SYMPTOMS

When you set up your Mail account in Outlook Express, you cannot save your mail server logon password for incoming mail.

CAUSE

The registry has incorrect information for the Protected Storage System Provider registry key for that user. When this happens, the password save capability does not work.

RESOLUTION

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

Resolution for Microsoft Windows 98 Users

1.                   Click Start, click Run, and then type regedit in the Open box.

2.                   Locate the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Protected Storage System Provider

3.                   Under the Protected Storage System Provider key are subkeys for

                      the user profiles that are on this computer. For example, you may see

                      a Default subkey, a Local Machine subkey, or a

                  Username subkey. If the you have User Profiles turned on, click

                      the Username subkey that matches your log on name, and export

                      that key by right-clicking the key, and then clicking Export.

                      After you export the key for safe keeping, click that Username

                      subkey, right-click it, and then click Delete.

4.                   Quit Registry Editor, and then restart the computer.

5.                   Start Outlook Express, and on the Tools menu, click Account, click Properties,

                      and then click the Servers tab. Type the password that you want to save,

                      and then click Apply and OK.

6.                   Try making your connection to send and receive mail to see if saving the

                      password is   now working.

Resolution for Microsoft Windows NT and Microsoft Windows 2000 Users

For Windows NT and Windows 2000, to edit the registry and remove the broken registry key, the user account must have Administrative rights to access the key. If the user is not already a member of the Administrative group, that can be accomplished by either temporarily assigning them to the Administrative group or by logging on as a user in the Administrative group, and then loading the other user's hive that contains the Protected Storage System key so it can be deleted.

To Remove the Broken Key in Windows NT

1.                   Click Start, click Run, and then type regedt32 in the Open box.

2.                   Locate the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Protected Storage System Provider

3.                   Click the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Protected Storage System Provider key, and then click the Security menu.

4.                   In the Registry Key Permissions dialog box, click to select the

                  Replace Permission on existing subkeys check box,

                      and make sure that the Username has Full Control access.

5.                   Click OK on the Registry Key Permissions dialog box. A message appears

                      with the following question:

Do you want to replace the permission on all existing subkeys within Protected Storage Provider?

                    Click Yes.

 

6.                   At this point, you can access the subkey in the

                  Protected Storage System Provider. If you prefer,

                      you can first save a copy of this key, and then delete the key.

To save the key, click the key, and then click Save Key on the Registry menu. Provide a file name, and select where the file is to be saved.

To delete the key, click the key, and then click Delete on the Edit menu. A prompt appears asking you to confirm the operation. Click Yes to complete the deletion process.

Start Outlook Express, and try to save the password for the mail log on. This process repopulates the Protected Storage System Provider registry key with the correct SYMPTOMS

When you run Outlook Express using Microsoft Windows 2000 or Microsoft Windows XP and connect to your Internet Service Provider (ISP) to retrieve e-mail messages from a Post Office Protocol (POP) server, your password is not retained even though you have chosen to save it.

CAUSE

The registry contains incorrect information for the Protected Storage System Provider registry subkey for your account.

RESOLUTION

To save your password you must back up your registry, remove the user account information, and then re-enter your password. Only people who are members of the Administrators group on the local computer can make these changes. Windows XP Home Edition users need to check the Users control panel. If they are not listed as an Administrator, someone with Administrator rights will have to add them to the Administrators group.

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

How to Back up the Registry

Windows 2000

1.       Click Start, click Run, type regedt32 in the Open box, and then click OK.

2.       Locate and click the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Protected Storage System Provider

3.       On the Registry menu, click Save Key.

4.       In the File name box, type a unique name for the key.

5.       In the Save In box, click a location for the file, and then click Save.

6.       On the Registry menu, click Exit.

Windows XP

1.       Click Start, click Run, type regedt32 in the Open box, and then click OK.

2.       Locate and click the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Protected Storage System Provider

3.       On the File menu, click Export.

4.       In the File name box, type a unique name for the key.

5.       In the Save In box, click a location for the file, and then click Save.

6.       On the Registry menu, click Exit.

How to Remove the User Account Information

Windows 2000

1.       Quit all programs.

2.       Click Start, click Run, type regedt32 in the Open box, and then click OK.

3.      Locate and click the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Protected Storage System Provider

4.       On the Security menu, click Permissions.

5.       Click the registry key for the user that is currently logged on and

          ensure that Read and Full Control are both set to Allow.

6.       Click the Advanced button, ensure that user that is currently logged

          on is selected, that Full Control is listed in the Permissions column, and that

        This Key and Subkeys is listed in the Apply to column.

7.       Click to select the Reset permissions on all child objects and enable

        propagation of inheritable permissions check box.

8.       Click Apply, and then click Yes when you are prompted to continue.

9.       Click OK, and then click OK.

10.   Double-click the Protected Storage System Provider key to expand the key,

        click the user subkey folder that is directly below the Protected Storage

       System Provider key, click Delete on the Edit menu, and then

        click Yes in the warning message dialog box.

The user subkey folder looks similar to the following example:

S-1-5-21-124525095-708259637-1543119021-16701

NOTE: For every identity that you have, there will be a subkey under the Protected Storage System Provider key. To resolve this problem in all of your identities, you must delete all of the user subkeys folders under the Protected Storage System Provider key.

11.   On the Registry menu, click Exit, and then restart your computer.

Windows XP

1.       Quit all programs.

2.       Click Start, click Run, type regedt32 in the Open box, and then click OK.

3.       Locate and click the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Protected Storage System Provider

4.       On the Edit menu, click Permissions.

5.       Click the registry key for the user that is currently logged on and ensure that Read and Full Control permissions are both set to Allow.

6.       Click the Advanced button, ensure that the user that is currently logged on is selected, that Full Control is listed in the Permissions column, and that This Key and Subkeys is listed in the Apply to column.

7.       Click to select the Replace permission entries on all child objects with entries shown here that apply to child objects check box.

8.       Click Apply, and then click Yes when you receive a prompt to continue.

9.       Click OK, and then click OK again.

10.   Double-click the Protected Storage System Provider key to expand the key, click the user subkey folder that is directly below the Protected Storage System Provider key, click Delete on the Edit menu, and then click Yes in the warning message dialog box.

The user subkey folder looks similar to the following example:

S-1-5-21-124525095-708259637-1543119021-16701

NOTE: For every identity that you have, there may be a subkey under the Protected Storage System Provider key. To resolve this issue in all of your identities, you must delete all of the user subkeys folders under the Protected Storage System Provider key.

 

11.   On the Registry menu, click Exit, and then restart your computer.

How to Re-Enter Your Password

NOTE: These steps work for both Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

1.       Start Outlook Express.

NOTE: If you receive a login error, close the dialog box and proceed.

2.       Click Tools, and then click Accounts.

3.       Click the Mail tab in the Internet Accounts window.

4.       In the Account column, click to highlight the Internet E-mail account to be

          changed, and then click Properties.

5.       On the Server tab, type your password in the Password box, and then click

          to select Remember password dialog box.

6.       Click OK, and then click Close.

7.       Close Outlook Express and then restart it.

8.       On the Tools menu, click Send and Receive to test if your password is retained.

NOTE: If other Windows 2000 or Windows XP users are having password retention problems, re-enter the password, and then click to select the Remember Password check box for those profiles. Each user may need to log on for their password to be retained.