OE became unresponsive while compacting my mail folders and the system
restarted. Of course now I'm missing half my mail folders and mails. I have
tried the restore options from http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918069/en-us
however the folders still show empty when I restart OE. Any suggestions?

I hope I have converted the KB article to more appropriate English.

All e-mail items may be missing when you start Outlook Express 6 Service
Pack 1:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918069

To restore a bak folder to the message store folder, first close OE and
locate the Message Store in Windows Explorer.

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 Start | Run | Ctrl+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 WinXP, the .dbx files are by default marked as hidden. To view these
files in Explorer, you must enable Show Hidden Files and Folders under Start
| Control Panel | Folder Options | View.

In Windows Explorer, click on the dbx file for the missing, or empty, folder
and drag it to the Desktop. It can be deleted later once you have
successfully restored the bak file. Minimize the Message Store.

Open OE and, if the folder is missing, create a folder with the *exact* same
name as the bak file you want to restore but without the .bak. Eg: If the
file is Saved.bak, the new folder should be named Saved. Open the new folder
and then close OE. If the folder is there, but just empty, continue on to
the next step.

Open the Recycle bin and right click on the bak file for the folder in
question and click Restore. Open the Message Store back up and change the
file extension from .bak to .dbx. Close the Message Store and open OE. The
messages should now be back in the folder.

If the messages are successfully restored, you can go ahead and delete the
old dbx file that you moved to the Desktop.

I have done it on purpose to test it, and it works as advertised.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
~IB-CA~

"Kyna" wrote in message
...
OE became unresponsive while compacting my mail folders and the system
restarted. Of course now I'm missing half my mail folders and mails. I
have
tried the restore options from
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918069/en-us
however the folders still show empty when I restart OE. Any suggestions?

Thanks for the reply. I have tried your suggestion, however, a few glitches.

I know where my Message Store in Windows is, at least I'm sure of it
(Windows/Application Data/Identities/{Csomething really
long/Microsoft/Outlook Express ...sound right?) However, should that NOT be
it, the steps you gave don't give me the options you said. I open Explore and
click on Tools/Folder Options but there is no Maintenance tab to choose. I
went ahead and tried to remove one mail folder from the place where I
mentioned I thought the Message Store was and then opened OE and the folder
is still there.

Funny thing, I checked the properties on the .bak files in my Recycle Bin
and they all read last accessed in August when this glitch with the
compacting was yesterday ..the files should read accessed yesterday.

Got anything else? I'm completely stumped...

"Bruce Hagen" wrote:

I hope I have converted the KB article to more appropriate English.

All e-mail items may be missing when you start Outlook Express 6 Service
Pack 1:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918069

To restore a bak folder to the message store folder, first close OE and
locate the Message Store in Windows Explorer.

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 Start | Run | Ctrl+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 WinXP, the .dbx files are by default marked as hidden. To view these
files in Explorer, you must enable Show Hidden Files and Folders under Start
| Control Panel | Folder Options | View.

In Windows Explorer, click on the dbx file for the missing, or empty, folder
and drag it to the Desktop. It can be deleted later once you have
successfully restored the bak file. Minimize the Message Store.

Open OE and, if the folder is missing, create a folder with the *exact* same
name as the bak file you want to restore but without the .bak. Eg: If the
file is Saved.bak, the new folder should be named Saved. Open the new folder
and then close OE. If the folder is there, but just empty, continue on to
the next step.

Open the Recycle bin and right click on the bak file for the folder in
question and click Restore. Open the Message Store back up and change the
file extension from .bak to .dbx. Close the Message Store and open OE. The
messages should now be back in the folder.

If the messages are successfully restored, you can go ahead and delete the
old dbx file that you moved to the Desktop.

I have done it on purpose to test it, and it works as advertised.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
~IB-CA~

"Kyna" wrote in message
...
OE became unresponsive while compacting my mail folders and the system
restarted. Of course now I'm missing half my mail folders and mails. I
have
tried the restore options from
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918069/en-us
however the folders still show empty when I restart OE. Any suggestions?

If you know the location of your message store, then the fact that you
misread my post is irrelevant. Why did you open Explore? (Windows Explorer?
Or Internet Explorer?).

In Outlook Express | Tools | Options | Maintenance | Store Folder is where
you find the path to your dbx files.

From your post:

Windows/Application Data/Identities/{Csomething really
long/Microsoft/Outlook Express ...sound right?)

