To free up disk space, Outlook Express can compact messages. This may take up to a few minutes.

Anonymous
2010-01-04T16:48:32+00:00

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.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Internet and connectivity

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2012-06-10T21:36:30+00:00

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.

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_xp-performance/outlook-express-can-compact-messages-how-do-i-turn/b7e41d7f-d0db-4930-9c64-19e3c7b7d5cf?tm=1339359499078&page=1#_self

Was this answer helpful?

1 person found this answer helpful.
0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2010-01-17T22:00:57+00:00

Try resetting the compact count in the registry:

  1. Start the registry editor.
  2. 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.

Boulder Computer Maven

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional

Was this answer helpful?

0 comments

104 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2011-07-21T01:37:24+00:00

    Did indexing OE files get rechecked in WS? This is an old canned reply of mine, but it addresses the issue of checking or unchecking not sticking.

    ************************************

    Thanks for the suggestion.

    No the OE files remained correctly unchecked in the WS interface

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2011-07-20T15:03:34+00:00

    I haven't tried this, but the counter incrementation is due to OE's internal message store being opened by the other programs.  If you don't use OE, you might try making the inbox.dbx file (hidden) read only.  That prevents OE proper from opening and it might prevent the incrementing of the counter, in that the 3rd party program may not be able to access OE, and so it wouldn't get incremented.  So you might try that.

    steve

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2011-07-20T12:53:54+00:00

    Did indexing OE files get rechecked in WS? This is an old canned reply of mine, but it addresses the issue of checking or unchecking not sticking.

    ************************************

    Settings that become unchecked, or do not stick, may be caused by one or more of the following programs. There are probably others that will do it as well.

    Ad-Aware's Ad-Watch

    F-Secure Internet Security 2007

    IBM Access Connections

    McAfee VirusScan and/or Antispyware

    Nod32

    Norton Anti-Virus

    SpywareBlaster

    Spybot Tea Timer

    SpySweeper

    Spyware Doctor

    CounterSpy

    AVG Anti-Spyware

    Windows Defender

    Zone Alarm (Free, Pro, & Security Suite).

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments