Leslie> I installed spambayes this morning and it was working
Leslie> beautifully until this afternoon when it has totally locked
Leslie> outlook. Won't let it receive any emails, move spam already
Leslie> received to the spam folder, delete any emails etc. Have
Leslie> rebooted several times but no luck. And can't remove it
Leslie> apparently.
I'm not able to help you much (I don't use Windows), but some people here
probably can if you include some details about your SpamBayes installation:
Windows version
Outlook version
32-bit or 64-bit?
SpamBayes version
Do you have logs you can post? Check the troubleshooting guide to see how
to find your logs. At the moment the SourceForge site is not 100%
available, including our usual link to the troubleshooting guide, so I've
attached a plain text version of it to this message. (The HTML version
might not display well without its usual supporting cast of CSS files.)
--
Skip Montanaro - [email protected] - http://www.smontanaro.net/
Logo
Troubleshooting the SpamBayes Outlook addin
This is a list of common problems, and hopefully their solutions. Please
feel free to suggest additional topics. Currently, we have the following
problems listed:
* Toolbar items appear, but fail to work
* Addin loads with an error message
* Addin doesn't load
* Messages fail to filter
* Messages have incorrect or unexpected Spam values
* Resetting SpamBayes configuration
* SpamBayes is not available for all users on the machine
* All other problems
Some other resources that may be useful in tracking down any problems:
* There is an online FAQ for SpamBayes with lots of information,
including a section specific to the Outlook addin.
* The latest online version of this document may have information added
since release.
* The online Frequently Reported Outlook Bugs list has the most common
problems people are experiencing, and links to more information about
the bug.
* Check to see that you are using the most recent version - it is
possible that your problem has been fixed in a newer release. You
should be able to check for newer versions by selecting Check for new
version from the SpamBayes menu - otherwise, you can visit the
SpamBayes website and check there.
If you must send someone a mail about SpamBayes, please read this first.
Toolbar items appear, but fail to work
If the toolbar items fail to work, we are facing one of two problems.
* The addin has failed to load. In this case, along with the toolbars
failing to work, SpamBayes will not be filtering or scoring any
messages. To fix this, see the Addin doesn't load instructions.
* If the addin has loaded (ie, is filtering and scoring mail) but the
toolbar items don't, we have struck a common problem with the
toolbars. Follow the instructions below.
First we will try deleting the toolbar, and if that fails, completely
reset all Outlook toolbars. Perform the following steps:
* Right-click on any Outlook toolbar, and select Customize.
* In the dialog that appears, ensure the Toolbars tab is selected,
locate SpamBayes in the list of toolbars, and select it.
* Click on the Delete button. Outlook will ask for confirmation that you
want to delete the SpamBayes toolbar. Select OK.
* Close the customize dialog. The SpamBayes toolbar no longer appear.
* Restart Outlook. SpamBayes will re-create the toolbar.
If all else fails, you can completely reset the Outlook toolbars by
removing the file \Documents and Settings\{username}\Application
Data\Microsoft\Outlook\outcmd.dat Although this is undocumented by
Microsoft, we have never heard reports of problems. If you are paranoid,
simply rename this file so that you have a copy.
Addin loads with an error message
In this case, when you start Outlook you receive a message indicating that
SpamBayes could not be initialized.
This means that SpamBayes has loaded, but struck an error during
initialization. If the information in the error message does not indicate
the nature of the error, please report a bug (making sure you attach the
log file).
Addin doesn't load
If you start Outlook but there was no error message, the SpamBayes toolbar
items do not work and new messages have no spam score or filtering
applied, then the plugin has probably become disabled.
* Check the log file. If a log file for this session exists, then see if
it contains an error. If not, check the date and time of the log - it
is probably a log from the last time it did work, so is no help to us.
If a log does exist, please report a bug.
* Check that Outlook shows the addin as enabled.
If you are running from source code, the addin will not appear in the
steps below. Please re-register the addin, as per the README.txt file.
1. Start Outlook, and select Options from the Tools menu to display
the main Options dialog.
2. Select the tab labeled Other, then click on the Advanced button.
3. Click on the COM Add-Ins button.
4. If the SpamBayes addin is not listed, then SpamBayes should be
reinstalled (Note that running regsvr32.exe outlook_addin.dll or
bin\outlook_addin_register.exe from the SpamBayes directory may
also solve this problem).
5. If the SpamBayes addin is listed but not checked, then simply
check it and close the dialog.
