How to fix Windows Mail when you can’t delete messages

I ran into a problem today with a Windows Vista machine that apparently isn’t unique. This tip only applies to Windows Vista users who use Windows mail.

Problem: Can’t delete any messages in Windows Mail…which also prevents new messages from being read.

Symptom: When you try and delete a message in Windows Mail, you get an “Internal Error” message then have to restart the program.

Solution:

1. Close Windows Mail 
2. Click Start
3. Click Computer
4. Double-click “C” drive (your hard drive)
5. Double-click the Users folder 
6. Double-click the folder with your user name (ex: mine would be Rick)
7. Double-click the AppData folder
8. Double-click the Local folder
9. Double-click the Microsoft folder
10. Double-click the Windows Mail folder
11. Backup all files in this folder to an external hard drive, flash drive, CD, etc
12. After backing up, delete the file named WindowsMail.MSMessageStore
13. Double-click the Backup folder
14. Double-click the New folder 
15. Delete the file named WindowsMail.MSMessageStore
16. Close all open windows
17. Restart Windows Mial and the message database will be rebuilt
18. You should again be able to view and delete files.