Stop Outlook Express Compacting Messages

Are "Free Up Disk Space" Outlook Express popups driving you mad?

Does the "compact messages" warning keep coming up every time you close Outlook Express?

Our StopOEMadness can help you get rid of this annoyance and restore your control over if and when to compact messages.

New! With the introduction of version 3.0 StopOEMadness periodically tracks and resets the compact messages settings, for those of us who open (and close) Outlook Express more than 100 times between logoffs or computer restarts.

New! With the introduction of version 2.0 StopOEMadness automatically resets your compact messages settings, upon account logon and computer restart, so that you don't have to repeat this time-consuming and tedious procedure.

Simply download and install StopOEMadness and your Outlook Express will stop popping up this message every time you close it. The time and annoyance you'll save by using this easy to use and well tested product is well worth the small price!

What is "OE Compaction" and what does StopOEMadness do?

Outlook Express (commonly referred to as OE) has an automatic maintenance feature that waits until you open and close the application 100 times. After the 100th time, OE begins to compact your mail and news folders. While this seems a useful feature, in practice it is very sensitive and too often results in losing email folders and/or message. Some users report that this happen more often when they stop the process, turn off their computer, put it into Standby (Sleep) mode, or simply attempt to use their computer while the process is running.

In addition, unless you are within the 100 uses, OE will pester you by repeated notices every time you close OE! PC users frequently report that this feature is one of the most irritating aspects of Outlook Express. You have closed the warning, or you have clicked OK, or you have clicked cancel, you have checked the box that says "don't ask me again"... but these warnings ("To free up disk space, OE can compact messages. This may take a few minutes.") keep coming up every time you close Outlook Express.


If you would like an easy way to stop this madness, then Software Candy’s StopOEMadness is the fix for you. Once this reliable and user friendly download is installed on your Windows computer, you will stop being bothered by constant compaction requests. Your Outlook Express will keep working like normal but you will be in charge of deciding when to compact.


As with all Software Candy products, StopOEMadness is completely free of any viruses or spyware (digitally signed for authenticity and integrity) and is well tested for its advertised features. If ever needed, you can also uninstall it completely with a single click, performing a total cleanup after itself.




The beauty of this wizard is that you don't have to do dangerous registry editing by hand or remember what you did if you ever want to revert back. Once you download this app (keep it in easy to find folder!), you double-click it, click the Next button on the installation wizard and Voila! Those annoying messages are gone.

Note: If and when you decide to compact your mail and news folders, Do not stop the compaction process! Do not let it go into Standby or Suspend mode! Do not turn off your PC! Do let the compaction process complete before continuing to use your computer. Following these guidelines will minimize your chances of losing messages or mail folders.




With the introduction of Windows XP SP2, Outlook Express is configured to prompt for Compacting messages every 100 times you open Outlook Express. Before XP Service Pack 2, Outlook Express was set by default to compact messages in the background -- a process that, depending on cirucmstances, was corrupting messages and sometimes entire message folders.

Microsoft's solution was to let you (the user) do it manually since in most cases, if you don't stop the compaction process in any way (see warning under "How It Works" tab), no damage will occur.

• Q1. Will I have to run this program periodically to quiet down Outlook Express?
• A1. No. You install it only once, then forget completely about it, as the program itself takes care of automatically tracking OE's invocations and resetting its rouge counter. Totally automatic. Set and forget. :)

• Q2. Is it recommended to compact my messages at all?
• A2. Absolutely. It is important that you compact messages, to improve performance and integrity. However, you must perorm this manually, via the menu File > Folder > Compact All Folders -- and let it complete without touching your computer or let it go into standby.

Keep your Outlook Express but lose the hassle. Download Software Candy’s StopOEMadness and take control.

1. Click 'add this to my cart' button below.
2. Download it (it will become immediately available for download after payment).
3. Install it.

That's it. 

By purchasing this product, you receive 12 downloads for 365 days (whichever expires first). In effect, this gives you up to 12 FREE upgrades for one year. If you purchased this product, remember to periodically check this page for a new version. We strive to polish our products to perfection.

Note: Unless otherwise noted (in the compatibility list below), this software is compatible with the 32-bit version of Windows. Download this FREE tool to check whether your Windows is 32-bit or 64-bit.