What's erasing my OE 6.0 mail & newsgroup accounts?

OS= W2K (SP4)
On two random occasions now I have had my mail & newsgroup accounts erased -
clean.
I use only two accounts - mail with POP & SMTP server names for my ISP
account - and this newsgroup account.

I suspected that an application like a hard drive defragger or register
cleaner might be at fault. I tested them with no results. I have had no
leads on Internet or the Microsoft Knowledge Base searches. I have good
anti-virus & malware protection. I've never had this issue - ever.

I'd greatly appreciate a pointer. Thanks -
Blithe

"Erased clean" as in the accounts are no longer present in Tools | Accounts
or as in "all of my messages were deleted from OE"?
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/

Blithe wrote:
OS= W2K (SP4)
On two random occasions now I have had my mail & newsgroup accounts
erased -
clean.
I use only two accounts - mail with POP & SMTP server names for my ISP
account - and this newsgroup account.

I suspected that an application like a hard drive defragger or register
cleaner might be at fault. I tested them with no results. I have had no
leads on Internet or the Microsoft Knowledge Base searches. I have good
anti-virus & malware protection. I've never had this issue - ever.

I'd greatly appreciate a pointer. Thanks -
Blithe

Yes, Bear, "as in the accounts are no longer present in Tools | Accounts " -
everything else, folders and messages, was & still is intact and
functioning.

When the 1st episode came to my attention, the OE account installation
Wizard popped up (I don't know what triggered it) & I just closed the window
thinking it just a random aberrration. It was not until I got OE server
errors that I checked the Tools - Accounts & discovered both Mail & News
tabs for 'Internet Accounts' window were blank - no accounts being listed.
Blithe


"PA Bear [MS MVP]" wrote in message
...
"Erased clean" as in the accounts are no longer present in Tools |
Accounts
or as in "all of my messages were deleted from OE"?
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/

Blithe wrote:
OS= W2K (SP4)
On two random occasions now I have had my mail & newsgroup accounts
erased -
clean.
I use only two accounts - mail with POP & SMTP server names for my ISP
account - and this newsgroup account.

I suspected that an application like a hard drive defragger or register
cleaner might be at fault. I tested them with no results. I have had
no
leads on Internet or the Microsoft Knowledge Base searches. I have good
anti-virus & malware protection. I've never had this issue - ever.

I'd greatly appreciate a pointer. Thanks -
Blithe

Your current Identity may be damaged, especially if its the default-named
Main Identity. Try one or more of your mail accounts in a new Named
Identity...

File | Identities | Add new identity

Assuming all is well, (1) compact all folders in the old identity, (2)
import any remaining messages from the old identity into the new one, and
then (3) delete the old one (File | Identities | Manage Identities).

To avoid such corruption in futu

- Don't use Inbox or Sent Items to archive messages. Move them to local
folders created for this purpose.

- Empty Deleted Items folder daily.

- Disable Background Compacting and frequently perform a manual compact of
all OE folders while "working offline". More at
http://www.insideoe.com/files/maintain.htm

- Disable email scanning by your anti-virus application. It can cause
corruption (i.e., loss of messages), it provides no additional protection,
and even Symantec says it's not necessary:

QP
Disabling Email Scanning does not leave you unprotected against viruses that
are distributed as email attachments. Norton AntiVirus Auto-Protect scans
incoming files as they are saved to your hard drive, including email and
email attachments. Email Scanning is just another layer on top of this. To
make sure that Auto-Protect is providing the maximum protection, keep
Auto-Protect enabled and run LiveUpdate regularly to ensure that you have
the most recent virus definitions.
/QP
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT...02111812533106
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/

Blithe wrote:
Yes, Bear, "as in the accounts are no longer present in Tools | Accounts
" -
everything else, folders and messages, was & still is intact and
functioning.

