Outlook 2003, NON Exchange Type: Stopping Synchronization

"Is this what your talking about:  It's an icon that looks just like the outlook 2003 icon, but it changes to 2 envelopes floating around eac other once in a while...  ?"

Y -- E -- S--!!!

and

"If so, it changes to the envelopes every time outlook checks your POP3 server for new emails.  If you have outlook set to check for new messages every minute, it will show the envelopes icon every minute when your mail program checks the POP server for new email."

Y -- E -- S--!!!

And...

"I would like to get rid of that outlook icon in my taskbar as well, but I haven't found a good way to do so, but that's Microsoft for you! :-)"

The most difficult thing for us is that it really influences our machines, especially when we are runnig many apps.  It has something to do with folders that all of us COULD synchronize offline, but... without using an Exchange server with outlook, I've seen no explanations of how to make it stop doing this.

Oh, all Ye experts... please heed our baleful woe...
If you are willing to take the time to answer, please could you try the procedure out on  PC that is running Outlook 2003 and just accesing POP3 accounts, but not on an exchange server?

Our mournful plea? :)

OK, how about this: Pls check in Tools/Options and look in the mail services tab. Do you have offline files and synchroniztion enabled? More than likely, someone came in and turned on synch at some point.
Also, make sure you are not using a handheld that needs to be synched,

Hope this helps
Karen

Hi  kfalandays,

Thanks for your replies!! :)  We can't see mail services tab.  After we click Tools/Option the only tabs we see are:

Preferences, Mail Setuo Mail Format, Spelling, Security and Other.  

ANOTHER 45 minutes of life... gone!  There must be a way to do this in a non-exchange/terminal environment.  We keep getting to an Exchange answer:

http://ict.cas.psu.edu/training/howto/outlook/OfflineFolders.htm

Please help...

I'm sorry flowergarden. I didn't Have 2003 in front of me. Try this, for non exchange,  from MS Help : Come to this place to check you roffline settings. Also, are you working with a Palm or handheld?


On the Tools menu, point to Send/Receive, point to Send/Receive Settings, and then click Define Send/Receive Groups.
Under Group Name, select a send/receive group group.
Do either or both of the following:
Set up online synchronization

Under Setting for group Send/Receive group name, select the check boxes that you want:
To automatically synchronize all folders at specified intervals while you're online, select the Schedule an automatic send/receive every x minutes check box, and then enter a number between 1 and 1440.
To synchronize all folders after every online Microsoft Outlook session, select the Perform an automatic send/receive when exiting check box.
Set up offline synchronization

Under When Outlook is offline, select the check boxes that you want:
To automatically synchronize all folders at specified intervals while you're online, select the Schedule an automatic send/receive every x minutes check box, and then enter a number between 1 and 1440.
Note  If you are using Cached Exchange Mode with a Microsoft Exchange Server e-mail account, a copy of the your Exchange mailbox is kept on your computer in an Offline Folder file (.ost). (Offline Folder file: The file on your hard disk that contains offline folders. The offline folder file has an .ost extension. You can create it automatically when you set up Outlook or when you first make a folder available offline.) This allows you to work uninterrupted online or offline. Your data is automatically synchronized and this procedure is not necessary.

Hello kfalandays,

Thanks for your reply.  We did this:

-----
Tools menu, point to Send/Receive, point to Send/Receive Settings, and then click Define Send/Receive Groups.
Under Group Name, select a send/receive group group.

To synchronize all folders after every online Microsoft Outlook session, select the Perform an automatic send/receive when exiting check box.

To synchronize all folders after every online Microsoft Outlook session, select the Perform an automatic send/receive when exiting check box.
-----

Both of these were already unchecked.

Then we looked here:

----------------
Under When Outlook is offline, select the check boxes that you want:
To automatically synchronize all folders at specified intervals while you're online, select the Schedule an automatic send/receive every x minutes check box, and then enter a number between 1 and 1440.
-----------------

This was also unselected.

I'm sure not unlike tebacher who posted also, these are not selected, but Outlook persists in looking for and attempting to synchronize with something.  This system is just out of the box, too.  A new computer, fresh Win Off/XP out of the box.  There is no .ost folder for it to synch with.  We are using neither an exchange server nor any handhelds.

Help... :)

Hi kfalandays,

Thanks for your reply. To describe, we have MANY folders and sub folders, plus querying multiple email accounts and Hotmail as well.  What happens is, when the program initiates the synchronization attempt, it must poll each folder and sub-folder, and it is doing this at the very time it downloads mail.  Taking it's need to synchronize with every folder and sub folder, and that there are none to synchronize with and the depth of Outlook's integration with windows, which means every move has a litle spider's line linked to the OS, and add that to the download of new mail - which inititates Norton anti-virus and anti-spam, and the LARGE number of messages we get, this synchronization makes the computer get VERY slow, as it tries to sort through all that ~ and all to find at the end of the trail... no folders to synch with.  We download our mail every 5 minutes, so you can imagine te staccato working environment the synch-ing attempts engender.

