Hi,
My first reaction to your issue is that Outlook Express, for whatever reason, is corrupt.
You could try the following to re-install it, but cannot guarantee this will fix the issue. It cannot hurt anything, and will not delete any of your configurations, emails, folders, etc, in Outlook Express.
Go to Start/Find/Files or folders, and type in ie6setup.exe.
Your windows version might be a little different, such as Start/Search, then type in ie6setup.exe.
This file will start the install of Internet Explorer 6 and/or Outlook Express 6.
Then, when you find this file, left double-click on it to start the installation wizard.
When you see a choice of what to install, uncheck Internet Explorer and all the other items, EXCEPT Outlook Express. Left click on Outlook Express, to put a checkmark by it, and then click on OK.
It will re-install Outlook Express 6.
Then, if you have added any updates from Windows Update for Outlook Express, go back to
http://www.microsoft.com, Windows Update, and let it scan, then re-install any security patches you are using.
Best wishes,
fredg