High-Speed Internet Connections (ie. Cable Modem or DSL)

You've lost connection to the Internet and you have a Cable or DSL connection. If you are on a network sharing information with others:

1. Are you still able to access the network?
2. If you can see the network, can they see it as well?

Okay. If the answer to (1) or (2) is no, sounds like the router is acting up. Make sure everyone on the network shuts down their machines before you proceed.

If you are not on a network or the above is true, the next thing to do is to check the status of your modem.

1. Are the modem lights on? If not, you may have lost the power - (did someone pull the power plug by mistake or are any of the data cables unplugged back there?)
2. Next, the lights are on, but you're still not connected. Pull out the power plug to the modem (Comcast, Verizon, Westell, etc.).
3. If you have a router connected to the modem (ie. Linksys, Netgear, D-Link), pull the power on it too. Wait about 1 minute.
4. Plug in the Modem first and watch the status of the lights.
5. Wait for the lights to blink up and then most to remain steady.
6. Now plug in the router.
7. Turn one of your computers on and see if you now can access the Internet.
8. If that machine works, turn the others on one by one and test to make sure things are back to normal.

Outlook Express won't allow me to delete files

If you've been using Outlook Express for years, you've probably accumulated and deleted tons of files (with large attachments). If you don't delete your deleted items, the trash just accumulates. This causes you to reach the maximum storage threshold of 2GB. You need to reduce the file size or things just won't work properly.

Locate the "Store folder" where Outlook Express keeps all it's files. (This is the same location that you want to backup if you want to preserve or move your e-mail.)

Here's how to find the store folder:

1. Open Outlook Express
2. Click on Tools, Options
3. Click on the "Maintenance" tab
4. Click on the Store Folder button.
5. Highlight the entire file path name that appears in that field with your mouse and Right click on the highlighted text. Select Copy.
6. Close out of these windows and shut down your Outlook Express.
7. Hold the Windows Flag key on your keyboard and quickly tap the letter "e" key. (this is a shortcut to launching your Windows Explorer - the Windows file management utility)
8. In the address bar at the top, right click and paste the file and path name that you recently copied from step 5 above
9. Search through the list for the Deleted Items.dbx. You should notice that the size is very large (2GB). Right Click on the file and Rename it to something like Old Deleted files.old. This will preserve the file in the event you need to access some old trash or if it doesn't correct the challenge.
10. Click the "X" in the right hand corner to close Explorer and open your Outlook Express and test it out.

Recover Outlook Express e-mail from corrupted or missing DBX files