Thus, we are desperate to find a way to prevent it.  There must be some way, as there are no folder it is even writing to.  We do no synching.  And, with the same program using Exchange it is an option.

Thanks so much...

Lin

No, no, it is only terminology. It is not trying to synch with anything other than your mail servers. That is only the message you get. It's taking so long to poll all of your mail servers.

 Your best bet will be to disable OL from checking for mail on these accounts automatically OR by changing the number of minutes between checks.
Will that help?

I've come to the conclusion that the "outlook is synchronizing folders" is just MS's way of saying "checking for new mail on the server".  My computer does the same thing your's does, it's just than my pop server connection is VERY fast, as my company is the ISP and it's our mail server.  So, it doesn't slow down my machine at all.

Your's on the other hand, is checking multiple eamil accounts, and those connections may be slow and your computer bogs down when checking for new email, which you get a lot of, like you said.  

I don't think this is a problem of outlook synching folders it doesn't have, but I think it's just slow at getting all your messages.  Like you explained, you have a lot of different accounts and lots of email to download.

Do you have a different email program you can try downloading mail from?  Even with outlook express or something.  You could have OE check all the accounts you normally have O2003 check, and see if it's just as slow there.  If not, then my theory is wrong.

Hello kfalandays and tbacher,

Thanks for your replies.  You both have the same opinion, but the question is: why did it start only with Outlook 2003?  We have had just as many fodlers and accounts, rules and virus programs for a few years, using Outlook 199X, 2000, 2002. Most significantly, using Eudora, the Bat, Pegasus Mail and  Pegasus mail's Outlook Match-er Barca... none of these encounter the freeze we have described.  It seems implausible tat the icon that once said, as tbacher noted, Outlook is Downloading mail, would be inadvertantly engineered to say outlook is synchronizing your folders, especially with the advent of the PDA.  It seem more likely that even in a terminal/desktop environment, MS would assume there will be linking going on.

Also, remember that the actual downloading of mail is not a function of the email client, but a property of the OS and a networked environment.  When any program downloads mail, it is not executing an action unique to the client, but rather packaging as an experience a very primitve computer action for the end user.  The smoothness of the downloads among the other client, pulling just as many addresses, and even throwing in their own proprietary spam tools in addition to Norto'n's, means that Outlook s doing something differently.  Again, the omnipresence of PDA, especially when '03 was originally coded they were so on the acendent, and the change of the message from downloading to synchronization, added to the performance change: we didn't change a hair of any setting, just put that "03 upgrade disk, and then suddenly --> synchronizing...it all seems an unlikely coincidence.  And, we've had this on two machines.

We'd like to get back to just downloading.  Are we missing something?

Thanks,

Lin

And then there's this:

Outlook 2003 holds a cache of all your emails. Even if you never configured
for offline folders. It is done automaticly in background. So everytime
Outlook is synchronizing your get this tray icon.

From:

http://www.mcse.ms/archive127-2004-3-468393.html

And:

I am running Outlook 2003 SP1 on XP SP1, a 3 Ghz Dell with 1Gb memory.
Since I upgraded to Outlook 2003, about every 10-15 minutes I get an
icon in the tray with the caption "Microsoft Office Outlook is
synchronizing folders". While this icon is displayed, Outlook is
completely frozen. If I'm composing an email when it starts, all
keystrokes are lost until the 'synchronizing' is done. It can last
from 10 seconds to 3 minutes. While it is running, CPU usage is
pegged at 100%.

From: http://www.tech-archive.net/Archive/Outlook/microsoft.public.outlook/2004-10/5021.html

Lin

Yeah, I read those 2 pages you linked to...  Maybe it does have something to do with the caching of the mail folders... I don't know and don't have anything to confirm that.  That's the only place I read anything about the cache.  Too bad noone has an answer for you!

I don't know what else to tell you, really.  One thing I've noticed, when I check my email in the morning, I usually get hundreds of emails at once.  Outlook is quite sluggish at that time, I don't even try clicking anything at that time, I know it won't respond.  But, after that, I don't even notice when it recieves new email, it doesn't affect my performance at all.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help!

Hi tebacher,

Thanks for your message.  You've been super!  At least I know it's not just OUR machines!  I know how you feel about the big burst of messages in the morning.  We get those through the day and... like you, the machine is untouchable at that time.  But, do you remember before 2003?  Wasn't like that... you could download and carry on with other things.  I sure hope we get a few more Outlook folks in on this one.  Those boys down at MS changed something.  Sure would like to figure it out!  

Thanks...

Lin

To put some closure on this, flowergarden, it isn't just opinion. Outlook now says "sychronizing folders' instead of downloading mail. I never experience the freeze, as I don't typically receive large attachments, but I would suggest contacting microsoft directly if this keeps occurring.