6. If you are running Outlook XP/2002/2003, you may find that if you
go back to the dialog, the addin will still be unselected. In
this case, perform the following:
1. Select About Microsoft Outlook from the Help menu.
2. Click the Disabled Items button.
3. Select SpamBayes.
4. Click Enable.
5. Restart Outlook.
If none of that works, please report a bug.
Messages fail to filter
This is when messages arrive, but have no spam field value. Note that
this is different from a message having an incorrect or unexpected
spam value. This is for messages that have a completely blank spam
score. To resolve this:
* Check that filtering is enabled. Select the SpamBayes Manager,
then ensure the button Enable Filtering is checked. If you are
unable to select this button due to insufficient training
information, please review the initial configuration
documentation for information on training.
* If only the occasional message fails to filter, then it is likely
that the message is in a format we don't understand. There is
almost certainly an error listed in the log file. Please report a
bug, attaching both the log file and the message that caused the
error.
* If all messages fail to filter, we have a more serious problem
but again, please report a bug, attaching the log file.
Messages have incorrect or unexpected spam values
This is when filtering appears to work OK, except that the spam values
are wrong. To resolve this:
* If the messages are all scoring as "unsure", with a score of 0.5,
then you may have lost your training database. From the SpamBayes
Manager dropdown, check how many spam and good messages have been
loaded by the system. If this number is very low (like zero!)
then you probably need to perform a full re-train of your
database.
* If the messages have apparently random, but unexpected scores,
then there are two possibilities; either SpamBayes is simply
behaving what appears to be strangely, but really is correctly,
or that some of the spam payload is invisible to SpamBayes. In
both cases, perform the following:
* Ensure the message is selected in the Outlook preview pane,
and from the SpamBayes Manager dropdown, select Show Spam
clues for current message. This should open a new mail
message with the clues.
* Part of the clues shows the body of the spam message. If
this message correctly shows the spam text, then it is
likely SpamBayes is behaving correctly. In this case, you
may wish to mail the clues to the SpamBayes mailing list for
help in decoding the clues, but it is likely that SpamBayes
is behaving correctly given your current training data.
* If it appears that part of the spam payload is missing, then
you have probably stumbled across a bug - please mail the
clues to the mailing list.
Resetting SpamBayes configuration
In some cases, it may become necessary to reset your SpamBayes
configuration, especially if your configuration becomes invalid.
SpamBayes attempts to detect this situation, but doesn't always get it
right. This section details where critical configuration files are
stored - more detailed information is also available.
SpamBayes stores all configuration data in your data directory. The
configuration information is stored in a file called [profile
name].ini, where profile name is the name of your Microsoft Outlook
profile. The default profile name is usually Outlook or Microsoft
Outlook Internet Settings, but Outlook can be configured to use any
number of profiles, with any name.
Note that, in this directory, you may also find a file named
default_bayes_customize.ini - this file is not used to configure the
Outlook side of SpamBayes - look for any other .ini files in that
directory.
If you delete the configuration file, SpamBayes will be completely
reset. Note you will not lose your training data, only your
configuration information. The next time you start Outlook, the
SpamBayes configuration wizard should appear, guiding you through the
configuration process
Your training data is also stored in this directory, but in files with
a .db extension. If you ever want to delete your training information,
remove the two .db files in this directory.
You may like to consider backing up this directory.
SpamBayes is not available for all users on the machine.
When SpamBayes is installed, by default it is available only for the
user who installed it. This is to allow SpamBayes to appear in
Microsoft Outlook's COM-Addin list, and therefore able to be activated
and de-activated by the user inside Outlook.
It is possible to register the addin so it is available to all users
on a particular machine, which can be useful in enterprise
arrangements where users have 'roaming profiles'.
To register SpamBayes in this way, you must log on as a user with
permissions to modify the system registry, then execute the command
(with the correct path substituted):
"c:\Program Files\SpamBayes\bin\outlook_addin_register.exe"
hkey_local_machine
Note that the double-quotes in the above command are significant (and
should be typed). Because "Program Files" has a space in it, you must
surround the entire command name with quotes. Otherwise, you'll get an
error something like:
'c:\Program' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
If you check the installation log after performing such an install,
you should see the following messages:
Registered: SpamBayes.OutlookAddin
Registration complete.
Registration (in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE) complete.
