Strange, this... I had exactly the same problem a few weeks ago - Outlook '02, XP. When I checked (Ctrl-Alt-Del, Processes) I saw that outlook.exe was featured twice, although not with the same number Mem Usage column. Switched tabs to Applications, and there was only 1 mention. Re-booted, and (on purpose) started Outlook, clicked Send/Receive - and got your error messages. Checked the above again - 2 exe's running. Before the next re-boot I disabled the send/receive settings (mine checks every 10 minutes or something) and then checked again....all OK this time - just the one process. Conclusion was that for some reason best known to itself, the start-up process had tripped in twice, but if you then "interrupted" it by trying a send/receive, it fell over..... Hopefully some help .....and Merry Christmas to you either way!