Mailbombs
I've just had an unsolicited email with a 2 megabyte attachment hog my modem for 25 minutes as it was being downloaded into my Outlook 2000 mailbox. Is there any way I can see what mail my ISP has for me, and then delete any large attachment before downloading the rest? Dennis Thorley
Dennis.Thorley@iclway.co.uk
Jack Schofield replies: Let's look at this problem for both Outlook 2000 and its more popular sibling, Outlook Express.
The first thing is to stop large messages being downloaded. With Outlook 2000, go to the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Mail Delivery tab. In the sec tion for Dial-up options, put a tick in the box next to "Don't download messages larger than", and enter a number. You could try 256K. Anything larger is unreasonable. Note: this entry will be ignored when you send messages over a local area network.
In Outlook Express 5, you can deal with attachments using the message rules feature. Go to the Tools menu, select Message Rules, then Mail. In the first section (Select the Conditions), scroll down and put a tick in the box that says: "Where the message size is more than size." Then go to the third box, click on the word size, and type in a maximum value.
Now you have to select an action. This is done in the middle section. Click the tick-box that says: "Do not download it from server." Click OK and you have created Rule #1.
Click the New button and you can create some more rules. For example, you could create rules to "Reply with message" - so the sender is notified that their email is not acceptable - and delete the file. However, it is probably better to leave it on the server, then check it using a utility designed to help you clean up your mailbox and remove "stuck" mail. One example is MailMaint for Windows, a free mailbox maintenance utility by Magsoft in the UK. An alternative is Gutmannsoft's Inbox Specialist 2001.
Saving C
Is there a straightforward way to put applications like Internet Explorer and Outlook Express somewhere other than on drive C:, please? For various convoluted reasons, I have "only" a 1 gigabyte partition for my Windows Me system drive, but I have a larger (3.7GB partition) for applications. Ian Park
i.d.c.park@ntlworld.com
JS: Unfortunately Microsoft likes to have all its programs on C:, and leaving its programs in their default directories leads to an easier life. However, there are several things you can move to free space on the C: drive. These include the Windows swap file, IE's Temporary Internet Files folder, Outlook Express's mail and newsgroup storage files, and set-up files or cab files which may be in C:\Windows Update Setup Files or C:\Windows\ Options.
You can move the swap file (C:\Windows\Win386.swp) by going to Start|Settings| Control Panel and double clicking the System icon. Click the Performance tab on the far right, then the button for Virtual Memory. Bear in mind that Windows is heavily dependent on swapping code to the hard drive, so the swap file should have at least twice as much space as your PC's memory.
Also, if Windows falls over in an exceptionally untidy heap, it may sometimes forget where its new swap file is, and try to create another on C: where there is no longer room for it.
If you want to change the folder where Outlook Express 5 stores messages, start by using Windows Explorer to create a new one, such as My Mail, in My Documents. Start Outlook Express, go to the Tools menu and select Options. Click the Maintenance tab, and then the Store Folder button. Click the Change button, browse to your new folder, and click OK. The location will be changed when you close down and restart Outlook Express.
Moving the Temporary Internet Files directory to a different drive is much the same. First create your new directory, such as D:\Temporary Internet Files. Start Internet Explorer 5, go to the Tools menu and select Internet Options. Under the general tab, click the Settings button. Click the Move Folder button, and browse to your new directory. For further information about IE3 and IE4, see the help file under New Folders or go to http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q172/9/49.ASP
However, rather than fighting what may ultimately be a losing battle for C: space, you could use, say, Partition Magic to expand the 1GB partition to 2GB. There are also some free programs that do the same thing, such as Mikhail Ranish's Partition Manager. This is a powerful program, but not known for its ease of use.
A clean sheet
I am trying to clear the History file which keeps a record of my web browsing. However, going to Tools|Internet Options and clicking on Clear History still leaves today's entries. The only way I am able to achieve a cleared history sheet is to set the date forward. Is there an alternative to this cumbersome route to clearing away my debris? Leo Mercier
polgoda@dialin.net
JS: This sounds like a bug, but I cannot reproduce it. On my PC, today's history is deleted. If not, the simple but brutal way to remove the website addresses is to go to C:\Windows\History, where they are stored, and delete them manually. However, this may still leave a list of (for example) typed addresses in the Windows Registry. You can check by going to Start|Run and typing regedit in the box. When the Registry opens, double-click your way down the tree from HKEY_CURRENT_USER to Software, Microsoft, Internet Explorer. Other programs, such as Reget, also store addresses in the Registry.
Alternatively, a quick web search will find a number of "cover your tracks" utilities. For example, see www.davecentral.com/10510.html: "Purge Cache, Cookies and Tracks for Internet Explorer aka PurgeIE is the Swiss Army Knife of Internet Explorer Cleanup and Management Tools."
Not recycling
I use Windows Me, and I notice that my Recycle Bin is always empty, so when I try to recover erased files, there is nothing there. Any suggestions?
Miguel Gimenez
migimenez@quista.net
JS: Right-click on the Recycle Bin icon and select Properties. The first sheet in the tabbed dialogue box, Global, has a tick box that says: "Do not move files to the Recycle Bin. Remove files immediately when deleted." If this box is ticked, click to untick it and press OK.
Also, the Recycle Bin does not work with files on removable media such as floppies and Zip disks. These files are always deleted straight away, so check that your hard drive has not been marked as being removable.
To do this, go to Start| Settings, open the Control Panel, and double-click the System icon. Click the Device Manager tab on the dialogue box, then double-click on Disk Drives. Select your hard disk, then click the button marked Properties. The Settings tab should not have Removable checked. If it does, click it to change it. Restart your computer and your Recycle Bin should work again.
Back button
When you are in Internet Explorer, is there a key command (instead of a mouse click) that will take you back?
Tony Nunn
tony.nunn@dial.pipex.co
JS: Yes, Alt-left arrow does it, as does Alt-right arrow!
