By default, Outlook Express and Outlook both will load up Windows Messenger when they start up. This causes a delay when all you want to do is check your email. To stop this is easy.

If you have Outlook Express 6, go to Tools > Windows Messenger > Options > Preferences and in the general area uncheck “run this program when windows starts” and “allow this program to run in the background.” After doing this, Messenger does not load on startup and OE loads as usual.

For Outlook users, to to Tools > Options and go to the “Other” tab. At the bottom, uncheck “Enable Instant Messaging in Microsoft Outlook”.