Q I recently installed Netscape Communicator 4.5 and I assigned a local Mail directory to a disk drive other than the one where my programs and operating system reside. Drafts, inbox and unsent are all in this folder. When I send mail, I get the message "Sent folder not found or folder is being used". I noticed this happening in previous versions, too.

A Files, whether they are program files, system files, documents or mail folders can become corrupted. If you are having problems with a mail folder in Netscape it has most likely become corrupted. Unless you need to keep what is in the Sent Messages folder you can go to the location of your folders and delete the sent and sent.snm files. Alternatively, if you want to keep the files, simply rename them. You can check their location by going to the Edit menu in Netscape and choosing Preferences-Mail & Groups-Mail Server-More Options. When you next send an email, Netscape will create a new blank sent folder.

If that doesn't solve the problem, here is a general technique for dealing with corrupted files associated with mail in Netscape. Run Netscape's User Profile Manager normally found in the Start menu under Programs-Netscape Communicator-Utilities. Create a new profile. Give it a name thatÆs different from your current profile. You don't need to include all the details since that information can be copied across.

From the folder containing your old profile, start copying files across one at a time, each time testing to see if Netscape works properly. The files to copy are the preferences file (pref.js) which contains information about mail servers and so on, address book (abook.nab), bookmarks (bookmark.htm), and the files in the Mail and News folders. When the problem reappears you know you have identified the problem file.