When the 1st episode came to my attention, the OE account installation
Wizard popped up (I don't know what triggered it) & I just closed the
window
thinking it just a random aberrration. It was not until I got OE server
errors that I checked the Tools - Accounts & discovered both Mail & News
tabs for 'Internet Accounts' window were blank - no accounts being listed.
Blithe


"PA Bear [MS MVP]" wrote in message
...
"Erased clean" as in the accounts are no longer present in Tools |
Accounts
or as in "all of my messages were deleted from OE"?
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/

Blithe wrote:
OS= W2K (SP4)
On two random occasions now I have had my mail & newsgroup accounts
erased -
clean.
I use only two accounts - mail with POP & SMTP server names for my ISP
account - and this newsgroup account.

I suspected that an application like a hard drive defragger or register
cleaner might be at fault. I tested them with no results. I have had
no
leads on Internet or the Microsoft Knowledge Base searches. I have good
anti-virus & malware protection. I've never had this issue - ever.

I'd greatly appreciate a pointer. Thanks -
Blithe

Thanks in advance, Bear. I will follow your detailed instructions forthwith
& let you know results when done. This is not the 1st time I have had
corruption/identity issues with OE - my usually very reliable & preferred
email software. However, it is almost a singular event - so it's difficult
to recognize the symptoms - much less know the remedy even if the symptoms
appear familiar.

Blithe


"PA Bear [MS MVP]" wrote in message
...
Your current Identity may be damaged, especially if its the default-named
Main Identity. Try one or more of your mail accounts in a new Named
Identity...

File | Identities | Add new identity

Assuming all is well, (1) compact all folders in the old identity, (2)
import any remaining messages from the old identity into the new one, and
then (3) delete the old one (File | Identities | Manage Identities).

To avoid such corruption in futu

- Don't use Inbox or Sent Items to archive messages. Move them to local
folders created for this purpose.

- Empty Deleted Items folder daily.

- Disable Background Compacting and frequently perform a manual compact of
all OE folders while "working offline". More at
http://www.insideoe.com/files/maintain.htm

- Disable email scanning by your anti-virus application. It can cause
corruption (i.e., loss of messages), it provides no additional protection,
and even Symantec says it's not necessary:

QP
Disabling Email Scanning does not leave you unprotected against viruses
that
are distributed as email attachments. Norton AntiVirus Auto-Protect scans
incoming files as they are saved to your hard drive, including email and
email attachments. Email Scanning is just another layer on top of this. To
make sure that Auto-Protect is providing the maximum protection, keep
Auto-Protect enabled and run LiveUpdate regularly to ensure that you have
the most recent virus definitions.
/QP
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT...02111812533106
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/

Blithe wrote:
Yes, Bear, "as in the accounts are no longer present in Tools | Accounts
" -
everything else, folders and messages, was & still is intact and
functioning.

When the 1st episode came to my attention, the OE account installation
Wizard popped up (I don't know what triggered it) & I just closed the
window
thinking it just a random aberrration. It was not until I got OE server
errors that I checked the Tools - Accounts & discovered both Mail & News
tabs for 'Internet Accounts' window were blank - no accounts being
listed.
Blithe


"PA Bear [MS MVP]" wrote in message
...
"Erased clean" as in the accounts are no longer present in Tools |
Accounts
or as in "all of my messages were deleted from OE"?
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/

Blithe wrote:
OS= W2K (SP4)
On two random occasions now I have had my mail & newsgroup accounts
erased -
clean.
I use only two accounts - mail with POP & SMTP server names for my ISP
account - and this newsgroup account.

I suspected that an application like a hard drive defragger or
register
cleaner might be at fault. I tested them with no results. I have had
no
leads on Internet or the Microsoft Knowledge Base searches. I have
good
anti-virus & malware protection. I've never had this issue - ever.

I'd greatly appreciate a pointer. Thanks -
Blithe

Adhere to the Caveats I posted and all should be well.

Blithe wrote:
Thanks in advance, Bear. I will follow your detailed instructions
forthwith
& let you know results when done. This is not the 1st time I have had
corruption/identity issues with OE - my usually very reliable & preferred
email software. However, it is almost a singular event - so it's
difficult
to recognize the symptoms - much less know the remedy even if the symptoms
appear familiar.

