OLEXP: "Cannot Find Incredimail.exe" Error Message When You Open Attachment After Removing Incredimail

After you install and then remove Incredimail.exe, when you attempt to open e-mail attachments in Outlook Express version 5.5, the following error message appears:

This behavior can occur if registry keys for Incredimail remain in the Windows registry after you remove the Incredimail program from the system.

To resolve this behavior, remove Outlook Express 5.5, delete the remaining Incredimail references from the registry, and then reinstall Outlook Express 5.5.

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
To delete the registry keys for the Incredimail program:

1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
2. For each key that you need to delete, locate the key, right-click the key, and then click Delete:
   1. Under the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT key, delete the following keys:
      \.ima
      
      \.imf
      
      \.imi
      
      \.imn
      
      \.ims
      
      \.imw
      
      \Applications\Impcontent.exe
      
      \Applications\Incredimail
      
      \Incredicontent
      
      \Incredimessage
      
   2. Under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE key, delete the following keys:
      Software\Classes\.imc
      
      Software\Clients\Mail\Incredimail
      
      Software\Elishim\Protect\Browser (remove the Incredimail value)
      
      Software\Incredimail
      
      Software\Microsoft\Direct3D\Most Recent Applications\ (remove the NAME value that points to Incredimail.exe)
      
      \Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\Incredimail
   3. Delete the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start Menu\Programs\Incredimail key.
3. Quit Registry Editor.

The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.

For additional information about how to remove and then reinstall Outlook Express, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Additional information about Incredimail is available at the following Incredimail Web site: Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.