Outlook Express running really slow and sluggish

I have an HP desktop computer that is about a year old. For about 10 months now my Outlook Express has been running really slow. For example, takes around 6 seconds to open or delete e-mail and 30 seconds to change folders, also really slow to open, etc.

I've been reading online, doing research, chatting with HP techs and talking with my computer guy and have not had much luck.

So far I have:

*Moved my folders in OE from the inbox to Local Folders
*Created subfolders to place those folders in, ie Files a-d
*Ran an SFC scan
*Uninstalled and reinstalled using Windows Components section
*Reregistered OE in Internet Explorer
*Checked for three corrupted files listed in article
*Removed spyware and adware
*Compacted wasted space and freed up disk space in OE
*Deleted temporary itnernet files (including offline files)
*Compacted OE folders
*Reregistered libraries
*Created a new account and imported all data
*Checked for for damaged .dbx files


So after trying all of this I have noticed a very slight improvement in the speed. But still, when trying to be efficient it really slows me down.

So I decided to try and do some experimenting on my own tonight. I created a new account (in case I did something wrong I would ruin my main identity) After that I imported all of my Pop3 settings. At this point everything is running fast and smooth. So I then began to import the folders for OE. I started by importing the main folders, i.e. Inbox, Deleted, Sent, Outbox, etc. I checked again and OE was still running perfectly. So I started to add a few of my folders at a time, it was still working great until I started adding more at a time, by the time I was through the m's it was working very sluggish and slow again.


I have quite a few folders that I use to store e-mails. I don't know exactly how many, but I would estimate around 400 or so, but they are, for the most part, empty now, with maybe 50 emails total, more than likely much more... So to me is sounds like the problem is that I have so many folders in OE.

What is weird, however, if that I have been using OE for years now and done the exact same thing. I have noticed that as I get closer to replacing my computer (when I have more files) OE does start to run a little slower, but never like this. I find it especially interesting though because of not having any emails in the folders.


So now I need to figure out what my next step is going to be. If at all possible I would like to keep OE. I've used it for years, am comfortable with it, etc. So if I can I don't want to switch... Is there anything else I can try to speed OE up, or is it pretty much a lost cause?


I was told that I should consider Outlook. Would switching to Outlook allow me to have all my folders but still have a program that is working fast? Or will I just have the same issues.


If I need to add any more details about anything, just let me know and I can take care of it.


Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.


Thanks!