Hi,
I cannot get OE to launch without an address book error, and thus cannot
send mail either. I'm running XP home with SP2. I've read several of the
posts and articles here. I do not have Outlook or Office installed. I've
tried remomving outlook express and then adding, using add/remove programs,
with no fix. I've also tried unloading and reloading SP2, with no fix. I
have looked for the registry keys mentioned in other posts and do not see
them.
Thanks for any help.

What path is shown in this key in the registry?

The name and location of the Address Book is stored in the Registry:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\WAB\WAB4\Wab File Name

If you go to the location indicated at that key, is there a WAB file there
with that name? You can create a new, empty WAB file, by using this command
at the Start/Run line: WAB /new - and give it a name and location to be
stored at. See the info at this link for more about the Windows Address
Book:
http://www.insideoe.com/files/wab.htm

Also, see this KB article:
Err Msg: Address Book Failed to Load, Outlook Express Is...:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=191946

Post back if you need more help. And please include the complete, exact
text of any error message.
--
Jim Pickering, MVP, Outlook Express
https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/pr...8-1171988A62D6
Please deliver feedback to the newsgroup, so that others can be helped.
Thanks.


"texalhi" <texalhi@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:110AE458-A28F-48B7-A44B-5228EF62D557@microsoft.com...
> Hi,
> I cannot get OE to launch without an address book error, and thus cannot
> send mail either. I'm running XP home with SP2. I've read several of
> the
> posts and articles here. I do not have Outlook or Office installed. I've
> tried remomving outlook express and then adding, using add/remove
> programs,
> with no fix. I've also tried unloading and reloading SP2, with no fix. I
> have looked for the registry keys mentioned in other posts and do not see
> them.
> Thanks for any help.

Thanks Jim. This is on my father-inlaw's machine across town, so it will be
later this week before I can try this. I don't want him to do any registry
modifications without supervision. I had looked previously for this file in
that location, and did not see any file. I will post again later in the week
or weekend and let you know.
Many thanks for the help....
Texalhi

"Jim Pickering" wrote:

> What path is shown in this key in the registry?
>
> The name and location of the Address Book is stored in the Registry:
>
> HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\WAB\WAB4\Wab File Name
>
> If you go to the location indicated at that key, is there a WAB file there
> with that name? You can create a new, empty WAB file, by using this command
> at the Start/Run line: WAB /new - and give it a name and location to be
> stored at. See the info at this link for more about the Windows Address
> Book:
> http://www.insideoe.com/files/wab.htm
>
> Also, see this KB article:
> Err Msg: Address Book Failed to Load, Outlook Express Is...:
> http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=191946
>
> Post back if you need more help. And please include the complete, exact
> text of any error message.
> --
> Jim Pickering, MVP, Outlook Express
> https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/pr...8-1171988A62D6
> Please deliver feedback to the newsgroup, so that others can be helped.
> Thanks.
>
>
> "texalhi" <texalhi@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:110AE458-A28F-48B7-A44B-5228EF62D557@microsoft.com...
> > Hi,
> > I cannot get OE to launch without an address book error, and thus cannot
> > send mail either. I'm running XP home with SP2. I've read several of
> > the
> > posts and articles here. I do not have Outlook or Office installed. I've
> > tried remomving outlook express and then adding, using add/remove
> > programs,
> > with no fix. I've also tried unloading and reloading SP2, with no fix. I
> > have looked for the registry keys mentioned in other posts and do not see
> > them.
> > Thanks for any help.
>
>

Hi Jim,
I have gotten over to look at this on my father in law's PC again. The
exact error message I get when trying to launch OE is:
"The Address book failed to load. Outlook express is incorrectly
configured, please re-install."
I went to the registry key you mentioned in your first reply to me. The key
stopped at Wab (Capital W, lower case a and b), and there was no WAB4 after
\Wab.
So I edited the registry key and added \WAB4\(the name of our WAB file
including path). This did not fix the problem.
I noticed that the key path you mentioned, my key was the uppercase W and
lower case a and b, so tried to change that to all upper case, and got an
error, that there was already a key with that name. So I searched the
registry and found a number of keys with WAB in them. Most seemed related to
configurations. One interesting one I did find with some actual .wab files
in it was:
"HKey_current_user\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Explorer\ComDlg32\OpenSaveMRU\WAB"
What is this one for?
I'm baffled, any help would be appreciated. Also, is a OS re-load an option
to fix this? I'm not ready to do that yet, but wondering if that's what will
end up happening to fix it.