Closer would be:

C:\Documents and Settings\User Name\Local Settings\Application
Data\Identities\{Long string of letters and numbers}\Microsoft\Outlook
Express

When you click on Outlook Express and open the message store, you should see
all your dbx files in the right hand pane. Now look in the top of the left
pane. Do you see Desktop at the top?

You have to drag each of the dbx files for the missing folders from the
right pane to the Desktop. (You could just delete them, but if the restore
fails, you lose everything).

Now, open the Recycle Bin and double click on each of the bak files for the
missing folders and the click Restore. This will put them back in the
Message Store.

Go back to the Message Store and change the .bak for each to .dbx.

The reason you have to drag the old dbx file out of the Message Store first
is twofold.

1: You want to save it until you have your messages replaced. It requires a
non-freeware tool, but is still a last resort option.

2: Once you restore a bak file to the Message Store, you can't rename it to
a dbx file if one already exists there with the same name.

Once you are successful, you can delete the defunct dbx files that you
dragged to the desktop.

I hope this makes things clearer.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
~IB-CA~

"Kyna" wrote in message
...
Thanks for the reply. I have tried your suggestion, however, a few
glitches.

I know where my Message Store in Windows is, at least I'm sure of it
(Windows/Application Data/Identities/{Csomething really
long/Microsoft/Outlook Express ...sound right?) However, should that NOT
be
it, the steps you gave don't give me the options you said. I open Explore
and
click on Tools/Folder Options but there is no Maintenance tab to choose. I
went ahead and tried to remove one mail folder from the place where I
mentioned I thought the Message Store was and then opened OE and the
folder
is still there.

Funny thing, I checked the properties on the .bak files in my Recycle Bin
and they all read last accessed in August when this glitch with the
compacting was yesterday ..the files should read accessed yesterday.

Got anything else? I'm completely stumped...

"Bruce Hagen" wrote:

I hope I have converted the KB article to more appropriate English.

All e-mail items may be missing when you start Outlook Express 6 Service
Pack 1:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918069

To restore a bak folder to the message store folder, first close OE and
locate the Message Store in Windows Explorer.

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 Start | Run | Ctrl+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 WinXP, the .dbx files are by default marked as hidden. To view these
files in Explorer, you must enable Show Hidden Files and Folders under
Start
| Control Panel | Folder Options | View.

In Windows Explorer, click on the dbx file for the missing, or empty,
folder
and drag it to the Desktop. It can be deleted later once you have
successfully restored the bak file. Minimize the Message Store.

Open OE and, if the folder is missing, create a folder with the *exact*
same
name as the bak file you want to restore but without the .bak. Eg: If the
file is Saved.bak, the new folder should be named Saved. Open the new
folder
and then close OE. If the folder is there, but just empty, continue on to
the next step.

Open the Recycle bin and right click on the bak file for the folder in
question and click Restore. Open the Message Store back up and change the
file extension from .bak to .dbx. Close the Message Store and open OE.
The
messages should now be back in the folder.

If the messages are successfully restored, you can go ahead and delete
the
old dbx file that you moved to the Desktop.

I have done it on purpose to test it, and it works as advertised.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
~IB-CA~

"Kyna" wrote in message
...
OE became unresponsive while compacting my mail folders and the system
restarted. Of course now I'm missing half my mail folders and mails. I
have
tried the restore options from
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918069/en-us
however the folders still show empty when I restart OE. Any
suggestions?

This is what I read from your post:

" To restore a bak folder to the message store folder, first close OE and
locate the Message Store in Windows Explorer.

Tools | Options | Maintenance | Store Folder will reveal the location of
your Outlook Express files"

So why would I still have OE open to use that path? You asked why I opened
Explore ...because the first part of those instructions said to would be my
guess! I followed the instructions step by step, you didn't first say to use
that path before I closed OE. And yes, that path on the drive you said would
be "closer" is the path I needed, though the path I first indicted DOES exist
...its just not the "working" one. I have no idea why it's there. There's also
a similar path located on my other drive, yet it is empty completely. The one
I first referred to does have .dbx files in it, though obviously not current
and not in use. I have no idea where they came from but I'm assuming I can
safely remove them.

But as my last post indicates, its all restored so its irrelevant, though
confusing at the time. I thank you again for your help.

