Short Tutorial - How To Speed Up Slow E-Mail

Granted, e-mail is much faster than snail mail. But even e-mail software can slow down if you don't keep up with maintenance on your database. Have you noticed any of these symptoms?

* Slow launching of your e-mail program
* Slow opening of links contained in e-mail messages
* E-mail messages not showing up properly or not showing up at all

If this sounds familiar, it may be time to do some maintenance on the database where your messages are stored. The best maintenance you can do is to delete old messages you no longer need and then "compact" your database. To do this, follow the steps below.

Cleaning Up and Compacting Outlook Express 6.0 When Using Windows XP Home Edition

1. With Outlook Express open, click your cursor arrow on the "Tools" menu and select "Options."
2. When the Options window appears, click the "Maintenance" tab.
3. About half way down the window you will see the "Clean Up Now" button. Click on it and the "Local File Clean Up" window will appear.
4. Click on the "Compact" button.
5. Click "Close" and then "OK."
6. Quit Outlook Express and then reopen Outlook Express.

Cleaning Up and Compacting Entourage 2004 When Using Macintosh OS X

1. While opening Entourage, hold down the "Option" key on your keyboard.
2. Select "Compact Database" by clicking on the radio button.
3. Click "Continue."

If compacting your Entourage database does not improve its performance, repeat the process. However, this time select "Rebuild Database" from the choices.



- The Connections, Etc. Internet Team