Blithe


"PA Bear [MS MVP]" wrote in message
...
Your current Identity may be damaged, especially if its the default-named
Main Identity. Try one or more of your mail accounts in a new Named
Identity...

File | Identities | Add new identity

Assuming all is well, (1) compact all folders in the old identity, (2)
import any remaining messages from the old identity into the new one, and
then (3) delete the old one (File | Identities | Manage Identities).

To avoid such corruption in futu

- Don't use Inbox or Sent Items to archive messages. Move them to local
folders created for this purpose.

- Empty Deleted Items folder daily.

- Disable Background Compacting and frequently perform a manual compact
of
all OE folders while "working offline". More at
http://www.insideoe.com/files/maintain.htm

- Disable email scanning by your anti-virus application. It can cause
corruption (i.e., loss of messages), it provides no additional
protection,
and even Symantec says it's not necessary:

QP
Disabling Email Scanning does not leave you unprotected against viruses
that are distributed as email attachments. Norton AntiVirus Auto-Protect
scans incoming files as they are saved to your hard drive, including
email
and email attachments. Email Scanning is just another layer on top of
this. To make sure that Auto-Protect is providing the maximum protection,
keep Auto-Protect enabled and run LiveUpdate regularly to ensure that you
have the most recent virus definitions.
/QP
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT...02111812533106
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/

Blithe wrote:
Yes, Bear, "as in the accounts are no longer present in Tools | Accounts
" -
everything else, folders and messages, was & still is intact and
functioning.

When the 1st episode came to my attention, the OE account installation
Wizard popped up (I don't know what triggered it) & I just closed the
window
thinking it just a random aberrration. It was not until I got OE server
errors that I checked the Tools - Accounts & discovered both Mail & News
tabs for 'Internet Accounts' window were blank - no accounts being
listed.
Blithe


"PA Bear [MS MVP]" wrote in message
...
"Erased clean" as in the accounts are no longer present in Tools |
Accounts
or as in "all of my messages were deleted from OE"?
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/

Blithe wrote:
OS= W2K (SP4)
On two random occasions now I have had my mail & newsgroup accounts
erased -
clean.
I use only two accounts - mail with POP & SMTP server names for my ISP
account - and this newsgroup account.

I suspected that an application like a hard drive defragger or
register
cleaner might be at fault. I tested them with no results. I have had
no
leads on Internet or the Microsoft Knowledge Base searches. I have
good
anti-virus & malware protection. I've never had this issue - ever.

I'd greatly appreciate a pointer. Thanks -
Blithe

Hello Bear - here's an update & I'm suspecting something else may be afoot.
After following your pointers (& having a devil of a time to reconstruct my
OE address book to look like my last identity's current version - & still
ongoing but not a central issue) I tested & all seemed OK. But then -

Upon another opening of OE I got the Internet Wizard again, checked
accounts, & discovered my mail account was wiped clean again. However, this
time my newsgroup, this one, was still posted & functioning. All other OE
folders & contents were OK. I re-established my ISP mail account servers
again, tested, & once again all seemed OK under my new OE identity.

I have only one remaining possibility that I can consider as a cause. I am a
relatively new ISP subscriber - having switched from my old one after 4-5
years. When my mail & newsgroup accts were erased the 1st time - I had
forgotten my ISP server names & got on the tech support website to access
where the names were posted for my zipcode area. However, the server names
did not appear to be identical or the same as those that had been erased.

I re-established my ISP mail accounts with the unfamiliar server names &
emailed my ISP asking for confirmation of the server names. The email
reply, the following business day, quoted the correct server names for my
zipcode - & they were not identical to the ones posted on the ISP's
website!!!

Naturally, I phoned tech service to inquire. The agent - 1. said he would
investigate 2. confirmed the website's posting & not the email's were the
correct server names 3. promised to get back to me 4. assured me, that in
any case, the issue of having my mail account erased would have nothing to
do with what server names were being used on my PC at the time.

Bear - so far tech service has not gotten back to me - BUT - this is how I
am configured at this time: I created a second email account for the same
ISP and am using the two sets of server names that this ISP has given me -
with synchronized settings as if for two separate ISP company accounts.

