I receive all my email via Hotmail.  When I use Outlook Express
[O.E.], I see two folders: Local Folders and Hotmail.  I am forced to
wait interminably as unwanted emails are downloaded into Local
Folders.  Is there a way to delete Local Folders, or, in the
alternative, to fix it so Local Folders can receive no incoming
emails?
If applicable, my O.S. is Windows XP.

This may help:

http://www.onlinehelp-uk.com/support/software/email.htm#receiving

Best wishes,
Rainbow

If you are using POP3 account in O.E., then try using IMAP based based.

Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) is an Internet protocol for
gaining access to messages that are stored on a server. Using IMAP,
you can open your e-mail from any computer with an Internet
connection. Once you set up your IMAP account, you can specify the
folders you want to show and the ones you want to hide.

A server-based account saves you time by downloading only your message
headers so that you can choose which messages you want to later
download and view in their entirety. When you are working offline, you
can read and respond to e-mail messages just as you would when working
online. The next time you work online, your server-based e-mail
account will synchronize the e-mail on your computer with the server.
During the synchronization process, the actions you performed in your
account are carried out on the server.

This way, you can try to ensure that you only get the headers of the
emails that you recieve. And, you get the full email text only when
you want it, otherwise just delete the email after looking at the
header.

The more simple answer is of course to use the web-based browsing of
your account instead of using O.E., if it is convenient to you.

Regards,
padpub
http://www.clicktry.com/