The situation: Windows 7 user with Windows Live Mail upgrades from a 320Gb to a 750Gb hard drive using image backup. (Ghost, Acronis, Windows Backup - doesn't matter which.) Windows boots and runs fine, but Windows Live Mail will not start with an error 0x8E5E0226, "Windows Live Mail could not be started. Your Calendar contains corrupt data that is forcing Windows Live Mail to close."

The solution: Download and install Intel Rapid Storage Technology. After that, everything is fine.

This is not a mispost from /r/techsupport - the problem is solved. And it was solved by the old standby of computertechs everywhere: Google for the answer, then apply it and take the credit. So I'm not posting about it here to find the answer, but rather because the answer seems so pecular. Does anyone have any ideas on why this particular resolution would work?

Clearly, installing Intel RST updated the storage drivers. So there was some aspect of the prior storage driver configuration that was causing Windows Live Mail, and nothing else, to fail. The storage drivers were apparently capable of handling the millions of disk accesses required to boot and run Windows, Office etc., but Windows Live Mail - of all things - exercises some unique code path in the driver.

What could this be? Or what other explanation is there?