Thanks,
Texalhi

"texalhi" wrote:

> Thanks Jim. This is on my father-inlaw's machine across town, so it will be
> later this week before I can try this. I don't want him to do any registry
> modifications without supervision. I had looked previously for this file in
> that location, and did not see any file. I will post again later in the week
> or weekend and let you know.
> Many thanks for the help....
> Texalhi
>
> "Jim Pickering" wrote:
>
> > What path is shown in this key in the registry?
> >
> > The name and location of the Address Book is stored in the Registry:
> >
> > HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\WAB\WAB4\Wab File Name
> >
> > If you go to the location indicated at that key, is there a WAB file there
> > with that name? You can create a new, empty WAB file, by using this command
> > at the Start/Run line: WAB /new - and give it a name and location to be
> > stored at. See the info at this link for more about the Windows Address
> > Book:
> > http://www.insideoe.com/files/wab.htm
> >
> > Also, see this KB article:
> > Err Msg: Address Book Failed to Load, Outlook Express Is...:
> > http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=191946
> >
> > Post back if you need more help. And please include the complete, exact
> > text of any error message.
> > --
> > Jim Pickering, MVP, Outlook Express
> > https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/pr...8-1171988A62D6
> > Please deliver feedback to the newsgroup, so that others can be helped.
> > Thanks.
> >
> >
> > "texalhi" <texalhi@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> > news:110AE458-A28F-48B7-A44B-5228EF62D557@microsoft.com...
> > > Hi,
> > > I cannot get OE to launch without an address book error, and thus cannot
> > > send mail either. I'm running XP home with SP2. I've read several of
> > > the
> > > posts and articles here. I do not have Outlook or Office installed. I've
> > > tried remomving outlook express and then adding, using add/remove
> > > programs,
> > > with no fix. I've also tried unloading and reloading SP2, with no fix. I
> > > have looked for the registry keys mentioned in other posts and do not see
> > > them.
> > > Thanks for any help.
> >
> >

If you go to my first reply, you'll see this link to an article which
discusses your problem:

Err Msg: Address Book Failed to Load, Outlook Express Is...:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=191946

I would suspect that at one time, Outlook was installed on the computer.
See if this key exists:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER
\Software
\Microsoft
\WAB
\WAB4

If not, STOP; If so, is there a DWORD named UseOutlook (NB: no space) and is
its value set to 1 (one)?

If not, STOP; If so, Address Book is configured to share contacts with
Outlook, even if you don't use it (can happen with the install of MS Office
or an Office update). Change the value to 0 (zero), Address Book should be
available to you and all should be well. (If that DWORD is not present,
don't create it, and don't alter any other DWORD values.)

The registry changes you seem to be making may only be making your problem
more unsolvable. The key you ask about [MRU] is a reference to previously
entered addresses in MRU [most recently used]. I would also do a complete
check for any spyware, viruses and Trojans on the system. It's possible
that a new install approach may be the easiest way to solve the problem but
that's a choice for your father in law to make.
--
Jim Pickering, MVP, Outlook Express
https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/pr...8-1171988A62D6
Please deliver feedback to the newsgroup, so that others can be helped.
Thanks.



"texalhi" <texalhi@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:59B2D8BC-17D5-48E2-A1F1-3DF1B4C25EA2@microsoft.com...
> Hi Jim,
> I have gotten over to look at this on my father in law's PC again. The
> exact error message I get when trying to launch OE is:
> "The Address book failed to load. Outlook express is incorrectly
> configured, please re-install."
> I went to the registry key you mentioned in your first reply to me. The
> key
> stopped at Wab (Capital W, lower case a and b), and there was no WAB4
> after
> \Wab.
> So I edited the registry key and added \WAB4\(the name of our WAB file
> including path). This did not fix the problem.
> I noticed that the key path you mentioned, my key was the uppercase W and
> lower case a and b, so tried to change that to all upper case, and got an
> error, that there was already a key with that name. So I searched the
> registry and found a number of keys with WAB in them. Most seemed related
> to
> configurations. One interesting one I did find with some actual .wab
> files
> in it was:
> "HKey_current_user\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Explorer\ComDlg32\OpenSaveMRU\WAB"
> What is this one for?
> I'm baffled, any help would be appreciated. Also, is a OS re-load an
> option
> to fix this? I'm not ready to do that yet, but wondering if that's what
> will
> end up happening to fix it.
>
> Thanks,
> Texalhi

It's possible Outlook was installed at one time. I ran a spyware scan and it
was clean.
Looks like the quickest way to resolve is to reload the OS. I can keep
trying things but at some point it will take less time for the reload.
Thanks Jim!

