IT Queries: Computer problems answered

I was working on a word document at uni then emailed it to myself to work on at home later. When home i open the file from my email ( not save it) and work on it for several hours. I then click “Save” and close the document only to find out that it hasn’t saved into the usual document folder. Can i still get this file back and how. Many thanks

This is some bizarre behaviour by Microsoft that dumps Outlook attachments deep in your temporary files rather than your documents folder.

To find the lost documents first set your computer to view hidden and system files.

Once you’ve followed those instructions go to a folder starting with OLK (sometimes OLK92) in the following folder  C:\Documents and Settings\your user name\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files and you’ll find the file there.

You can permanently change where Outlook dumps the file by following Microsoft’s instructions on setting the default attachment folder in Outlook but be warned that changing the registry is a task best left to experts.

I am upgrading from Office 2003-2007. How I keep all my outlook contacts and emails as I replace Office 2003.

Outlook 2003 and 2007 use what’s known as Personal Storage (.pst) files. Outlook 2007 can use 2003 pst files, but it doesn’t work the other way.

Generally, the upgrade goes fine and all your emails, addresses and tasks transfer across to 2007 without problem.

However it’s always good to err on the side of caution and back up your 2003 pst file just in case things go wrong.

On our PC Rescue website we have the instructions on backing up the files and a link to the microsoft tool that does this automatically.

I run a mailing list for my football club and I’ve started using Outlook to send invites for meetings and events. The people who don’t use Outlook are complaining they can’t read the invites. How do I fix this?

The problem is the format Microsoft Outlook uses for invites. The industry standard is  iCalendar which applications like GroupWise and Google Calendar can read, however Outlook uses its own format which most other programs can’t read.

Outlook 2003 and 2007 will allow you to change the setting so you can send the calendar invitations.

Open Outlook and click Tools, Options then select the Preference tab. Click the Calendar Options button and tick the box alongside “When sending meeting requests over the Internet, use iCalendar format”. 

Click okay and the problem should be resolved. 

Note that people using older versions of Outlook may not be able read iCalendar invites and Outlook Express doesn’t support calendars at all.

When I open an email in Outlook, I find there’s a big red cross where images should be. How do I show the images?

Warning: This solution involves editing the Windows registry. Doing this incorrectly can damage your system. If you are not an experienced computer user, call for a computer technician.

First backup your important data and then restart your computer. Do not open Outlook.

Once your computer is running, open the registry editor by clicking Start, Run (or Find in Vista) and type regedit and click okay.

Go down the list on the left hand side of the Registry Editor screen to HKEY_CURRENT_USER click the plus on the left of the key to expand it and click the plus next to Software.

Continue down the tree by clicking the plus next to Microsoft then Office then 11.0, Outlook, Security and finally highlight OutlookSecureTempFolder.

On the right hand side of the screen you will see  %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\OLK3D\ . Note the %USERPROFILE% may be the user’s name instead.

Highlight and delete %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\OLK3D\

Close the Registry Editor, reboot your computer and Outlook 2003 should work fine.

My Internet provider has told me my mail box is full and messages will be rejected. How do I fix this?

The problem is your email program is set to save the emails on the Internet provider’s server. Over time, the mailbox fills up and the ISP rejects all new messages.

To clear it, you have to change your email settings. In Outlook, Outlook Express and Windows Mail click Tools, E-Mail Accounts, in Outlook select View or Change Existing Mail accounts while in Outlook Express and Windows Mail select the Mail tab.

You’ll now have a list of your email accounts, select the account you want to share and click Change, then click More Settings and then the More Settings.

In the Internet email settings box, click the Advanced tab. Under the delivery heading take the tick off the box that reads Leave a copy of messages on the server if you don’t want to share your email with another computer.

If you do want to share it leave the tick on and in section that reads Remove from server after xx days reduce the number of days. Also tick the box that reads Remove from server when deleted from deleted items.

You’ll need to watch the email account closely to see how many days is best for you. If the problem is because you receive massive emails then you’ll need to either tell your correspondents to reduce the size of their emails or get an Internet provider with larger email storage.

If the server fills up, your emails will be returned to sender with an error message. If this happens, drop the number of days the server keeps your email.

My wife and I have our own computers but we only have one email address. How do we set up our system so we can both receive the same emails? Currently, if one computer gets the email the other won’t. We’re both using Outlook Express on Windows XP.

You can set the computer to leave email on your ISPs server. To do this, open Outlook, Outlook Express or Windows Mail.

Click Tools, E-Mail Accounts, in Outlook select View or Change Existing Mail accounts while in Outlook Express and Windows Mail select the Mail tab.

You’ll now have a list of your email accounts, select the account you want to share and click Change, then click More Settings and then the More Settings.

In the Internet email settings box, click the Advanced tab. Under the delivery heading click the box that reads Leave a copy of messages on the server. Below that, tick the box that reads Remove from server after xx days because you don’t want the server to fill up.

If the server fills up, your emails will be returned to sender with an error message. If this happens, drop the number of days the server keeps your email.

I use Microsoft Outlook for emails, plus Mailwasher as a filter.  It has worked very well up till a few months ago, when I found that I would receive a few lots of emails successfully, and then the send/receive button would not operate.  I could send emails but not receive them. Restarting the computer resets it to the default again, but after a few goes the send/receive button fails again.  I have checked with my provider, iinet, and they do not think my Inbox is too full. In any case I deleted a lot of emails. What to do?

It sounds like your user profile is damaged. You should backup your data, export your email rules and note all your mail account settings.

Shut down Outlook. Open your Control Panel, click Mail and Profiles. In the Profiles screen you can delete your user profile.

Restart your computer and when you open Outlook you’ll be walked through the account setup wizard and at the end of it you’ll have a fresh installation of Outlook. Once it’s working properly, you can import your backed up data and rules.

I use Microsoft Outlook with Mozilla Firefox and would like to know how to backup my Emails, contacts, calendar etc.

This is a topic covered on our sister website, PC Rescue. Microsoft have a free tool  to automatically back the files up and we’d recommend it.

An important thing to note with Outlook, or Entourage, is the file tends to be hidden deep in the user’s profile.  You should note that location and make sure the .pst files are part of your regular backup routine.

I access my work email from a website which then runs through Microsoft Outlook. No problem until i bought my new computer (Vista Home) – everything seems ok but i can’t reply to an email. I can enter addresses and titles, but the main text box has a small white square with a red cross in.

The problem is the security settings in Internet Explorer 7. By default many functions are blocked and this restricts many of the scripting features required for remotely connecting to Outlook.

To fix this you need to add the site to the Trusted Zone. Go to your Outlook web page and click Tools and Options.

Select the Security tab then the Trusted Sites zone. Click Add Sites to the Trusted Zone then Add a Site to the Trusted Zone, make sure you take the tick off the box that reads Require server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone.

Save the settings and restart Internet Explorer and the problem should be fixed.

I have four messages in my outbox. One of them won’t display because an error message appears saying low memory or low disk drive. Because of this error message, it won’t send any of these four messages.

The first thing to check is you have enough hard drive space. If the drive is full then the computer will choke. We’ve covered freeing up space on your hard drive previously.

If you do have enough hard drive space then one of those outgoing emails is damaged and it’s blocking the others from leaving.

To fix it, turn off the auto-preview screen by clicking View and then Autoview in Outlook. If you are using Outlook Express or Windows Mail click View, Layout and take the tick off the Show Preview Pane box.

Once you’ve done that, go into your Outbox folder and drag all four of the emails into your drafts folder. Delete any you don’t need to send then open the ones you do want to resend and click the resend button.