"Bruce Hagen" wrote:

If you know the location of your message store, then the fact that you
misread my post is irrelevant. Why did you open Explore? (Windows Explorer?
Or Internet Explorer?).

In Outlook Express | Tools | Options | Maintenance | Store Folder is where
you find the path to your dbx files.

From your post:

Windows/Application Data/Identities/{Csomething really
long/Microsoft/Outlook Express ...sound right?)

Closer would be:

C:\Documents and Settings\User Name\Local Settings\Application
Data\Identities\{Long string of letters and numbers}\Microsoft\Outlook
Express

When you click on Outlook Express and open the message store, you should see
all your dbx files in the right hand pane. Now look in the top of the left
pane. Do you see Desktop at the top?

You have to drag each of the dbx files for the missing folders from the
right pane to the Desktop. (You could just delete them, but if the restore
fails, you lose everything).

Now, open the Recycle Bin and double click on each of the bak files for the
missing folders and the click Restore. This will put them back in the
Message Store.

Go back to the Message Store and change the .bak for each to .dbx.

The reason you have to drag the old dbx file out of the Message Store first
is twofold.

1: You want to save it until you have your messages replaced. It requires a
non-freeware tool, but is still a last resort option.

2: Once you restore a bak file to the Message Store, you can't rename it to
a dbx file if one already exists there with the same name.

Once you are successful, you can delete the defunct dbx files that you
dragged to the desktop.

I hope this makes things clearer.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
~IB-CA~

"Kyna" wrote in message
...
Thanks for the reply. I have tried your suggestion, however, a few
glitches.

I know where my Message Store in Windows is, at least I'm sure of it
(Windows/Application Data/Identities/{Csomething really
long/Microsoft/Outlook Express ...sound right?) However, should that NOT
be
it, the steps you gave don't give me the options you said. I open Explore
and
click on Tools/Folder Options but there is no Maintenance tab to choose. I
went ahead and tried to remove one mail folder from the place where I
mentioned I thought the Message Store was and then opened OE and the
folder
is still there.

Funny thing, I checked the properties on the .bak files in my Recycle Bin
and they all read last accessed in August when this glitch with the
compacting was yesterday ..the files should read accessed yesterday.

Got anything else? I'm completely stumped...

"Bruce Hagen" wrote:

I hope I have converted the KB article to more appropriate English.

All e-mail items may be missing when you start Outlook Express 6 Service
Pack 1:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918069

To restore a bak folder to the message store folder, first close OE and
locate the Message Store in Windows Explorer.

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 Start | Run | Ctrl+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 WinXP, the .dbx files are by default marked as hidden. To view these
files in Explorer, you must enable Show Hidden Files and Folders under
Start
| Control Panel | Folder Options | View.

In Windows Explorer, click on the dbx file for the missing, or empty,
folder
and drag it to the Desktop. It can be deleted later once you have
successfully restored the bak file. Minimize the Message Store.

Open OE and, if the folder is missing, create a folder with the *exact*
same
name as the bak file you want to restore but without the .bak. Eg: If the
file is Saved.bak, the new folder should be named Saved. Open the new
folder
and then close OE. If the folder is there, but just empty, continue on to
the next step.

Open the Recycle bin and right click on the bak file for the folder in
question and click Restore. Open the Message Store back up and change the
file extension from .bak to .dbx. Close the Message Store and open OE.
The
messages should now be back in the folder.

If the messages are successfully restored, you can go ahead and delete
the
old dbx file that you moved to the Desktop.

I have done it on purpose to test it, and it works as advertised.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
~IB-CA~

"Kyna" wrote in message
...
OE became unresponsive while compacting my mail folders and the system
restarted. Of course now I'm missing half my mail folders and mails. I
have
tried the restore options from
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918069/en-us
however the folders still show empty when I restart OE. Any
suggestions?

You got me. This was a new /canned/ reply I made and saved, and you were the
first I used it on.

It was worded incorrectly and I have already changed it as follows. This, I
hope, will be more understandable for others in the future.

********************

All e-mail items may be missing when you start Outlook Express 6 Service
Pack 1:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918069

To restore a bak folder to the message store folder, first locate the
Message Store in Windows Explorer.

In OE: 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 Start | Run | Ctrl+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 WinXP, the .dbx files are by default marked as hidden. To view these
files in Explorer, you must enable Show Hidden Files and Folders under Start
| Control Panel | Folder Options | View.

