Panel and then double click User Accounts. In the Window that opens will be a section called "pick an account to change"
Under this will be a list of all accounts on the PC, for each one if it is an Administrator it will have the text "Computer Administrator" against the account details.
Post back if you have access to an Administrator account.
Hi Astra. Thanks again. Both mine and my partner's accounts have "Computer Administrator" under the names. Hope this helps.
Hi
This does look like you have lost ownership on that specific registry key.
The first thing to do is to take a registry backup, just in case something does not go to plan in the detailed steps below. Please take a full backup of the registry, this is fairly straight forward to do.
Refer to this Microsoft web page.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308422/
If you have XP Home then you may have to install the backup tool first, instructions are in the above web site.
Save any work and close all running applications. Then run the backup tool as directed in the above web site. You do not need to backup any folders but you do need to Click to select the System State check box as desribed in step 3 in the Microsoft web page.
If you are unsure of any steps there is a handy video on the above Microsoft web page that shows you the steps, you just need the System State check box ticked.
Once the backup is finished start regedit:
click start select run and enter
regedit
and click ok to start regedit. In the left-hand column click the + sign to expand HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT then scroll down to mailto
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT is a large entry in the registry so it will take some scrolling to reach mailto
select the mailto item, and then on the edit menu at the top of regedit select permissions. Then click the Advanced button, then Owner tab.
Under the area "Change owner to:" you will see a list of user names, click to select your account name and check the box "Replace owner on subcontainers and objects" then click OK.
You now have ownership of the key so can set the permissions correctly. Still with the mailto key in the edit menu select permissions again.
Under the section called "group or user names:" select one entry at a time, you will need to do all in this list one at a time:
Creator Owner
Administrators
Users
System
Please check that all the above are actually listed in the list, there may be others but all these should exist.
Then select each in turn and for each one check the "Permissions for Users" area below have the following settings checked, if not check the appropriate boxes and then click OK
Creator Owner should have
Full Control
Read
Administrators should have
Full Control
Read
Users should have
Read
System should have
Full Control
Read
If any are missing check to enable the permission and click OK to save. When finished close regedit. Then reboot the PC and retry your mail program, does this cure the issue with multiple windows?
This does look like you have lost ownership on that specific registry key.
The first thing to do is to take a registry backup, just in case something does not go to plan in the detailed steps below. Please take a full backup of the registry, this is fairly straight forward to do.
Refer to this Microsoft web page.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308422/
If you have XP Home then you may have to install the backup tool first, instructions are in the above web site.
Save any work and close all running applications. Then run the backup tool as directed in the above web site. You do not need to backup any folders but you do need to Click to select the System State check box as desribed in step 3 in the Microsoft web page.
If you are unsure of any steps there is a handy video on the above Microsoft web page that shows you the steps, you just need the System State check box ticked.
Once the backup is finished start regedit:
click start select run and enter
regedit
and click ok to start regedit. In the left-hand column click the + sign to expand HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT then scroll down to mailto
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT is a large entry in the registry so it will take some scrolling to reach mailto
select the mailto item, and then on the edit menu at the top of regedit select permissions. Then click the Advanced button, then Owner tab.
Under the area "Change owner to:" you will see a list of user names, click to select your account name and check the box "Replace owner on subcontainers and objects" then click OK.
You now have ownership of the key so can set the permissions correctly. Still with the mailto key in the edit menu select permissions again.
Under the section called "group or user names:" select one entry at a time, you will need to do all in this list one at a time:
Creator Owner
Administrators
Users
System
Please check that all the above are actually listed in the list, there may be others but all these should exist.
Then select each in turn and for each one check the "Permissions for Users" area below have the following settings checked, if not check the appropriate boxes and then click OK
Creator Owner should have
Full Control
Read
Administrators should have
Full Control
Read
Users should have
Read
System should have
Full Control
Read
If any are missing check to enable the permission and click OK to save. When finished close regedit. Then reboot the PC and retry your mail program, does this cure the issue with multiple windows?
Hi Ad Astra and sorry for the delay in replying. I've been lazy and using my laptop but really need to get this sorted once and for all.
I followed your instructions but once I got to the "change owner to" part, when I clicked OK I got an error message saying
"Unable to set new owner on mailto.
Access denied"
Originally, in the "Owner" section there was a message saying something like "unable to verify owner" yet despite the error message, when I re-traced my steps I saw that I was in fact listed as the owner.
However, as I continued on to "Permissions" and then "Group or user names" the following were missing from the list;
Create Owner
Users (unless you're refering to my user name which was there)
Administrators
There were in fact only two listings, my username and (I think) system.
Re-booted anyway just to see if I'd made any difference but als no. Still the same problem with multiple wiondows popping up when I click on an email link.
I followed your instructions but once I got to the "change owner to" part, when I clicked OK I got an error message saying
"Unable to set new owner on mailto.
Access denied"
Originally, in the "Owner" section there was a message saying something like "unable to verify owner" yet despite the error message, when I re-traced my steps I saw that I was in fact listed as the owner.
However, as I continued on to "Permissions" and then "Group or user names" the following were missing from the list;
Create Owner
Users (unless you're refering to my user name which was there)
Administrators
There were in fact only two listings, my username and (I think) system.
Re-booted anyway just to see if I'd made any difference but als no. Still the same problem with multiple wiondows popping up when I click on an email link.
Hi there,
Can anyone else help with this? I'm guessing Ad Astra isn't around at the moment. He's been a great help up until now and i really would like to get this problem sorted for good. It's driving me mad!
Many thanks,
S1987
Can anyone else help with this? I'm guessing Ad Astra isn't around at the moment. He's been a great help up until now and i really would like to get this problem sorted for good. It's driving me mad!
Many thanks,
S1987
bump.
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