Win98SE & Office 2000 Outlook not getting along at all.

Does she have the full Adobe, or just the Reader?
Did you try removing/reinstalling Adobe (Reader)?
Does Outlook work without Adobe there?

She has just the reader
Yes I tried removing & reinstalling the Reader
Outlook did the same thing with or without it.

Sounds to me like it COULD BE some type of "Browser Helper Object" issue.  Adobe Acrobat Reader sets itself up as a BHO so that .pdf files can be viewed within the IE Browser window rather than prompting to download the file.

An Outlook email is, after all, generally a web page (assuming it is set to allow emails to show as html).  Now, I don't have Outlook installed, but use Outlook Express.  If I opt to open an attachment from the attachments field of OE, after the usual security prompt it open in Acrobat Reader rather than in Outlook Express.  My theory here is based on the possibility that the installed version of Acrobat Reader may have installed a plugin for Outlook to allow itself to be viewed in an Outlook window.

I use version 5.05 because I have seen a few problems with more recent versions insisting on wanting to always look for updates, etc.  Depending on the version installed, it may have additional options along the lines of my hypothesis above, and checking the "Edit > Preferences" menu might reveal some settings that could be affecting Outlook.

Download, unzip, and run BHO Demon version 1 from its own folder.  This is the older standalone version rather than the one that needs to be installed.

It will find BHO's and allow you to enable or disable them.  This will create a file "BHODEMON.INI" in the same folder as the .exe was run from, and this is the backup file through which disabled items may easily be restored.  It will look something like this:

[BHOs]
{06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3}=0100000002
{BDF3E430-B101-42AD-A544-FADC6B084872}=0100000001

where the "Class Identifiers" (CLSID's) in this example relate to Adobe Acrobat Reader and Norton AntiVirus respectively.  A "1" = "enabled" and a "2" = "disabled" in the .ini file.

The CLSID values that BHO Demon accesses are, eg for Adobe Acrobat Reader:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3}

and a disabled item will have the following text tacked onto the end of the "InprocServer32" [Default] StringValue (again relating to the example of Acrobat Reader):

Normal enabled:
C:\PROGRAM FILES\ADOBE\ACROBAT 5.0\READER\ACTIVEX\ACROIEHELPER.OCX

BHO Demon Disabled:
C:\PROGRAM FILES\ADOBE\ACROBAT 5.0\READER\ACTIVEX\ACROIEHELPER.OCX__BHODemonDisabled

The reason I mention this is that you should be sure to re-enable any BHO's disabled with BHO Demon BEFORE deleting its program folder and therefore its .ini file.

Temporarily disabling the Adobe Acrobat BHO MAY demonstrate if my hypothesis has any bearing on this issue.  Worth a try, even if it is a long shot in the dark :-)

Whoops, forgot the url to BHO Demon Version 1:

http://www.definitivesolutions.com/files/bhodmon1.zip

NOTE:  DO NOT run this program if there is already a utility in place to enable or disable BHO's.  If you disable a BHO in version 1 of BHO Demon, you will NOT be able to later re-enable it with version 2 (the installer type) of BHO Demon, and would have to do so manually with Regedit by removing the "__BHODemonDisabled" suffix added to the respective values.

Version 2 here if you prefer the installer type program, but don't mix and match the 2 versions.
http://www.definitivesolutions.com/bhodemon.htm

I would delete and re-add the Outlook profile using the Mail shortcut in the Control Panel.  What kind of accounts do you access through this Outlook? Pop, Exchange, etc?

HI Nytekgirl,   the account accessed is POP 3 only.

Nytegirl:  I have tried doing the removal of Office using the Microsoft remove office 2k utility. It says it removes all traces including registry keys. No good.

I will try several of the above proposed solutions tomorrow. Thanks to everyone who offered some help. I'll let ya know.


:)

How much memory do you have on this computer?

LaQ:  512 MB

The first release of SP3 for Office 2000 had an issue where, when Outlook was opened, it immediately consumed 100% CPU usage and froze systems.  The page discussing this is no longer where it was at http://woodyswatch.com/office/index.asp.

Apparently the issue was fixed by a subsequent revision of SP3.

http://www.woodyswatch.com/office/archtemplate.asp?v8-n07
(Look for chapter 4. UPDATING OFFICE 2000 on that page)

http://www.woodyswatch.com/office/archtemplate.asp?v7-n53
(Look for chapter 2. TOP TIPS: INSTALLING OFFICE 2000 SERVICE PACK 3)

If you are installing an archived copy of Office 2000 SP3 that pre-dates about mid 2002, then I suggest that you download the most recent version or use automatic updates.

Thanks Bill for that but it doesn't really help this problem I've been having cuz I can't access Outlook to upgrade it.  

I have tried several of the above proposed solutions that seemed to make the most sense, but to no avail.

Now the client wants her machine formatted with a Windows 2000 professional OS & Outlook reinstalled.


Sheesh.

Okay now she is insisting on the Windows 2k Professional upgrade  lol !      


I honestly don't who to award points to since nothing here really fixed the actual problem, so I will try and be diplomatic and split the points between everyone who tried !  I hope this is okay.


Thanks once again everyone for your time & advice !   You all are the best !


 :)

Thank you!

Zee

Thanks for the points. More important, I would open another question and provide the details where you are now. Getting a solution is more important than the points. Even open the question with 20 points. We are here to help. It gives us great satisfaction in resolving the issues.

Joe

Thank you, WeaselsRippedMyFlesh.  By the way, that's a killer name.  I hope the wounds heal :-)

Thank you much.    : )