Duplicate Emails

Some email users are getting duplicate emails on their email clients including Outlook and Outlook Express. To be more technically specific, after you download your email messages from a POP3 email server, and then you download your messages again, duplicate e-mail messages may be downloaded.

Possible causes of duplicate emails:

1) Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 Issues

This problem may occur if you use the Leave a copy of messages on the server option. This problem was first fixed in a hotfix that is now contained in a service pack. If you installed the latest Office 2003 service pack, you do not have to install the hotfix. Or, simply turn off the Leave a copy of messages on the server option. Note, you can find more information about this issues at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/885870

2) Share the same email address on two separate computers

In short, some email users are depending on the Leave a copy of messages on the server option to ensure each of them are getting a copy of the messages in their Inbox. Some have the issues persist even after upgrading their Outlook 2003. There is no quick fix to this issues. Alternatively, get another email address for each user. Or, have all email users use Webmail instead of email clients. Webmail does not download the email to your computer, thus bypass the need of using Leave a copy option.

Since eliminating the problem at its source is not feasible, the last resort is to remove duplicate email manually or using program like MapiLab’s Duplicate Email Remover.

3) Corrupt email message in your inbox on the mail server

If you are getting duplicate emails on your computer in your Outlook Express, it could be that there is a corrupt email message in your inbox on the mail server. To delete the corupt email, simply delete the corrupt/damaged message that is creating the duplicates. You can do it in by going to your Webmail.

4) Sync file error in outlook Express

The file which keep track of which messages are downloaded from the POP email server may have problem keeping the sync in order. Go to the Email Store Folder in your Outlook Express and remove the file named ‘Pop3uidl.dbx’ while the Outlook Express is closed. Turn on the Outlook Express after removal and a new ‘Pop3uidl.dbx’ will be created automatically.

5) Incomplete email downloading

Each time you press the Send & Receive button in your Outlook or Outlook Express, the email messages are downloaded from your POP email server to your computer. Interrupted Internet connection or large email download may cause the downloading process to timeout. The next time you press the Send & Receive button, it retrieves messages all over again.

6) Sender’s email client infected by Virus

Sometimes, the duplicate email problems are caused by the sender. The sender’s Outlook may have been infected by Virus and it us used to trigger Spam email messages unnoticed. Or, simply a looping sending process happens to a corrupted Outlook.