Note the last line, which does not exist when registration is
performed only for the current user. Once you have performed this
registration, the Addin will be available for all users - but as noted
above, it will no longer appear in Outlook's COM-Addin list.
All other problems
If you are simply unsure about what SpamBayes is doing, please send a
mail to the SpamBayes mailing list with as much information as
possible. If you are fairly sure you have struck a bug, then please
report it. Please do not mail any of the contributors directly.
Process Descriptions
This explains some of the processes above in more detail.
Determine your installation type.
If you are running from Python source code, and installed Python, plus
SpamBayes as separate components, then you are running the source code
version. If you downloaded an installer .exe file, then you are
running the binary version.
Check the log file
Determine your installation type. If you are running the source code
version, then please see README.txt in the Outlook2000 directory.
If you are running the binary version, the simplest way to get hold of
the most recent log is to:
1. Open the SpamBayes Manager dialog (from the SpamBayes toolbar).
2. Click the Advanced tab.
3. Click the Diagnostics button.
4. Click the View log button.
To find the log manually, you'll need to find your Windows temp
directory, into which the SpamBayes addin writes the log. This
directory is generally \WINDOWS\TEMP for Windows 95, 98 and ME, or
\Documents and Settings\{username}\Local Settings\Temp for Windows
2000/XP.
Note that by default, in Windows 2000 and XP, Windows Explorer will
not show the Local Settings directory. You can convince Windows
Explorer to show this directory (and therefore allow you to see the
Temp directory under it) by doing either:
* Select the folder \Documents and Settings\{username}.
This directory should be reflected in the Address Bar.
* In the Address Bar, simply type, at the end, \Local Settings
(thereby giving the full path name), and press Enter.
Windows Explorer will then show this folder, and you can open the
Temp folder, which is in it.
or
* Select Folder Options from the Tools menu.
* Select the View tab.
* In the list, select Show hidden files and folders.
* Select OK.
* The temp folder will now be visible, and you can then open it.
You may like to then reset this option back to the default value.
The log file for the most recent execution of Outlook is named
spambayes1.log, the second most recent is named spambayes2.log, and so
on for the four previous runs. You can view this file with Notepad.
Usually, you will simply see messages which indicate that SpamBayes is
doing its job; however in some cases there will be errors in this
file. If there are errors, please report a bug.
If the log file is very large
This probably means that SpamBayes failed to process a large number of
(or a few, large) emails. In that case, please perform the following
steps:
* Ensure all messages in your watch folders are marked as read.
* Restart Outlook (use Exit and Sign off if it is in your File
menu)
* Send yourself a test message, and wait for it to arrive.
* Exit Outlook.
You should have a new log file containing the error when classifying
the test message. If no error occurs processing the test message, the
previous large log file will still exist (see above). Either edit the
file using a text editor to extract just the error information, or zip
it up. If you don't know what that means, please send a mail.
Locating your Data Directory
SpamBayes stores all configuration and database information in a
single directory. By default, this directory is located under the
user's Application Data directory. You can locate this directory by
using the Show Data Folder button on the Advanced tab of the main
SpamBayes Manager dialog.
If you need to locate it by hand, on Windows NT/2000/XP, it will
probably be C:\Documents and Settings\{username}\Application
Data\Spambayes, or on other versions of Windows it will probably be
C:\Windows\Application Data\Spambayes.Note that the Application Data
folder may be hidden, so Windows Explorer may not show it by default,
but you can enter the path into the Address Bar and Explorer will open
it.
Note that by modifying the configuration files, you can tell SpamBayes
to store this data in any directory, so it is possible your data is
being stored elsewhere - contact your network administrator if this
appears to be the case.
Report a bug
All SpamBayes bugs are maintained in on a page at sourceforge. Please
have a check of the bugs already reported to see if your bug has
already been reported. If not, open a new bug, making sure to set the
Category to Outlook. Please ensure you attach the log file to the bug.
If you are unsure about the bug, or need any assistance, please send a
mail.
Send a mail
If all else fails, you may want to send someone a mail. Please make
sure you have read this document thoroughly before doing do.
Your mail should be sent to the SpamBayes mailing list
([email protected]). Please do not mail any of the contributors
directly! (see "good karma" below).
Please ensure this mail contains:
* the version of Windows you are using,
* the version of SpamBayes,
* any log files.
If you also mention that you read this trouble-shooting guide and are
still stuck, then you will be more likely to get answered! (And if you
can subscribe to this mailing list and help answer other questions,
and good karma will come your way!)
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