Hello,
This is Judy. I had the same problem w/ my Outlook Express and had just fixed it. Basically, you will need to uninstall Outlook Express manually to clear the registry and some files that regular uninstall from control panel doesn't remove. For detailed step by step instruction, please go to
http://www.tweakxp.com/tweak2101.aspx
Remember the pathname you change the folders to. After you reinstalled outlook express (I recommend going to microsoft and download IE 6 directly instead of trying to run the .inf file), you can click on the backup link on the first section of the page above and learn to import old messages etc. from the files you renamed.
Best of luck.
Sincerely,
Judy Juang