Are you using Outlook 98 or 2000 in Internet Mail Only mode and are going to upgrade to Outlook 2002 or 2003? When you do, create a new profile, don't use the profile Outlook upgrades for you.

While Outlook retains profiles when it's upgraded, many users are having problems with Outlook that go away when they create a new profile, with the most problems on upgrades from IMO mode.

To create a new profile, open Control Panel, Mail applet. Don't copy the existing profile, Add a new one. Be sure to add your existing *.pst to the profile as the default message store. More detailed information on creating a new profile and using your *.pst is available at http://www.outlook-tips.net/howto/profile.htm.