In Windows Explorer, click on the dbx file for the missing, or empty, folder
and drag it to the Desktop. It can be deleted later once you have
successfully restored the bak file. Minimize the Message Store.

Open OE and, if the folder is missing, create a folder with the *exact* same
name as the bak file you want to restore but without the .bak. Eg: If the
file is Saved.bak, the new folder should be named Saved. Open the new folder
and then close OE. If the folder is there, but just empty, continue on to
the next step.

Open the Recycle bin and right click on the bak file for the folder in
question and click Restore. Open the Message Store back up and change the
file extension from .bak to .dbx. Close the Message Store and open OE. The
messages should now be back in the folder.

If the messages are successfully restored, you can go ahead and delete the
old dbx file that you moved to the Desktop.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
~IB-CA~

"Kyna" wrote in message
...
This is what I read from your post:

" To restore a bak folder to the message store folder, first close OE
and
locate the Message Store in Windows Explorer.

Tools | Options | Maintenance | Store Folder will reveal the location of
your Outlook Express files"

So why would I still have OE open to use that path? You asked why I opened
Explore ...because the first part of those instructions said to would be
my
guess! I followed the instructions step by step, you didn't first say to
use
that path before I closed OE. And yes, that path on the drive you said
would
be "closer" is the path I needed, though the path I first indicted DOES
exist
..its just not the "working" one. I have no idea why it's there. There's
also
a similar path located on my other drive, yet it is empty completely. The
one
I first referred to does have .dbx files in it, though obviously not
current
and not in use. I have no idea where they came from but I'm assuming I can
safely remove them.

But as my last post indicates, its all restored so its irrelevant, though
confusing at the time. I thank you again for your help.

"Bruce Hagen" wrote:

If you know the location of your message store, then the fact that you
misread my post is irrelevant. Why did you open Explore? (Windows
Explorer?
Or Internet Explorer?).

In Outlook Express | Tools | Options | Maintenance | Store Folder is
where
you find the path to your dbx files.

From your post:

Windows/Application Data/Identities/{Csomething really
long/Microsoft/Outlook Express ...sound right?)

Closer would be:

C:\Documents and Settings\User Name\Local Settings\Application
Data\Identities\{Long string of letters and numbers}\Microsoft\Outlook
Express

When you click on Outlook Express and open the message store, you should
see
all your dbx files in the right hand pane. Now look in the top of the
left
pane. Do you see Desktop at the top?

You have to drag each of the dbx files for the missing folders from the
right pane to the Desktop. (You could just delete them, but if the
restore
fails, you lose everything).

Now, open the Recycle Bin and double click on each of the bak files for
the
missing folders and the click Restore. This will put them back in the
Message Store.

Go back to the Message Store and change the .bak for each to .dbx.

The reason you have to drag the old dbx file out of the Message Store
first
is twofold.

1: You want to save it until you have your messages replaced. It requires
a
non-freeware tool, but is still a last resort option.

2: Once you restore a bak file to the Message Store, you can't rename it
to
a dbx file if one already exists there with the same name.

Once you are successful, you can delete the defunct dbx files that you
dragged to the desktop.

I hope this makes things clearer.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
~IB-CA~

"Kyna" wrote in message
...
Thanks for the reply. I have tried your suggestion, however, a few
glitches.

I know where my Message Store in Windows is, at least I'm sure of it
(Windows/Application Data/Identities/{Csomething really
long/Microsoft/Outlook Express ...sound right?) However, should that
NOT
be
it, the steps you gave don't give me the options you said. I open
Explore
and
click on Tools/Folder Options but there is no Maintenance tab to
choose. I
went ahead and tried to remove one mail folder from the place where I
mentioned I thought the Message Store was and then opened OE and the
folder
is still there.

Funny thing, I checked the properties on the .bak files in my Recycle
Bin
and they all read last accessed in August when this glitch with the
compacting was yesterday ..the files should read accessed yesterday.

Got anything else? I'm completely stumped...

"Bruce Hagen" wrote:

I hope I have converted the KB article to more appropriate English.

All e-mail items may be missing when you start Outlook Express 6
Service
Pack 1:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918069

To restore a bak folder to the message store folder, first close OE
and
locate the Message Store in Windows Explorer.

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 Start | Run | Ctrl+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 WinXP, the .dbx files are by default marked as hidden. To view
these
files in Explorer, you must enable Show Hidden Files and Folders under
Start
| Control Panel | Folder Options | View.

