› 
When you click the Read Mail button in the Command Bar in Internet Explorer, nothing may happen. The Read Mail button is supposed to launch the default mail client, and this problem occurs if the default mail client is not correctly set. Follow these steps to resolve the problem.
Instructions for Windows XP
Step I
1. Right-click on the Taskbar and click Properties
2. Select the Start Menu tab
3. Select the Start menu option, and click Customize…
4. Click the E-mail drop down box and select your mail client.
Important: If your mail client is already showing up as the default option, you still need to click the drop down menu and select the item. Otherwise the setting will not be saved correctly!
5. Click OK.
Step II
Note: You need to login as Administrator or equivalent to perform the following steps.
1. Open Internet Explorer
2. Click the Tools menu and choose Internet Options
3. Click Programs tab
4. Select your mail client from the drop down box.
5. Click OK to close the dialog.
Instructions for Windows Vista
1. Click Start, select Default Programs
2. Click Set your default programs
3. Select your mail client from the list
4. Click Set this program as default, and click OK.
Bookmark this Page!
BlinkList | del.icio.us | Digg it | Furl | reddit | Spurl | StumbleUpon |
Related Posts
- E-Mail Selected Text in a Web Page Using Snip IT Add-on for Internet Explorer
- Microsoft Newsgroup Setup Instructions for Windows Mail
- Show Internet Explorer 8 Favorites Bar as Cascading Menu to Gain More Screen Space
- Add CCleaner Button to Internet Explorer Toolbar
- Microsoft Newsgroup Setup Instructions for Windows Live Mail
- Fix: “Find on This Page” Does Not Work in Internet Explorer 8
- Run Dialog AutoComplete Drop-Down Feature Does Not Work
- Why Doesn’t the “You’ve Opened a New Tab” Message Go Away
- How to Backup the Message Rules, Safe Senders and Block Senders List in Windows Mail
- How to Clear IE Temporary Internet Files Cache for a Particular Domain
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed! We feature Tips, Troubleshooting information, Scripts and Utilities for Microsoft Windows Operating Systems!
Prefer an E-mail subscription?
To Phillip,
The instructions in the article on this page are for Windows XP and Windows Vista, for Windows 7 articles see here:
http://www.winhelponline.com/blog/category/windows-7/
Windows 7 does not come with an email client/program installed and you are free to use which ever one you want.
Hotmail, Thunderbird etc
If you prefer not to use web based only email then I would advise you to download Windows Live Mail which is the successor to Windows Mail, the included email client on Vista machines.
Open the start menu and type ‘essentials’, click on “go online to get windows live essentials”
From there you can download and install the windows mail program along with some of the other programs that microsoft left out of windows 7 such as messenger, movie maker and a photo editor.
Uncheck anything you don’t wish to install if you find a lot of the “essentials” appear to be ready for download.
To Chuck FLink,
sorry to hear that the tool would not work in Windows 7, unfortunately I am not able to comment on what registry changes are made or to make changes to the tool.
I suggest you contact the maker “Ramesh Srinivasan” via the link below and put forward your question/suggestion.
Good Luck
To Livebird:
The tool you pointed to above does not run on Windows 7… what it would do might work, but the program checks and reports that it was designed only for Vista. Please describe the registry changes it performs or fix it so it will work in 7.
http://www.winhelponline.com/articles/224/1/Register-Windows-Live-Hotmail-with-the-Default-Programs-tool-in-Windows-Vista.html
um am running win7 and under “Set default programs” you say click on the mail client. might seem strange but i dont have any mail client in there at all. i dont even have anything that says mail :(
TO CHUCK FLINK,
try the solution I posted … it works for Vista and should work for Windows 7 as it uses the same IE8 browser.
It does not matter what you see or don’t see in the startup of windows 7 .. this fix is to make Hotmail your default email program and therefore it will make a browser page open at mail.live.com when you use the mail icon of IE8.
Post back and lets know how you get on.
Gracias por tu ayuda. Ahora funciona el botón “leer correo” en IE8 y me abre el outlook express.
Envié la consulta a Microsoft y no han sabido resolver el problema.
Te deseo lo mejor.
Desde Madrid, un abrazo.
Thanks, great, it works. You’re the best. Can I ask you a question about RealPlayer?
Thanks a 1000 times,
Cornelis
Great tip, thanks a boat load.