Hi! Hopefully someone can help us. My coworker (who has a Pentium III Dell w/512 MB of RAM) uses Outlook Express for his mail. Over the weekend another worker who sometimes uses his computer noticed that the entire quickstart bar was hidden. When my coworker came in on Monday, he couldn't find any of the Outlook Express icons he used to have and the program seems to have vanished off his computer. Any ideas why this would happen? Thanks.

Outlook Express should be installed here (or hereabouts): "C:\Program Files\Outlook Express\msimn.exe" Check what is in the OE folder, also check in Start > Control Panel > Add and Remove Programs > Add/Remove Windows Components and see if the Outlook Express box is checked. Worth checking for viruses, spyware etc. while you're at it... cursum perficio

Thanks for the reply I've checked both of those places. Outlook Express does not appear in Add/Remove programs and msimn.exe is not in the Outlook directory - in the Outlook directoy, there are about 10 files that inlude exe, dll, and txt files. I was going to run a virus check at housecall.antivirus.com but Internet Explorer seems to have disappeared from the computer as well. Also, I can't find anything when I search his computer. I've tried searching for 'dll', 'Internet Explorer', and 'Outlook Express' and nothing comes up except Calculator when searching for 'dll'.

OK, Outlook Express is not a program as such, it is a Windows component, so it's not on the Add or Remove Programs list. If you go to that screen and look for a button down the side called "Add/Remove Windows Components" and click that, it will list optional components for Windows with check boxes beside them. There should be a box for Outlook Express, and if you had it installed the box should be checked. If it is not checked, DO NOT just check it and reinstall Outlook Express, you should find your email folders and back them up. They will be here (or hereabouts): "C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\{Rubbish-in-here-12345-678910}\Microsoft\Outlook Express" The files you are looking for are .dbx files (make sure you can view system and hidden files in Folder Options). Back them up to a disk and then reinstall Outlook Express. cursum perficio

T get Quick Launch back right click the task bar, choose properties, and check "show quick launch". You may be ready for booting to cd and choosing XP repair with this much going on. http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

Thank you Roy. I found these instructions for installing IE and will follow them: http://www.theeldergeek.com/ repair_reinstall_ie_and_oe_6.htm