Why it happens:

http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/probl...s.htm#mailgone
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/IE/...orruption.mspx

Recovering the missing data: http://www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx (#2 and #4)
and http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=918069 (Notes section under
Resolution)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DBXpress (faster, more powerful, with even greater functionality)
http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/Default.aspx
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Avoiding Such Corruption in Futu

- Don't use Inbox or Sent Items to archive messages. Move them to local
folders created for this purpose.

- Empty Deleted Items folder daily.

- Disable Background Compacting [not available in SP2] and frequently
perform a manual compact of all OE folders while "working offline". More at
http://www.insideoe.com/files/maintain.htm

- WinXP SP2 only: Do not shut down your machine while Windows is
automatically compacting your message store.

- Your anti-virus application's email scanning feature can also cause such
corruption. Disable it. It provides no additional protection.
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear), working offline
MS MVP-Windows (IE, OE, Security, Shell/User)
AumHa VSOP & Admin; DTS-L.org

Roger Van Loon wrote:
A friend is using OE 6 under Win XP Home.
All of a sudden, some mails have disappeared from her inbox: the last
messages, those received during the last one month and a half.
The older messages and the newer ones are available.
She says this happened after a message appeared: 'compressing mail
folders' or something like that.
I myself use another mail program so I'm not too familiar with OE 6. I
know about compressing folders, but I find no mention of 'automatic
compression' in the help files.
Two questions:
1/ What may have caused this disappearance?
2/ Is there any way to recover the missing files? They are not in the
'deleted items' folder or anyplace that I looked.
Roger.