Outlook express error message 0x800C0133

Anonymous
2010-03-22T01:31:20+00:00

HELP!  HAve not been able to download e-mails for several days.  After signing in to Outlook Express, it starts receiving messages and then an error screen pops up with POP3 Port 110  and error message 0x800C0133  After this no messages show up as the mail queue gets larger...

I have tried the help sections and also contacted Microsoft which sent me to this forum.  Am not very computer literate, so all and any help is really appreciated.

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.

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Anonymous
2010-03-22T01:39:24+00:00

Error Number: 0x800C0133 = a corrupt Inbox.

Move any mail you wish to save to a local folder you create. Then delete the problem Inbox as follows.

Tools | Options | Maintenance | Store Folder will reveal the location of your Outlook Express files. Write the location down and navigate to it in Windows Explorer or, copy and paste it into Start | Run.

In WinXP, Win2K & Win2K3 the OE user files (DBX and WAB) are by default marked as hidden. To view these files in Windows Explorer, you must enable Show Hidden Files and Folders under Start | Control Panel | Folder Options | View.

With OE closed, find the Inbox.dbx and delete it.  A new one will be created automatically when you open OE.

General precautions for Outlook Express:

Do not archive mail in the Inbox or Sent Items. Create your own user defined folders and move the messages you wish to save to them. Empty Deleted Items folder daily. Although dbx files have a theoretical capacity of 2GB, I recommend about a 300MB max for less chance of corruption.

After you are done, follow up by compacting your folders manually while working *offline* and do it often.

Click on Outlook Express at the top of the folder tree so no folders are open. Then: File | Work Offline (or double click Working Online in the Status Bar). File | Folder | Compact all folders. Don't touch anything until the compacting is completed.

Turn off e-mail scanning in your anti-virus program. It is a redundant layer of protection that eats up CPUs and causes a multitude of problems such as time-outs and account setting changes. Your up-to-date A/V program will continue to protect you sufficiently. For more, see:

http://www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#3

Bruce Hagen MS-MVP [Mail]

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  1. Anonymous
    2013-06-05T18:48:00+00:00

    Hey Bruce,

    I have this problem right now today. Error number: 0x800c0133.

    When I will delete the Inbox.dbx => will this say that I will lose all mails that were before in my inbox ?

    Because after this errir code today the Inbox is totaly empty.

    Is tehre no possibility to get back the mails which were before the error code in my Inbox ?

    Thanks a lot for your reply.

    Roland Decorte (Belgium)

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  2. Anonymous
    2013-05-13T12:55:24+00:00

    You're welcome. Glad it worked out for you.

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  3. Anonymous
    2013-05-13T10:08:24+00:00

    Just want to say thanks for your advice. I had the same error issue last week as the original poster had when migrating email/email folders etc over into new PC. I Googled the error code, found this page & followed your steps & had working & incoming email within a few minutes.

    Easy as instructions - even for a kiwi car parts salesperson to follow!!!! Craig

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  4. Anonymous
    2013-04-08T16:48:38+00:00

    The two most common reasons for what you describe is disruption of the compacting process, (never touch anything until it's finished), or bloated folders. More on that below.

    Why does OE insist on compacting folders when I close it?:

    http://www.insideoe.com/faqs/why.htm#compact

    Why Mail Disappears:

    http://www.insideoe.com/problems/bugs.htm#mailgone

    Recovery methods:

    If you are running XP/SP3, then you should have a backup of your dbx files in the Recycle Bin, (or possibly the message store), copied as bak files.

    To restore a bak folder to the message store folder, first find the location of the Message Store.

    Tools | Options | Maintenance | Store Folder will reveal the location of your Outlook Express files. Write the location down and navigate to it in Windows Explorer or, copy and paste it into Start | Run.

    In WinXP, the .dbx files are by default marked as hidden. To view these files in Explorer, you must enable Show Hidden Files and Folders under Start | Control Panel | Folder Options | View.

    Note: If you have new messages in the folder you are going to restore, move them to a user created folder first or they will be lost. They can be moved back once the old messages have been restored.

    Close OE and then in Windows Explorer, click on the dbx file for the missing, or empty, folder and drag it to the Desktop. It can be deleted later once you have successfully restored the bak file. Minimize the Message Store.

    Open OE and, if the folder is missing, create a folder with the *exact* same name as the bak file you want to restore but without the .bak. Eg: If the file is Saved.bak, the new folder should be named Saved. Open the new folder and then close OE. If the folder is there, but just empty, continue on to the next step.

    First, check if there is a bak file already in the message store. If there is, and you removed the dbx file, go ahead and rename it to dbx.

    If it isn't already in the message store, open the Recycle bin and right click on the bak file for the folder in question and click Restore. Open the message store back up and change the file extension from .bak to .dbx. Close the message store and open OE. The messages should now be back in the folder.

    If the messages are successfully restored, you can go ahead and delete the old dbx file that you moved to the Desktop. 

    If you do not have bak copies of your dbx files in the Recycle Bin, then:

    DBXpress run in Extract From Disk Mode is the best chance to recover messages:

    http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/Default.aspx

    And see:

    http://www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#4

    A general warning to help avoid this in the future:

    Do not archive mail in default OE folders. They will eventually become corrupted. 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.

    Turn off e-mail scanning in your anti-virus program. It is a redundant layer of protection that eats up CPUs, slows down sending and receiving, and causes a multitude of problems such as time-outs, account setting changes and has even been responsible for lose of messages. Your up-to-date A/V program will continue to protect you sufficiently.

    For more, see:

    http://www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#3 

    And backup often.

    Outlook Express Quick Backup (OEQB Freeware)

    http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx

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