All seems OK at this time. Any thoughts?

Blithe



"PA Bear [MS MVP]" wrote in message
...
Adhere to the Caveats I posted and all should be well.

Blithe wrote:
Thanks in advance, Bear. I will follow your detailed instructions
forthwith
& let you know results when done. This is not the 1st time I have had
corruption/identity issues with OE - my usually very reliable &
preferred
email software. However, it is almost a singular event - so it's
difficult
to recognize the symptoms - much less know the remedy even if the
symptoms
appear familiar.

Blithe


"PA Bear [MS MVP]" wrote in message
...
Your current Identity may be damaged, especially if its the
default-named
Main Identity. Try one or more of your mail accounts in a new Named
Identity...

File | Identities | Add new identity

Assuming all is well, (1) compact all folders in the old identity, (2)
import any remaining messages from the old identity into the new one,
and
then (3) delete the old one (File | Identities | Manage Identities).

To avoid such corruption in futu

- Don't use Inbox or Sent Items to archive messages. Move them to
local
folders created for this purpose.

- Empty Deleted Items folder daily.

- Disable Background Compacting and frequently perform a manual compact
of
all OE folders while "working offline". More at
http://www.insideoe.com/files/maintain.htm

- Disable email scanning by your anti-virus application. It can cause
corruption (i.e., loss of messages), it provides no additional
protection,
and even Symantec says it's not necessary:

QP
Disabling Email Scanning does not leave you unprotected against viruses
that are distributed as email attachments. Norton AntiVirus
Auto-Protect
scans incoming files as they are saved to your hard drive, including
email
and email attachments. Email Scanning is just another layer on top of
this. To make sure that Auto-Protect is providing the maximum
protection,
keep Auto-Protect enabled and run LiveUpdate regularly to ensure that
you
have the most recent virus definitions.
/QP
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT...02111812533106
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/

Blithe wrote:
Yes, Bear, "as in the accounts are no longer present in Tools |
Accounts
" -
everything else, folders and messages, was & still is intact and
functioning.

When the 1st episode came to my attention, the OE account installation
Wizard popped up (I don't know what triggered it) & I just closed the
window
thinking it just a random aberrration. It was not until I got OE
server
errors that I checked the Tools - Accounts & discovered both Mail &
News
tabs for 'Internet Accounts' window were blank - no accounts being
listed.
Blithe


"PA Bear [MS MVP]" wrote in message
...
"Erased clean" as in the accounts are no longer present in Tools |
Accounts
or as in "all of my messages were deleted from OE"?
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/

Blithe wrote:
OS= W2K (SP4)
On two random occasions now I have had my mail & newsgroup accounts
erased -
clean.
I use only two accounts - mail with POP & SMTP server names for my
ISP
account - and this newsgroup account.

I suspected that an application like a hard drive defragger or
register
cleaner might be at fault. I tested them with no results. I have
had
no
leads on Internet or the Microsoft Knowledge Base searches. I have
good
anti-virus & malware protection. I've never had this issue - ever.

I'd greatly appreciate a pointer. Thanks -
Blithe

"Blithe" invalid@nospam wrote in message
...
OS= W2K (SP4)
On two random occasions now I have had my mail & newsgroup accounts
erased -
clean.
I use only two accounts - mail with POP & SMTP server names for my ISP
account - and this newsgroup account.

I suspected that an application like a hard drive defragger or register
cleaner might be at fault. I tested them with no results. I have had no
leads on Internet or the Microsoft Knowledge Base searches. I have good
anti-virus & malware protection. I've never had this issue - ever.


Think your Registry needs "cleaning"? Read
http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=28099 and draw your own conclusions.

--
Frank Saunders MS-MVP IE,OE/WM
Do not reply with email

Your ISP appears to be Cox.net (somewhere in KS?) Have you installed any
Cox.net software?

Who were your previous ISPs (e.g., Earthlink)? Did you install any of their
software (e.g., Earthlink Toolbar and/or Protection Center)?

