I have no experience with the tools you mention, so I can't comment whether
you are doing something wrong or not. Have you tried the tool on the folder
the messages were supposed to be dragged to? They may not be in the Inbox to
recover but rather another folder.
If they were dragged out of the Inbox, they are not still there marked for
deletion upon compacting, the space they took up is marked for deletion.
How did you copy the file you tried to import? If it does not have
Folders.dbx included with it, a normal import will fail.
How to restore individual dbx files:
http://www.oehelp.com/backup.aspx#imp1
As far as MS providing a recovery tool, do you know of any e-mail client
that does? Eudora, Pegasus, Thunderbird? That would be like buying a car
that came with insurance. It doesn't amaze me. What does amaze me is that so
many people never back up OE. I do it daily in about 15 seconds and three
mouse clicks using OEQB. (Freeware).
This freeware tool backs up everything in OE in seconds. Disregard what is
written in red. That is referring to a different program.
Outlook Express Quick Backup (OEQB):
http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx
These are the tools I usually recommend for recovery. The first is free.
Remember, we don't know for sure where the missing messages are.
Macallan Outlook Express Extraction:
http://www.insideoe.com/resources/tools.htm#macallan
DBXtract:
http://www.oehelp.com/DBXtract/Default.aspx
DBXpress: {much faster for large files}
http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/Default.aspx
General precautions for Outlook Express:
Do not archive mail in default OE folders. They will eventually become
corrupt. Create your own user defined folders for storing mail and move your
mail to them. Empty Deleted Items folder regularly. Keep user created
folders under 100MB, and Default folders as empty as is feasible.
After you are done, follow up by compacting your folders manually while
working *offline* and do it often.
Click on Outlook Express at the top of the folder tree so no folders are
open. Then: File | Work Offline (or double click Working Online in the
Status Bar). File | Folder | Compact all folders. Don't touch anything until
the compacting is completed.
Turn off e-mail scanning in your anti-virus program. It is a redundant layer
of protection that eats up CPUs and causes a multitude of problems such as
time-outs and account setting changes. Your up-to-date A/V program will
continue to protect you sufficiently. For more, see:
http://www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#3
In Tools | Options | Maintenance: Uncheck Compact messages in background and
leave it unchecked. {N/A if running XP/SP2}.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA
"Geoff" wrote in message
...
Hi Bruce, Michael, Frank.
Thanks for your help you guys - I really appreciate this contact and
advice.
And thanks for your specific comments. I think they mostly duplicate
earlier comments on this type of issue and I have tried most of the
suggestions you offer. In reply I am using XP with SP3, up to date every
day. OE build is 6.00.2900.5512.
I would prefer to use a recovery tool that is free - my experience with
buying tools is tha you may not get the right one first time. I have
already
tried OutlookExtract.exe (including DOS version) and WOE5Extract.exe and
so
far have not recovered any emails in my Inbox.dbx which is 12MB in size.
Perhaps I m doing something wrong. I am locating the recovery exe file
plus
a copy of my Inbox.dbx in a "C:\temp" sub-folder.
I estimate since my last Compact about a week back there could be 200+
emails there that were dragged elsewhere and (I presume) got internally
marked in the Inbox.dbx file as hidden / for compact deletion and do not
show
today. The ones I need are those that arrived and disappeared yesterday,
so
I will be able to identify them by date. Personally I am amazed that MS
does
not provide a recovery tool similar to "Compact".
Is there an option using Import (I cannot get this to do the job myself -
I
have tried to import a copied and renamed Inbox.dbx file)?
--
Geoff
"Bruce Hagen" wrote:
Windows version? Did you have these messages in the Inbox the last time
you
compacted? If so, and you are using XP/SP2 or SP3, have you checked the
Recycle Bin for bak files?
The Inbox size is irrelevant as it won't get smaller until you compact.
(Don't do it right now).
Does the personal folder have other messages in it or was this a new
folder?
Have you checked Deleted Items?
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA
"Geoff" wrote in message
...
read the threads about restoring dbx files but my problem is that
immediately after dragging some emails from Inbox to a personal folder,
my
system froze. When I rebooted, the dragged emails have gone. My Inbox
dbx
file looks large and I suspect the emails are there but marked
internally
for
deletion / hidden (I have not compacted for some days). How can I
import
or
restore a copy of this file so as to bring all emails into view,
including
those marked to be deleted or hidden?
--
Geoff