I'm incommunicado for a while. *^%$#** virus checkers are more trouble than the virus they are supposed to be protect you from. :-) After years of using only Zone Alarm as a firewall I took my sons advice and downloaded and installed a freebie virus checker called "Avast". Due to my own ignorance ( I admit it - I'm a dummy)I manage to make it redirect my emails away from the standard ISP pop3 and smtp server. The net result is that Outlook Express now spits the dummy and won't run. It throws up an error "cannot initialise MSOE.dll" All attempts to uninstall outlook express and re-install it have failed no matter what I do.Win 98SE is a great operating system but the way MS incorporated Outlook Express into it is an absolute nightmare. Sooooo the short story is I will probably get a new hard disk and start from scratch , but I'll be out of circulation for a while.Cheers,Roger

Hi, Roger.You

G'Day Roger,Sorry to hear of your problems.Gmail is excellent.

G'day TV,Thanks for the sympathy; I even deleted the Oulook Express directory and reinstalled Win 98 over the top of the current operating system and still no luck.Cheers,Roger

G'day Ian,Thanks mate. I searched Gmail on the web and Ok lets say I go ahead and open an account.1. How do I read my mail.2. How do I create mail to send?Are both the above done at gmail.com after logging on?3. Can I receive/add attachmentsIf so, are there size restrictions to emails.4. How do I read my ISP addressed emails? I assume that Gmail will give me a ******@gmail.com type address.5. I don't think Avsim will accept a Gmail address.I hate to be a pain in the butt; before I take the plunge into the abyss of a complete reinstall of operating system along with all that entains I just want to see if it's absolutely necessary.Thanks for your time and trouble, sorry I'm a not really clued up on all things computers.Cheers,Roger

I did a search on "Cannot initialize MSOE.DLL" and a most of the suggestions point to your local e-mail databases being corrupted. These files wouldn't be overwritten by a reinstall (you wouldn't normally want to lose all your e-mail).Here's a link that looks like it might be helpful:http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/problems/errors.htmI'm not sure if it will solve your problem, but it's worth a shot.-Frank

Rodger send me your e mail address in a Personal message and I can send you a free link to sign up for g mailpilotsim7828

G'day Frank,Mate welcome back. I remember you from the early days of Fly! - still use a couple of utilities you wrote.The link you posted is fantastic. I had a quick read and the info is amazing. I've added the site to my favourites for future referrence. I won't go into details here but my problem is now fixed.Thanks for your help.Cheers,Roger.

G'day Roger,GMail is excellent and it doesn't really matter if Avsim will accept iot or not. You can have as many email addresses as you want. Just leave Avsim with your existing 'legal' address.To your questions:1) you read your mail by logging on with your browser. This means any browser and any operating system, Mac, Linux, Windoze etc...2) From the GMail page.3) Yes but I'm not sure about size restrictions.4) You can set GMail to retrieve pop3 mail and it's free, unlike some others.5) Covered above.You wouldn't need to do anything. Just create the account and start using it. You can import your addresses from Outlook and various other mail programs if you want to. You certainly don't need to install / re-install anything.I've sent you a separate email :-)CheersColin