What anti-virus application or security suite is installed, is your
subscription current, and have you disabled email scanning? What
anti-spyware applications (other than Defender)? What third-party firewall
(if any)?

Is your machine fully patched at Windows Update? Is Automatic Updates
enabled and working properly to the best of your knowledge? (cf.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/327850)
--
~PA Bear

Blithe wrote:
Hello Bear - here's an update & I'm suspecting something else may be
afoot.
After following your pointers (& having a devil of a time to reconstruct
my
OE address book to look like my last identity's current version - & still
ongoing but not a central issue) I tested & all seemed OK. But then -

Upon another opening of OE I got the Internet Wizard again, checked
accounts, & discovered my mail account was wiped clean again. However,
this
time my newsgroup, this one, was still posted & functioning. All other OE
folders & contents were OK. I re-established my ISP mail account servers
again, tested, & once again all seemed OK under my new OE identity.

I have only one remaining possibility that I can consider as a cause. I am
a
relatively new ISP subscriber - having switched from my old one after 4-5
years. When my mail & newsgroup accts were erased the 1st time - I had
forgotten my ISP server names & got on the tech support website to access
where the names were posted for my zipcode area. However, the server
names
did not appear to be identical or the same as those that had been erased.

I re-established my ISP mail accounts with the unfamiliar server names &
emailed my ISP asking for confirmation of the server names. The email
reply, the following business day, quoted the correct server names for my
zipcode - & they were not identical to the ones posted on the ISP's
website!!!

Naturally, I phoned tech service to inquire. The agent - 1. said he
would
investigate 2. confirmed the website's posting & not the email's were the
correct server names 3. promised to get back to me 4. assured me, that in
any case, the issue of having my mail account erased would have nothing to
do with what server names were being used on my PC at the time.

Bear - so far tech service has not gotten back to me - BUT - this is how I
am configured at this time: I created a second email account for the same
ISP and am using the two sets of server names that this ISP has given me -
with synchronized settings as if for two separate ISP company accounts.

All seems OK at this time. Any thoughts?

Adhere to the Caveats I posted and all should be well.

Blithe wrote:
Thanks in advance, Bear. I will follow your detailed instructions
forthwith
& let you know results when done. This is not the 1st time I have had
corruption/identity issues with OE - my usually very reliable &
preferred
email software. However, it is almost a singular event - so it's
difficult
to recognize the symptoms - much less know the remedy even if the
symptoms
appear familiar.

Your current Identity may be damaged, especially if its the
default-named
Main Identity. Try one or more of your mail accounts in a new Named
Identity...

File | Identities | Add new identity

Assuming all is well, (1) compact all folders in the old identity, (2)
import any remaining messages from the old identity into the new one,
and
then (3) delete the old one (File | Identities | Manage Identities).

To avoid such corruption in futu

- Don't use Inbox or Sent Items to archive messages. Move them to
local
folders created for this purpose.

- Empty Deleted Items folder daily.

- Disable Background Compacting and frequently perform a manual compact
of
all OE folders while "working offline". More at
http://www.insideoe.com/files/maintain.htm

- Disable email scanning by your anti-virus application. It can cause
corruption (i.e., loss of messages), it provides no additional
protection,
and even Symantec says it's not necessary:

QP
Disabling Email Scanning does not leave you unprotected against viruses
that are distributed as email attachments. Norton AntiVirus
Auto-Protect
scans incoming files as they are saved to your hard drive, including
email
and email attachments. Email Scanning is just another layer on top of
this. To make sure that Auto-Protect is providing the maximum
protection,
keep Auto-Protect enabled and run LiveUpdate regularly to ensure that
you
have the most recent virus definitions.
/QP
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT...02111812533106

Blithe wrote:
Yes, Bear, "as in the accounts are no longer present in Tools |
Accounts
" -
everything else, folders and messages, was & still is intact and
functioning.

When the 1st episode came to my attention, the OE account installation
Wizard popped up (I don't know what triggered it) & I just closed the
window
thinking it just a random aberrration. It was not until I got OE
server
errors that I checked the Tools - Accounts & discovered both Mail &
News
tabs for 'Internet Accounts' window were blank - no accounts being
listed.

