Just want to know that your solution worked but that it is a lot more
difficult to do than what you describe. I didn't know that I would have to
set up the connection for the new identity all over again. The instructions
provided also do not cover the case where I have two user accounts defined in
XP, each with their own "main identity" in their own section of Documents and
Settings. Once I figured it all out, it went pretty well. All is now as it
should be. Thanks again.

"Bruce Hagen" wrote:

What happens if you go to Tools | Accounts | News and remove the news
account there? Reboot and see if you can delete the folder now.

Creating a new identity is a good alternative if the above did not work. The
default Main identity is the one most prone to corruption.

Create a new one an test it. If all is well, you can import your folders
from the old identity, and the good news is that newsgroups do not import.

Before deleting the old identity, open the Address Book in the old identity
and File | Export to any place on your HDD that is easy for you. My
Documents is fine. Then, open the Address Book in the new identity and File
| Import and point to where you saved it. This is also an easy backup of the
AB.

Once you have the messages and Address Book imported and all is working OK,
you can go ahead and delete the old identity.

The other user's Address Book will not be affected, but you still have the
backup even if there was a problem.

How to Create and Use Identities in Outlook Express
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=209169
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
~IB-CA~

"JLE" wrote in message
...
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.