Setting Outlook Express as default mailer

Hi,
I have installed windows xp pro a month ago.
When I installed Office 97 Pro, it installed MS Outlook as well.
During the installation, outlook was set as the default email program, removing outlook express. When i went to internet options and checked the list of available email programs, the 2 listed were PocoMail and MS Outlook. Outlook express was not on the list at all. This was the case with all the user accounts on my computer.

I wanted outlook express to be the default mailer so i set it to do so using the option available in it. However, it did not show up on the list of available email clients and was not set as the default mailer. All the action resulted in was removing the existing default.

I tried to reset web settings in internet options but keep getting the message 'Unable to restore internet settings'. I have uninstalled MS Outlook and PocoMail but still Outlook express cannot be set as the default mailer.

How do i set Outlook express as the default mailer now?
Regards,
Apurva

 

in Outlook Express go to tools / options & on the bottom of the general tab you can select it as your default.

 

I have already done that,
it didnt work..
it just removes that current default leaving my system without a default mail client

 

Hi apurva,
Try this:Outlook Express Files and Settings Transfer Wizard (for migrating to XP from an older Windows PC) loses account data or overwrites an existing account; or when run on the Windows 9x/Me PC, it corrupts the message store. Update available from Windows Update on the Microsoft site. See if that helps.

 

Thats not the problem..
the problem is in setting outlook express as the default mailer..
anyways.. i have got alll the updates available at windows update.

 

Here's a simple way too make Outlook Express your default e-mail client:
Close OE, click Start/Run and enter this command line, complete with quotes, spaces and the /reg switch:

"C:\Program Files\Outlook Express\msimn.exe" /reg

Of course change the path if you installed OE elsewhere.
Works every time!

Good luck,

 

Hi,
I did that and it worked.. thanks a lot.
I notice that it recreated all the keys in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > Software > Clients > Mail area.
Those keys were missing before and i was trying to find the right ones manually..

What does the /reg key do and does it work for all programs or just a few??

Thanks a ton,
Apurva

 

It registers Outlook Express as the default email client.

It is related to registering commands like regsvr32 vbscript.dll for example.

If a program is involved you can try to start the program with the /r or /reg parameter, as you just did.

I've never used this one for another program myself.

Greetz,

 

thanks,
I will try it on different programs and see what happens..

regards,
Apurva

 

But what would like to accomplish doing that?
It isn't the solution to all computer problems, you know.

Are you experiencing other problems?
More then likely another solution will be required instead.

 

I do not have any other problems..
i just want to experiment to see what the instruction does and how it works so i can implement it in my own programs in the future if need be..

It only affects the registry so i can just take a backup of it and restore it should there be any problems..

The basic thing i want to learn is whether this is a windows command that works on all programs which respond to it or whether only a few MS programs can make use of it..

I think right now that this command re - enters all the registry entries of a particular program to their defaults..

Regards,
Apurva

 

Of course you can experiment with this one if you like.

But I don't think it'll do much of anything, in most cases.

I can't recall seeing it used for anything else than for Msimn.exe, and you can be sure it would be more widely known if it worked for various other programs as well.

Grtz.

 

If it is used for nothing but OE then it isnt much use for me..

thanks for the info..

Apurva