Article ID: 917288 - Last Review: February 3, 2011 - Revision: 4.1

Error message when you open the Windows Address Book or you open Outlook Express after you install cumulative security update 911567 (MS06-016)

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SUMMARY

You may receive an error message when you try to open Microsoft Outlook Express or you try to open the Windows Address Book after you install cumulative security update 911567 that is described in security bulletin MS06-016.

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SYMPTOMS

After you install cumulative security update 911567 for Outlook Express that is described in security bulletin MS06-016, you may experience the following symptoms when you try to open Outlook Express or the Windows Address Book:

You may receive an error message that resembles the following:
unable to open address book. Address book may not be installed correctly
You may receive an error message that states that you must reinstall Outlook Express or reinstall the Windows Address Book.
When you open Outlook Express, you may be able to receive e-mail, but you cannot send e-mail or reply to e-mail.

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CAUSE

Most of the time, these symptoms are caused by a corruption in the Address Book. Frequently, the corruption occurs over time in address books that were created in older versions of Outlook Express. Earlier versions of Outlook Express did not detect this corruption, and the address book functionality was not affected. After you install cumulative security update 911567, Outlook Express examines each address book file for corruption. If Outlook Express detects corruption, you receive an error message.

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RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, follow these steps:

Uninstall cumulative security update 911567. To remove this update, use the Add or Remove Programs item in Control Panel. System administrators can also use the Spuninst.exe utility to remove this security update.

For more information about how to uninstall software updates, visit the following Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) Web site:
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa371212.aspx (http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa371212.aspx)
Copy the .wab file that is located in the following folder:
C:\Documents and Settings\<user>\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book\<user.wab>
Paste a copy of this file in the following folder:
C:\Documents and Settings\<user>\Desktop\backup.wab
Note In this step, <user> is your Microsoft Windows user name. Make sure there is no <user>.wab file on your Desktop.
Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
At the command prompt, type the following, and then press ENTER:
Del "C:\Documents and Settings\<user>\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book\<user>.wab"
Start Outlook Express.
On the Tools menu, click Address Book. Notice that the Address Book does not contain any contacts.
On the File menu, point to Import, and then click Address Book.
Import the backup.wab file that is located in the following folder:
C:\Documents and Settings\<user>\Desktop
Install the most recent cumulative security update for Outlook Express. To install the most recent cumulative security update for Outlook Express, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
http://update.microsoft.com (http://update.microsoft.com)

Note If you find more than one .wab file, rename the user name with which you are currently logged in. If the user name is the default user name, the file name is Default.wab.

After you apply these changes, import all contacts that are contained in the old .wab file to the new profile that you have created. All contacts that are contained in the .wab file are imported to the new profile. During importing, folders are not recognized. Therefore, all contacts are imported to the profile. If you have shared groups, these groups are imported to the profile.

Note This resolution does not apply to Outlook Express 5.5 Service Pack 2 (SP2) on a computer that is running Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 (SP4). Microsoft is researching this problem and will post more information in this article when the information becomes available.

Note For more information about security updates, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/current.aspx (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/current.aspx)

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Note This is a "FAST PUBLISH" article created directly from within the Microsoft support organization. The information contained herein is provided as-is in response to emerging issues. As a result of the speed in making it available, the materials may include typographical errors and may be revised at any time without notice. See Terms of Use (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=151500) for other considerations.

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