dadiOH wrote:
THE PROBLEM

When my wife tries to access OE the splash loads but nothing else. Task
manager shows msimn.exe is using 100% (or close to it) of CPU.


THE MACHINE

CPU - Athlon
OS - XP SP3
IE - 6.00.2900.5512.xpsp.080413-2111)
OE - 6.00.2900.5512 (xpsp.080413-2105)


WHAT I'VE TRIED

1. I restored a recent image from when I *thought* OE was OK. No help

2. I restored an older image from when I *know* OE was OK. No help

3. I moved all dbx files from the store. No help

4. Checked machine for malware...couple of tracking cookies, nothing else.
Removed cookies. No help

5. I deleted msimn.exe from the Outlook Express folder so the system would
replace it from dllcache. No help

6. I deleted *all* files from the Outlook Express folder so the system
would replace them from dllcache. No help

7. Tried an over the top install of XP but it faulted out, don't recall the
specific reason.



WHERE NOW?

Danged if I know. Other than wipe the partition and reinstall XP which I
really don't want to do as her work place has installed stuff which would be
a nuisance to get back.

I could install a different mail client but she is used to OE and has
limited computer skills (limited = almost none). Besides, I hate to be
thwarted and would like to find the problem and the fix. The thing that
really puzzles me is why the problem persists after restoring a known good
image.

Any and all suggestions welcomed.



Read here 'dadiOH' - Fixmbr (Recovery Console)

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/termsf/p/fixmbr.htm

The fixmbr utility will write a master boot record to the hard drive
that you're currently using to boot into Windows XP. This will repair
any corruption or damage that the master boot record may have.

HTH

Good luck!