Can't "switch identities" in Outlook Express


  #1  
Old 12-31-03, 09:42 AM
Delirious Nomad's Avatar
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Unhappy Can't "switch identities" in Outlook Express

I have been using Outlook Express in Windows 98 for years with no problem. My wife and I both use "Express". We have different email addresses. We have been able to "switch identities" with great ease.

Now,....I have a new computer. A new Dell and it is Windows XP. It is about a year old, but I am just now setting it up.

I have transferred my internet connection and email to this new computer. Everything is working properly with the internet and my email, however..............

I am not able to "switch identities" to my wife anymore.

I am not sure if I have her email set up.
I know we are on the same account, so I don't want to set up a new account.

My internet provider's tech support is not much help. I think I know more about computers than they do.
Dell's tech support is free for only the first 30 days after purchase.

I have tried setting up a new identity, but it just won't switch to it.

Any ideas, suggestions, or directions to a website would be greatly appreciated.
 
  #2  
Old 12-31-03, 10:35 AM
las
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I had same problems

I had same problems..didn't matter what I
did outlook express always had some dispute
over this and that..I got rid of It and have never looked back..!
 
  #3  
Old 12-31-03, 02:44 PM
R
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You have run into ONE of the problems with Outlook Express. Outlook Express is one of Microsoft's biggest embarassments. It is a poorly designed and poorly written program. I suggest that you use something else, anything else will do.

Having said that, I will ask some questions. Are you switching to a different Windows user to access your wife's account? Windows XP stores information very differently from Windows 98 and the like. What you are trying to do will be much easier if you are logged into Windows as a different user.
 
  #4  
Old 01-01-04, 11:43 AM
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Outlook Express

I could never get it to switch Identities correctly either on my new Dell 8200 with XP I solved the problem by having two computers. She reads and answers her mail on the old one. I would switch to something else, but I dont know what else to use. Ideas?
 
  #5  
Old 01-01-04, 12:19 PM
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I use Eudora - somewhat similar to Outlook. They have 3 versions (from the Eudora site):
Paid mode:
Award winning, feature-rich version (includes SpamWatch)
Access to person-to-person technical support
12 months of upgrades, Check out a screenshot, Price Plan

Sponsored mode:
The same software features as Paid mode (except for SpamWatch)
Ad window and up to 3 sponsored toolbar links
No person-to-person technical support

Light mode:
Fewer features, but it is still free
No ad window
No person-to-person technical support
The ads aren't bad, not obtrusive and much less than Hotmail or other free services. Plenty of features in the free version too. And, if setup correctly, you can use separate profiles too.

Nothing wrong with using Outlook Express either, though. I haven't tried it in XP, but I would think it has something to do with the XP Profile being used. Try the Microsoft site to see what they say about it there - probably an easy fix.

BTW - I'm running XP Pro and I just gave OE a try here, the identities seem to be changing fine, but I'm just testing it out too. You may want to make sure you have your OE and IE completely up to date. Just for reference, my OE and IE versions:
OE - 6.00.2800.1123
IE - 6.0.2800.1106.xpsp2.030422-1633 (whew!)

Run Windows Update and see if you have any updates that need to be installed.

Good luck!
 
  #6  
Old 01-01-04, 03:56 PM
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I had the same problem on XP

I just set up my own XP sign-on ID and that solved the problem. I just log onto my ID.
 
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Old 01-04-04, 08:20 PM
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Had the same problem when I upgraded to XP. I hope I remember correctly, but I think this is what I did:

In the menu bar go to:
File
Identities
Manage Identities
Uncheck the box that says "Use this identity when starting a program"

Hope this solves your problem.
 
  #8  
Old 01-05-04, 04:54 PM
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Thanks for all of the info.
We decided to move the old computer to the other room, keep this one as-is, and then network them.
We were going to do that anyway.
Now she has her computer that can switch easily and I have my computer that can read only mine.
This will work just fine.

Thanks again.
 
 

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