General OE Caveats:

- 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 [N/A 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 attempt to close OE via Task Manager or shutdown
your machine if Automatic Compacting is taking place.

- WinXP SP2 only: If your machine is fully up-to-date at Windows Update,
installing the following patch (KB918766) will help to avoid such data loss
in the futu
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...2-98af2256ccc3

This patch will be included in the next Cumulative Update for Outlook
Express/WinXP SP2.

- Your anti-virus application's email scanning feature can also cause
corruption. Disable it. It provides no additional protection.

--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-Windows (IE/OE, Shell/User, Security), Aumha.org VSOP, DTS-L.org

Hogweed wrote:
I've just spent HOURS going through all my old e-mails and deleting most
of them (yes, I KNOW I should do it every week...) â?" then emptied the
Deleted Items folder, and compacted it.

However, when I check deleted items.dbx in Windows Explorer, itâ?Ts still
94MB, even though itâ?Ts empty... how do I get it down to 0MB please! Can
I delete it, and OE6 will recreate it...?

Thanks
Roger