Furthermore, as a test, I would disable all but one email account, and systematically test each one to see if there is a different issue. Lastly, it is worth speaking with your ISP about the issue as well

Best of luck
Karen

Isn't the opinion on both sides, though?  

From us:

This synchronizing causes the PC to hang.  

From tebacher:

Outlook is quite sluggish at that time, I don't even try clicking anything at that time, I know it won't respond.

From the net:

While this icon is displayed, Outlook is completely frozen.

In the interest of the common good of humanity (lol!), let's leave this one open for a while.

Thanks for all your help and time.  It is appreciated --> :)

Lin

I've never had a problem with the REST of my computer hanging while outlook is downloading messages, though....  It's just outlook that won't respond.  I can see the messages pilling into my inbox, and then being pulled into other folders per my message rules, but I can open other programs and do other things while this is happening.  I just don't try reading any of those new messages until it's done recieving messages.

I'm not sure it's quite the same as your issue...

You are quite right... Outlook won't respond, and if one's business is conducted via email, and a client says, please click here to help us in their message, you wouldn't be able to do that.  In fact, if you try, you are likely to get a re-start situation.  If you are getting 183 messages at that time, you'd need to wait for all 183 to download, even though you can see that message in you in-box.  In this case, should you rely on a combination of email delivering links to the internet, your computer is frozen.

The question remains: how is it that in Outlook, up through the 2002 Office upgrade, such a phenomenon did not exist.  Before, when you downloaded mail, you could continue to use Outlook and go through messages as they came in.  Now, in Office 2003, the description of the activity has been changed to "synchronizing folders", and performance of the program has decreased markedly: when downloading "don't even try clicking anything at that time, I know it won't respond".

I submit that it is probably a setting.  Isn't it that something other than downloading is occuring?

"Outlook that won't respond.  I can see the messages pilling into my inbox, and then being pulled into other folders per my message rules, but I can open other programs and do other things while this is happening."

It is clear that the question remains: how is it that in Outlook, up through the 2002 Office upgrade, such a phenomenon did not exist.  Before, when you downloaded mail, you could continue to use Outlook and go through messages as they came in.  Now, in Office 2003, the description of the activity has been changed to "synchronizing folders", and performance of the program has decreased markedly: when downloading "don't even try clicking anything at that time, I know it won't respond".  If you are getting 183 messages at that time, and you need to read them, you can't.  Your computer is frozen.  You have to wait.  The question remains: why -- AND... how can we make it NOT do this?

Did anyone ever get a satisfactory answer to this problem?

I won't profess to be an expert on this, but it seems to me that you might benefit from getting a dedicated server (Dell has some inexpensive ones) running Exchange Server on it.

flowergarden,  I have the exact same issue that you do, however, when this is occurring, neither my CPU nor my memory is maxed out.  However, my hard drive and my portable hard drive are going a thousand miles and hour and my entire PC is as slow as if it were an old 286.  The interesting thing is that it only happens when I have my portable hard drive hooked up to my laptop.  Unfortunately, I need this portable hard drive as it contains several databases and applications that I need to do my job.  Aso, like you, I get all of the same answers referring to MSEXCHANGE.  It is very frustrating.  If you do finally get an answer, please let me know at ray.orgeron@obvient.com.  Also, if I find a solution, I will definitely pass it along to you.

I had a slightly similar problem in that it kept saying Synchronization is progress and kept connecting to my pop account 30 or 40 times a minute.  I later found out that my wireless mouse and keyboard was somehow interfering.  Anyway, moving the RF receiver away from the keyboard and mouse AND changing the RF ID channels solved the problem.

Strange as it may sound, this actually fixed it for me and I never had this problem again.

I have the issue and I believe that the loss of control of other apps besides Outlook is due to Norton AV running during the "synch". I only pull mail manually and notice that Outlook always runs the synch at startup everytime (without pulling mail) and occasionally during the day.  It's not mail that's doing it (although you do see the synch message whenever you download mail).  I, like the other posters, have LOTS of folders with lots of content.

Actually, I figured out what was causing my problem and Outlook is not the culprit.  My system was actually trying to find some IIS help files that were not in my Windows directory where they were supposed to be.  I would continue to search all of my hard drives and slow my system down to a complete halt.  I had a coworker email me the files and installed them where windows looking for them and the issue seems to have cleared up.

1.  What were the IIS help files that were missing?

2.  Do I understand correctly that the synchronizing folders message is the equivalent of saying that the mail is being checked and brought into Outlook 2003?

1. the entire IIS help folder was missing from my hard drive.  I had a hard drive crash a couple of months ago and thought I had recovered everything completely.  It appears I was wrong.

2. No, the synchronizing folders synchronizes your outlook folders with any offline folders you may have set up.  This occurs after it has brought the mail into outlook 2003

Anyway, Outlook 2003 is not my problem.

I don't believe that I ever set up any offline folders (unless my PDA is what is being referred to).  However, I am not synching the PDA when I am getting mail.  Could there be a spy or trojan process at work?