"Erased clean" as in the accounts are no longer present in Tools |
Accounts
or as in "all of my messages were deleted from OE"?
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/

Blithe wrote:
OS= W2K (SP4)
On two random occasions now I have had my mail & newsgroup accounts
erased -
clean.
I use only two accounts - mail with POP & SMTP server names for my
ISP
account - and this newsgroup account.

I suspected that an application like a hard drive defragger or
register
cleaner might be at fault. I tested them with no results. I have
had
no
leads on Internet or the Microsoft Knowledge Base searches. I have
good
anti-virus & malware protection. I've never had this issue - ever.

I'd greatly appreciate a pointer. Thanks -
Blithe

OK - Bear - answering under each question:

"PA Bear [MS MVP]" wrote in message
...
Your ISP appears to be Cox.net (somewhere in KS?) Have you installed any
Cox.net software?

ISP= Cox.net - Wichita, KS - no Cox software installed.

Who were your previous ISPs (e.g., Earthlink)? Did you install any of
their
software (e.g., Earthlink Toolbar and/or Protection Center)?

Prior ISP= ATT Yahoo DSL - no software installed at time of termination -
years earlier I had installed an ATT connection diagnostic tool - I never
subscribed to any Yahoo services - ATT tech service recently had me download
software that allowed them control my PC to help diagnose an issue with an
extra email address just before I terminated (last September) - it was an
extra Yahoo email address that I had deleted over a year previously, that
was still active in all my incoming & outgoing email headers (that I
suspected was responsible for an excessive stream of constant SPAM) that
both high tier ATT & Yahoo tech services were trying to resolve for almost a
week without any progress having been made & which added to other customer
service issues led me to terminate my ATT DSL broadband subscription. I say
again - very early on I uninstalled all ATT software & strictly avoided any
temptation to try whatever was 'freely' available to subscribers.


What anti-virus application or security suite is installed, is your
subscription current, and have you disabled email scanning? What
anti-spyware applications (other than Defender)? What third-party
firewall
(if any)?

Anti-virus =Avast 4.8 Home Edition - I just disabled in/outgoing email
scanning - it had been on. Anti-spyware= XoftSpySE by Pareto software -
recently installed owing to this current email account issue. No firewall
software installed.

Is your machine fully patched at Windows Update? Is Automatic Updates
enabled and working properly to the best of your knowledge? (cf.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/327850)

Bear - Yes & No - I use custom updates only & do not set updates to
automatic owing to repeated failures of particular patches. I just checked
WinUpdate again & tried to update patches I had 'hidden' that repeatedly had
always failed. These a

Rollup for SP4 KB891861 - this attempt fails in the downloading process
Net.Framework 2.0 (SP1) KB947748 - Install error - X0x80070643
Security KB923810 - Install error - X0x9007F0F4

Virtual Machine 816093 - I did not try this again - prior attempts always
report my W2K system does not qualify - paraphrasing the error report.

My WinUpdate history exceeds 260 updates going back beyond June, 2006.

To the best of my knowledge - that's it. I just turned age 77, retired
early since 1982, programmed for mainframe computers, 1967 - 1980, had a
$5000 Mickey Mouse Gateway2000 running Windows 3.0 starting 1990, quickly
realized PC programming was way over my head & too much work, tried OS2,
Win95, WinXP, Vista on a new PC with hardware issues, & have stayed with
W2K - concluding by my experience that W2K has proven to be & remains the
best OS for my needs & expectations. Thanks for your time & consideration.

Blithe

--
~PA Bear

Blithe wrote:
Hello Bear - here's an update & I'm suspecting something else may be
afoot.
After following your pointers (& having a devil of a time to reconstruct
my
OE address book to look like my last identity's current version - &
still
ongoing but not a central issue) I tested & all seemed OK. But then -

Upon another opening of OE I got the Internet Wizard again, checked
accounts, & discovered my mail account was wiped clean again. However,
this
time my newsgroup, this one, was still posted & functioning. All other
OE
folders & contents were OK. I re-established my ISP mail account
servers
again, tested, & once again all seemed OK under my new OE identity.

