Outlook problem

Every e-mail he receives in HTML format on outlook 2003 displays with a dark blue background, making it impossible to read the text. There are 2 workarounds. I highlight the entire e-mail and get to read it with some very interesting colors – or – I select [Reply] and the message appears with it’s normal, white background. (He cancels the reply after reading, of course.)

Outlook 2003 was installed on top of at least one earlier version. This sounds like a simple configuration problem. I’d hate to wipe the HDD & start from scratch