XP

Outlook 2003 keeps crashing, sometimes freezing my whole computer.

The STR:

1. Have Outlook 2003 running (with the added "app" LOOKOUT for search and a pop mail as well as MS mail set up.
2. The program loads and displays my reminders. I minimize the reminders.
3. Outlook displays my email list. I have the "Reading pane" set to display right.
4. There is often junk in my junk folder. When I click on the MS mail junk folder, there is sometimes junk with a blank description. Clicking on this to select and delete it is when the program is virtually certain to crash.
5. Often when I reboot the program, the reading pane is again reset to the default, which is "no reading pane". If I change it back and then again click on the message the program often crashes. If I don't set the reading pane but select the message(s), they can be selected and removed. I then set the reading pane and things are okay for a period.

This has been going on for some time now. As a part of trying to solve it, I did a deep scan with a number of "root kit" virus-removers. One did find 2 related root kit viruses and removed them.

Ram seems okay, HDD shows okay.

As I write this I realize that one thing I haven't tried is removing and re-installing LOOKOUT. I will do that now.

Any other ideas or even better, solutions, would be most welcome.