Thank you. I am now able to make the list of .dbx files in the message store
match the list of folders in OE. No method I try, however, seems to allow me
to recover messages from these "unused" message files, but fortunately it
doesn't matter. I don't think there is anything in there that I need, and
I'm simply assuming that they are all too corrupt for OE to read. I've
turned off e-mail checking in my antivirus software and will take great pains
when doing come factions from now on so as to avoid this problem in the
future. Again, thank you.

And now the "but." I had asked two questions and the second was about a
folder in OE with a "null" name (that is, a blank). Unlike the other
folders, OE will not let me delete it and will not let me rename it. Looking
at the properties, I discovered it was pointed to a .dbx file associated with
a newsgroup. I can delete that newsgroup message file, but OE simply creates
another one in its place, or attaches the null folder to a different
newsgroup message file. I really don't need any of these newsreader files,
either (the newsgroup has ceased), but I don't see how deleting even all of
the newsgroups solves the problem of the unnamed folder, and I'm concerned at
what else might be affected.

Someone else has suggested "creating a new identity and importing," but that
is not a sufficient explanation for me to know how to do it. I am very
concerned that my current identity is called "main identity" and I'm sharing
part of my address book with the other user of this machine. It seems to me
that creating a new identity might lose me more than I gain, or what do I
know?

"Bruce Hagen" wrote:

You can delete old user created dbx files. If you have any doubt which ones
are currently in use, note the file size of all the dbx files. Then add a
message to each folder in OE. When you go back to the message store, the
files still in use will have increased in size.

Make sure OE is closed when you delete the dbx files. I'm not sure what you
mean by a dbx file with a *Null* name, so I am not sure what to advise on
that one.

If you delete a folder in the tree, the dbx file will remain until you
delete it also. That is why they are in the Message Store, and not in OE. If
you want to get the messages from the files not in use, do this for each one
before you do anything else:

In Windows Explorer, click on the dbx file for the missing folder and drag
it to the Desktop. Open OE and create a folder with the *exact* same name as
the one on your desktop. Open the new folder and then close OE. Go back to
Windows Explorer and Click Desktop and drag the file from the Desktop to the
OE store folder that you clicked on to reveal the .dbx files. Prompt - "Do
you want to overwrite......."? Click Yes.

When you are done, compact your folders.

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.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
~IB-CA~

"JLE" wrote in message
...
I have 8 personal folders in OE, in addition to the standard inbox, outbox,
etc. But when I look in the message store I find 22 .dbx files. Some of
them have names like "travel (1)" but they do not appear in OE. I've
rebuilt
the folders.dbx file, but nothing changed. I don't necessarily need the
messages in these folders, but shouldn't the OE list and the Windows
Explorer
file list to match.

Also, I have one folder in OE with a null name, and I cannot delete it,
nor
can I find a .dbx file to match it.