Bruce,

Yes, I think I discovered ... the hard way .... where the problem is . I now
have one folder ... a very important folder, that I cannot access. I can't
open it or move any messages into it. Is there any way to resurrect a
single folder?

Thanks,

Tom


"Bruce Hagen" wrote in message
...
Can you determine which folder it is getting stuck on? If not, try
compacting manually and see if you can.

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.

If you can determine the folder, create a new one with a different name
and drag or copy the messages to the new folder. Delete the old folder and
the corresponding dbx file for it.

Tools | Options | Maintenance | Store Folder will reveal the location of
your Outlook Express files. Press the Tab key to highlight the folder
location, then Ctrl+C. Close OE, then StartRunCtrl+V will put the
location in the box - Click OK and you'll see the OE files. Otherwise,
write the location down and navigate to it in Windows Explorer.

In Windows XP, 2K & 3K, the OE user files (DBX and WAB) are by default
marked as hidden. To view these files in Windows Explorer, you must enable
Show Hidden Files and Folders under Start | Control Panel | Folder Options
| View.

Now, compact again.

Some general OE advice:

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.

In Tools | Options | Maintenance: Uncheck Compact messages in background
and leave it unchecked. {N/A if running XP/SP2}.

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.

Clear the Temporary Internet Files often. In IE | Tools | Internet Options
| Delete Files button. And check the box to Delete Offline content.

And backup often.

Backup and Resto

http://www.insideoutlookexpress.com/backup/

http://www.oehelp.com/backup.aspx

http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx
--
Bruce Hagen
MS MVP - Outlook Express
~IB-CA~

"Tom Brown" wrote in message
...
Every time I close down OE, it tells me I need to compact. But, when I
tell
it to compact, it spends a long time doing it and then tells me that one
of
the folders is in use. It then asks to continue or cancel. I always tell
it
to continue compacting and the result is always the same. It never
finishes.
This has happened to me about 5 times and the computer is useless while
the
compact is in process because all the resources are in use.

Any clues?

TIA,

Tom