In Windows Explorer, click on the dbx file for the missing, or empty,
folder
and drag it to the Desktop. It can be deleted later once you have
successfully restored the bak file. Minimize the Message Store.

Open OE and, if the folder is missing, create a folder with the
*exact*
same
name as the bak file you want to restore but without the .bak. Eg: If
the
file is Saved.bak, the new folder should be named Saved. Open the new
folder
and then close OE. If the folder is there, but just empty, continue on
to
the next step.

Open the Recycle bin and right click on the bak file for the folder in
question and click Restore. Open the Message Store back up and change
the
file extension from .bak to .dbx. Close the Message Store and open OE.
The
messages should now be back in the folder.

If the messages are successfully restored, you can go ahead and delete
the
old dbx file that you moved to the Desktop.

I have done it on purpose to test it, and it works as advertised.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
~IB-CA~

"Kyna" wrote in message
...
OE became unresponsive while compacting my mail folders and the
system
restarted. Of course now I'm missing half my mail folders and mails.
I
have
tried the restore options from
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918069/en-us
however the folders still show empty when I restart OE. Any
suggestions?

Nevermind ..I got it and it worked ...thank you SO much!!

Apparently I have three different places where it says my messages store ..2
on my large main drive and one on my smaller drive. Not sure why this is but
I accidentally found the extra places and one of them worked with your
suggestions. My mail has returned!

Awesome support ..thanks again!


"Kyna" wrote:

Thanks for the reply. I have tried your suggestion, however, a few glitches.

I know where my Message Store in Windows is, at least I'm sure of it
(Windows/Application Data/Identities/{Csomething really
long/Microsoft/Outlook Express ...sound right?) However, should that NOT be
it, the steps you gave don't give me the options you said. I open Explore and
click on Tools/Folder Options but there is no Maintenance tab to choose. I
went ahead and tried to remove one mail folder from the place where I
mentioned I thought the Message Store was and then opened OE and the folder
is still there.

Funny thing, I checked the properties on the .bak files in my Recycle Bin
and they all read last accessed in August when this glitch with the
compacting was yesterday ..the files should read accessed yesterday.

Got anything else? I'm completely stumped...

"Bruce Hagen" wrote:

I hope I have converted the KB article to more appropriate English.

All e-mail items may be missing when you start Outlook Express 6 Service
Pack 1:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918069

To restore a bak folder to the message store folder, first close OE and
locate the Message Store in Windows Explorer.

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 Start | Run | Ctrl+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 WinXP, the .dbx files are by default marked as hidden. To view these
files in Explorer, you must enable Show Hidden Files and Folders under Start
| Control Panel | Folder Options | View.

In Windows Explorer, click on the dbx file for the missing, or empty, folder
and drag it to the Desktop. It can be deleted later once you have
successfully restored the bak file. Minimize the Message Store.

Open OE and, if the folder is missing, create a folder with the *exact* same
name as the bak file you want to restore but without the .bak. Eg: If the
file is Saved.bak, the new folder should be named Saved. Open the new folder
and then close OE. If the folder is there, but just empty, continue on to
the next step.

Open the Recycle bin and right click on the bak file for the folder in
question and click Restore. Open the Message Store back up and change the
file extension from .bak to .dbx. Close the Message Store and open OE. The
messages should now be back in the folder.

If the messages are successfully restored, you can go ahead and delete the
old dbx file that you moved to the Desktop.

I have done it on purpose to test it, and it works as advertised.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
~IB-CA~

"Kyna" wrote in message
...
OE became unresponsive while compacting my mail folders and the system
restarted. Of course now I'm missing half my mail folders and mails. I
have
tried the restore options from
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918069/en-us
however the folders still show empty when I restart OE. Any suggestions?

You're welcome & Thanks for posting back. You may have had some old defunct
identities you were looking at and not seeing the one you needed. Glad you
got it fixed.

Now, if you see someone in this newsgroup complain about the files being
copied to the recycle bin when they compact, (A lot have), you can tell them
not to bi**h about it. It is a lifesaver.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
~IB-CA~

"Kyna" wrote in message
...
Nevermind ..I got it and it worked ...thank you SO much!!

Apparently I have three different places where it says my messages store
..2
on my large main drive and one on my smaller drive. Not sure why this is
but
I accidentally found the extra places and one of them worked with your
suggestions. My mail has returned!

