Issue:
You have a new memo or forwarded message that you sent to a recipient. The recipient received the e-mail but now the message is stuck in the Outlook in-box.
It is sending over-and-over again with each Send and Receive. You've tried highlighting and deleting, but the message won't delete. Besides start over with a new PST / mailfile, what else can be done?
Possible Solutions:
1. The Try-Try Again:
Locate the message in the Outbox. Highlight the message and open it. Then close it and then try to delete it.
2. Offline Toggle:
a. Put Outlook in offline mode. (File --> Work Offline).
b. Restart Outlook.
c. Try to delete the message.
d. If not, open and then close the message, and now try to delete the message.
e. Regardless, if successful or not, remember to put Outlook back in Online mode.
3. Safe Mode:
a. Close Outlook if open.
b. Click the XP Start button. Click Run.
c. In the box, type Outlook /safe. Click OK or <enter> button.
d. When Outlook opens, try to delete the stuck message.
e. Exit Outlook to quit safe mode.
4. Delete your profile but keep your PST:
a. Find out the name and location of your current PST.
- With Outlook running, choose Personal Folders in the left navigation pane. Click Properties. Click Advanced. Write down the location and name of the .PST file in the Filename box.
b. Open the Mail Setup dialog box.
- For XP --> Control Panel --> User Accounts --> Mail
c. Click Show Profiles.
d. Click Add, to add a new profile.
e. Enter the e-mail account information.
f. Select the option for "Prompt for a profile to be used". Click OK.
g. Restart Outlook and select the new profile.
Note: You now have a NEW profile and PST file. You probably now need to import your old messages.
h. To import, select File --> Import and Export from the menu.
i. Click the option to Import from another program or file. Click Next.
j. Choose the Personal Folder File (.pst) option. Click Next.
k. Navigate and select your old PST file.
l. In the import options, choose whether to allow duplicates or not, and follow the remaining prompts.
5. Use the MS MDB Viewer Test Application - MDBVU32.exe tool to clear the Outbox.
Note: Warning. This is pretty technical set of instructions. There is a chance you could do damage with kind of powerful tool. These instructions are for a specific moment in history. You may need to adjust them. Use with extreme caution. You should also do a back-up first, just in case, and do this with Outlook shutdown.
a. Download and extract the tool from it's archive file.
b. Run the tool.
c. Press OK on the first information screen.
d. Choose MDB --> Open Message Store.
e. Select your PST file. Click Open.
Note: Your default PST has a D in-front of it.
f. Choose MDB --> Open IPM Outbox.
(Just a note: If you were to clear a stuck in-box message, you would select Open Root Folder.)
g. The messages are in the middle top window pain.
h. Using the Operations available drop down, perform the lpMDB -> Abort Submit operation. Press Call Function button. Click OK.
i. Using the Operations available drop down, perform the lpFLD -> DeleteMessages operation. Press the Call Function button. Click OK. A pop-up will tell you the results (which should be a confirmation receipt of success.) Click OK.
j. Choose MDB --> Store Logoff
k. Choose Session --> Logoff
k. Close the MDB viewer app.
See also:
MS Support KB article: 182572
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