In ,
dadiOH spewed forth:
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.

You did end the msimn.exe in the processes, right?
If not, end it and try restarting. I've had OE and Firefox do exactly
what you're talking about and like you, looked in processes and both
were already running, ended them and all was okay
Otherwise, I dunno