I have only one remaining possibility that I can consider as a cause. I
am
a
relatively new ISP subscriber - having switched from my old one after
4-5
years. When my mail & newsgroup accts were erased the 1st time - I had
forgotten my ISP server names & got on the tech support website to
access
where the names were posted for my zipcode area. However, the server
names
did not appear to be identical or the same as those that had been
erased.

I re-established my ISP mail accounts with the unfamiliar server names &
emailed my ISP asking for confirmation of the server names. The email
reply, the following business day, quoted the correct server names for
my
zipcode - & they were not identical to the ones posted on the ISP's
website!!!

Naturally, I phoned tech service to inquire. The agent - 1. said he
would
investigate 2. confirmed the website's posting & not the email's were
the
correct server names 3. promised to get back to me 4. assured me, that
in
any case, the issue of having my mail account erased would have nothing
to
do with what server names were being used on my PC at the time.

Bear - so far tech service has not gotten back to me - BUT - this is how
I
am configured at this time: I created a second email account for the
same
ISP and am using the two sets of server names that this ISP has given
me -
with synchronized settings as if for two separate ISP company accounts.

All seems OK at this time. Any thoughts?

Adhere to the Caveats I posted and all should be well.

Blithe wrote:
Thanks in advance, Bear. I will follow your detailed instructions
forthwith
& let you know results when done. This is not the 1st time I have had
corruption/identity issues with OE - my usually very reliable &
preferred
email software. However, it is almost a singular event - so it's
difficult
to recognize the symptoms - much less know the remedy even if the
symptoms
appear familiar.

Your current Identity may be damaged, especially if its the
default-named
Main Identity. Try one or more of your mail accounts in a new Named
Identity...

File | Identities | Add new identity

Assuming all is well, (1) compact all folders in the old identity,
(2)
import any remaining messages from the old identity into the new one,
and
then (3) delete the old one (File | Identities | Manage Identities).

To avoid such corruption in futu

- Don't use Inbox or Sent Items to archive messages. Move them to
local
folders created for this purpose.

- Empty Deleted Items folder daily.

- Disable Background Compacting and frequently perform a manual
compact
of
all OE folders while "working offline". More at
http://www.insideoe.com/files/maintain.htm

- Disable email scanning by your anti-virus application. It can
cause
corruption (i.e., loss of messages), it provides no additional
protection,
and even Symantec says it's not necessary:

QP
Disabling Email Scanning does not leave you unprotected against
viruses
that are distributed as email attachments. Norton AntiVirus
Auto-Protect
scans incoming files as they are saved to your hard drive, including
email
and email attachments. Email Scanning is just another layer on top of
this. To make sure that Auto-Protect is providing the maximum
protection,
keep Auto-Protect enabled and run LiveUpdate regularly to ensure that
you
have the most recent virus definitions.
/QP
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT...02111812533106

Blithe wrote:
Yes, Bear, "as in the accounts are no longer present in Tools |
Accounts
" -
everything else, folders and messages, was & still is intact and
functioning.

When the 1st episode came to my attention, the OE account
installation
Wizard popped up (I don't know what triggered it) & I just closed
the
window
thinking it just a random aberrration. It was not until I got OE
server
errors that I checked the Tools - Accounts & discovered both Mail &
News
tabs for 'Internet Accounts' window were blank - no accounts being
listed.

"Erased clean" as in the accounts are no longer present in Tools |
Accounts
or as in "all of my messages were deleted from OE"?
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/

Blithe wrote:
OS= W2K (SP4)
On two random occasions now I have had my mail & newsgroup
accounts
erased -
clean.
I use only two accounts - mail with POP & SMTP server names for my
ISP
account - and this newsgroup account.

I suspected that an application like a hard drive defragger or
register
cleaner might be at fault. I tested them with no results. I have
had
no
leads on Internet or the Microsoft Knowledge Base searches. I
have
good
anti-virus & malware protection. I've never had this issue -
ever.

I'd greatly appreciate a pointer. Thanks -
Blithe