Outlook 2002 "stuck" because of 25 MB attachment in Outbox email

[Mark H.]

Hi,

I tried sending an email that had a much larger attachment in it than I
thought... Apparently Outlook and/or my ISP wouldn't allow it, and it's not
going anywhere...

The problem is, I can't delete the email, or move it to another folder. I
also can't delete the attachment from the email. For awhile, I was able to
receive emails, but then they stopped. And any emails I now try to send get
stuck in the Outbox, as well...

Most of the time (when trying to delete any of the errant email), I get the
following message: "The Messaging Interface has returned an unknown error. If
the problem persists, restart Outlook."

I even tried re-starting it in Safe Mode, but it made no difference...

I hope you're not gonna say I have to re-install my Outlook, as I have
thousands of emails (and multiple accounts ) in there! Or can I archive it
all first?

Thanks!

Mark H.

 

[Mark H.]

Well, Mary, the offlione trick didn't work. I still get that same error.

OL help (open box on top right gave an option called "My messages remain in
Outlook and are not sent." Expanding the answers, I got:

If you use offline folders or Remote Mail, you must use different commands
to send and receive messages. For information about how to send messages or
check for new messages, see "Working Offline" in Outlook Help.
If you open a message in the Outbox, or edit it and then save changes, the
message is not sent. Open the message, and then click Send. Messages waiting
to be sent are formatted in italic in the Outbox.
You may have specified that messages not be sent until the next
send/receive. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Mail Setup
tab. Select the Send messages immediately when connected check box. A message
is sent when you click Send in the message. If you connect using a LAN,
messages are sent in the background. If you use a dial-up networking
connection, Microsoft Outlook tries to connect to the server after you click
Send in a message.

--- and none of these are appropriate.

Did I use the right OL help utility?

Do I now have to reinstall?

Mark H.