OL97: MSN Mail Not Sent with Category or Contact Attachment

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Outlook 97

SYMPTOMS

When you send a message over the Microsoft Network Online Service (MSN), versions 1.3 and 2.0, using Microsoft Outlook 97, the message may remain unsent in your Outbox when you click "Check for New Mail" on the Tools menu. If you use Remote Mail, you may receive the following error message:

   Could not download message headers. Cannot find message.

CAUSE

This behavior may occur if your message has a category assigned or your message contains an attached Outlook contact in the message body. Attached notes, tasks, or journal items in Outlook do not prevent message delivery with the MSN service transport.

RESOLUTION

Remove any categories or attached contacts from your message and try to resend the message.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Outlook 97. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

With a profile set for MSN service delivery, you can reproduce this behavior for contacts by following these steps:

1. In Outlook, compose an e-mail message.

2. On the messages Insert menu, click Item.

3. In the Insert Item dialog box, under Look In, click to select your Contacts folder.

4. Under Items, click to select a contact, and click OK to insert the contact into your message as an attachment.

5. Address your mail message, and click Send to send it to your Outbox.

6. On the Tools menu, click "Check for New Mail" to deliver the message.

7. When prompted, log on to your MSN account. Note that when the message transfer is complete, your message remains unsent in the Outbox.

1. In Outlook, compose an e-mail message.

2. On the message Edit menu, click Categories to open the Categories dialog box.

3. Under Available Categories, click to select a category, and click OK.

4. Address your mail message, and click Send to send it to the Outbox.

5. On the Tools menu, click "Check for New Mail" to deliver the message.

6. When prompted, log on to your MSN account. Note that when the message transfer is complete, your message remains unsent in the Outbox.