Here are the things I did that resolved the issue for me:
I reset Compact Check Count to 0, and I uninstalled Windows Search 4.0.
As for Outlook Express: I don't use it.
Thank you for the reply...and thanks for the advice & info.
To free up disk space, Outlook Express can compact messages. This may take up to a few minutes.
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Anonymous
Every few minutes the message :
"To free up disk space, Outlook Express can compact messages. This may take up to a few minutes."
This is irrelevant for two reasons :
(1) I do not use Outlook Express, and therefore have no messages to compact.
(2) I do not need to free up disk space as I am currently using only five per cent of a very large disk.
Could someone please tell me how I get rid off this very irritating message.
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Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
Try resetting the compact count in the registry:
- Start the registry editor.
- Open this key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Identities{identity}\Software\Microsoft\Outlook Express\5.0
where identity is a string of letters, numbers, and dashes. 3. Set the value of Compact Check Count to 0. 4. Close the registry editor.
For more information, see Why You Should Let Outlook Express Compact Messages When It Asks You .
Warning: Incorrectly editing the registry might damage your system and prevent Windows from starting. Before doing it, back up your important data, make a restore point, and make sure you know how to repair a damaged system.
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Anonymous
2011-02-24T08:23:55+00:00 This worked for me thanks it was doing my head in
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Anonymous
2011-02-10T13:26:19+00:00 As Bruce indicates, you will just have the problem again after another 100 closings of OE. You need to regularly backup and compact and disable other software that is accessing the OE store folder. If you don't, then you might as well go ahead and purchase my DBXpress program (www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/) so that you already have it for when you lose all your messages.
steve
<philr1> wrote in message news:*** Email address is removed for privacy ***...
Thanks Private1 for the extra detail of "right click on compact check count, and select modify and change value to 0"
I had followed the others suggestions here, but did not know how to actually go in and change the check count, so didn't do anything for fear of damaging the system in some way if I pressed the wrong thing. Just adding that extra bit of instruction made me able to change it to 0 and now the pesky message has gone (until it gets to 100 again) but at least I now know how to get it to stop.
Many thanks
Phil
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Anonymous
2011-02-09T15:20:04+00:00 Thanks Private1 for the extra detail of "right click on compact check count, and select modify and change value to 0"
I had followed the others suggestions here, but did not know how to actually go in and change the check count, so didn't do anything for fear of damaging the system in some way if I pressed the wrong thing. Just adding that extra bit of instruction made me able to change it to 0 and now the pesky message has gone (until it gets to 100 again) but at least I now know how to get it to stop.
A little warning. If you let OE compact, but then see the prompt sooner than 100 closings of OE, you have an issue with another program affecting OE.
If you see the compact prompt only after 100 closings as it should be, you are doomed to lose your messages at some time if you never compact.
Why does OE insist on compacting folders when I close it?:
http://www.insideoe.com/faqs/why.htm#compact
About File Corruption:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/IE/community/columns/filecorruption.mspx
Compacting your folders periodically is a must to keep OE functioning well and at some point, you may lose all your saved messages if you don't. When you delete, or move messages, the space they had used remains until you compact.
***Never touch anything until the compacting is finished.***
See:
With SP2, automatic background compacting was removed due to problems it caused. Now you will get a prompt to compact after 100 OE closings, which you should do, and don't touch anything until it has finished. If you compact manually, at your convenience, this will also set the counter back to zero. See this for more information:
http://www.insideoe.com/files/maintain.htm#compact
If you are fully patched, you will also now see a copy of your dbx files being copied to the Recycle Bin as BAK files. Should something go awry when compacting, the messages can easily be restored from this backup. A manual compact will also reset the counter in the registry back to zero now.
For more info, see the information outlined in red here:
To keep things running smooth, and for faster compacting:
Do not archive mail in default OE folders. They will eventually become corrupt and you may lose mail. Create your own user defined folders for storing mail and move your mail to them. Empty Deleted Items folder regularly. Keep user created folders under 300MB, and Default folders as empty as is feasible.
And backup often.
Outlook Express Quick Backup (OEQB Freeware)
http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx
You have been warned!
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Oct. 1, 2004 ~ Sept. 30, 2010
Imperial Beach, CA