"Jim Pickering" wrote:

> If you go to my first reply, you'll see this link to an article which
> discusses your problem:
>
> Err Msg: Address Book Failed to Load, Outlook Express Is...:
> http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=191946
>
> I would suspect that at one time, Outlook was installed on the computer.
> See if this key exists:
>
> HKEY_CURRENT_USER
> \Software
> \Microsoft
> \WAB
> \WAB4
>
> If not, STOP; If so, is there a DWORD named UseOutlook (NB: no space) and is
> its value set to 1 (one)?
>
> If not, STOP; If so, Address Book is configured to share contacts with
> Outlook, even if you don't use it (can happen with the install of MS Office
> or an Office update). Change the value to 0 (zero), Address Book should be
> available to you and all should be well. (If that DWORD is not present,
> don't create it, and don't alter any other DWORD values.)
>
> The registry changes you seem to be making may only be making your problem
> more unsolvable. The key you ask about [MRU] is a reference to previously
> entered addresses in MRU [most recently used]. I would also do a complete
> check for any spyware, viruses and Trojans on the system. It's possible
> that a new install approach may be the easiest way to solve the problem but
> that's a choice for your father in law to make.
> --
> Jim Pickering, MVP, Outlook Express
> https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/pr...8-1171988A62D6
> Please deliver feedback to the newsgroup, so that others can be helped.
> Thanks.
>
>
>
> "texalhi" <texalhi@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:59B2D8BC-17D5-48E2-A1F1-3DF1B4C25EA2@microsoft.com...
> > Hi Jim,
> > I have gotten over to look at this on my father in law's PC again. The
> > exact error message I get when trying to launch OE is:
> > "The Address book failed to load. Outlook express is incorrectly
> > configured, please re-install."
> > I went to the registry key you mentioned in your first reply to me. The
> > key
> > stopped at Wab (Capital W, lower case a and b), and there was no WAB4
> > after
> > \Wab.
> > So I edited the registry key and added \WAB4\(the name of our WAB file
> > including path). This did not fix the problem.
> > I noticed that the key path you mentioned, my key was the uppercase W and
> > lower case a and b, so tried to change that to all upper case, and got an
> > error, that there was already a key with that name. So I searched the
> > registry and found a number of keys with WAB in them. Most seemed related
> > to
> > configurations. One interesting one I did find with some actual .wab
> > files
> > in it was:
> > "HKey_current_user\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Explorer\ComDlg32\OpenSaveMRU\WAB"
> > What is this one for?
> > I'm baffled, any help would be appreciated. Also, is a OS re-load an
> > option
> > to fix this? I'm not ready to do that yet, but wondering if that's what
> > will
> > end up happening to fix it.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Texalhi
>
>

Ok, good luck and let us know the outcome.
--
Jim Pickering, MVP, Outlook Express


"texalhi" <texalhi@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:536D079A-0DA5-421A-A70D-17848066A70E@microsoft.com...
> It's possible Outlook was installed at one time. I ran a spyware scan and
> it
> was clean.
> Looks like the quickest way to resolve is to reload the OS. I can keep
> trying things but at some point it will take less time for the reload.
> Thanks Jim!
>
> "Jim Pickering" wrote:
>
>> If you go to my first reply, you'll see this link to an article which
>> discusses your problem:
>>
>> Err Msg: Address Book Failed to Load, Outlook Express Is...:
>> http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=191946

Make sure his Address Book does not have a Read Only attribute. [Don't
confuse an Address Book (i.e., username.wab) with the executable wab.exe.]

If you can open Address Book, its location is revealed at Help > About.

In WindowsXP, the OE user files (DBX and WAB) are by default marked as
hidden. To view these files in Windows Explorer, you must enable Show Hidden
Files and Folders under Start>Control Panel>Folder Options>View.
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-Windows (IE/OE, Shell/User, Security), AH-VSOP

texalhi wrote:
> Hi Jim,
> I have gotten over to look at this on my father in law's PC again. The
> exact error message I get when trying to launch OE is:
> "The Address book failed to load. Outlook express is incorrectly
> configured, please re-install."
> <snip>
> > > > I cannot get OE to launch without an address book error, and thus
> > > > cannot send mail either. I'm running XP home with SP2. I've read
> > > > several of the
> > > > posts and articles here. I do not have Outlook or Office
> > > > installed. I've tried remomving outlook express and then adding,
> > > > using add/remove programs,
> > > > with no fix. I've also tried unloading and reloading SP2, with no
> > > > fix. I have looked for the registry keys mentioned in other posts
> > > > and do not see them.
> > > > Thanks for any help.