Awesome support ..thanks again!


"Kyna" wrote:

Thanks for the reply. I have tried your suggestion, however, a few
glitches.

I know where my Message Store in Windows is, at least I'm sure of it
(Windows/Application Data/Identities/{Csomething really
long/Microsoft/Outlook Express ...sound right?) However, should that NOT
be
it, the steps you gave don't give me the options you said. I open Explore
and
click on Tools/Folder Options but there is no Maintenance tab to choose.
I
went ahead and tried to remove one mail folder from the place where I
mentioned I thought the Message Store was and then opened OE and the
folder
is still there.

Funny thing, I checked the properties on the .bak files in my Recycle Bin
and they all read last accessed in August when this glitch with the
compacting was yesterday ..the files should read accessed yesterday.

Got anything else? I'm completely stumped...

"Bruce Hagen" wrote:

I hope I have converted the KB article to more appropriate English.

All e-mail items may be missing when you start Outlook Express 6
Service
Pack 1:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918069

To restore a bak folder to the message store folder, first close OE and
locate the Message Store in Windows Explorer.

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 Start | Run | Ctrl+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 WinXP, the .dbx files are by default marked as hidden. To view these
files in Explorer, you must enable Show Hidden Files and Folders under
Start
| Control Panel | Folder Options | View.

In Windows Explorer, click on the dbx file for the missing, or empty,
folder
and drag it to the Desktop. It can be deleted later once you have
successfully restored the bak file. Minimize the Message Store.

Open OE and, if the folder is missing, create a folder with the *exact*
same
name as the bak file you want to restore but without the .bak. Eg: If
the
file is Saved.bak, the new folder should be named Saved. Open the new
folder
and then close OE. If the folder is there, but just empty, continue on
to
the next step.

Open the Recycle bin and right click on the bak file for the folder in
question and click Restore. Open the Message Store back up and change
the
file extension from .bak to .dbx. Close the Message Store and open OE.
The
messages should now be back in the folder.

If the messages are successfully restored, you can go ahead and delete
the
old dbx file that you moved to the Desktop.

I have done it on purpose to test it, and it works as advertised.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
~IB-CA~

"Kyna" wrote in message
...
OE became unresponsive while compacting my mail folders and the
system
restarted. Of course now I'm missing half my mail folders and mails.
I
have
tried the restore options from
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918069/en-us
however the folders still show empty when I restart OE. Any
suggestions?

Now, to avoid the problem in the future...

- 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 [not available 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 shut down your machine while Windows is
automatically compacting your message store.

- Your anti-virus application's email scanning feature can also cause such
corruption. Disable it. It provides no additional protection.
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-Windows (IE, OE, Security, Shell/User)

Kyna wrote:
Nevermind ..I got it and it worked ...thank you SO much!!

Apparently I have three different places where it says my messages store
..2
on my large main drive and one on my smaller drive. Not sure why this is
but
I accidentally found the extra places and one of them worked with your
suggestions. My mail has returned!

Awesome support ..thanks again!
snip?

Make sure you make a full backup of your messages now.

steve

"Kyna" wrote in message
...
Nevermind ..I got it and it worked ...thank you SO much!!

Apparently I have three different places where it says my messages store
..2
on my large main drive and one on my smaller drive. Not sure why this is
but
I accidentally found the extra places and one of them worked with your
suggestions. My mail has returned!

Awesome support ..thanks again!


"Kyna" wrote:

Thanks for the reply. I have tried your suggestion, however, a few
glitches.

I know where my Message Store in Windows is, at least I'm sure of it
(Windows/Application Data/Identities/{Csomething really
long/Microsoft/Outlook Express ...sound right?) However, should that NOT
be
it, the steps you gave don't give me the options you said. I open Explore
and
click on Tools/Folder Options but there is no Maintenance tab to choose.
I
went ahead and tried to remove one mail folder from the place where I
mentioned I thought the Message Store was and then opened OE and the
folder
is still there.

Funny thing, I checked the properties on the .bak files in my Recycle Bin
and they all read last accessed in August when this glitch with the
compacting was yesterday ..the files should read accessed yesterday.

Got anything else? I'm completely stumped...

"Bruce Hagen" wrote:

I hope I have converted the KB article to more appropriate English.

All e-mail items may be missing when you start Outlook Express 6
Service
Pack 1:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918069

To restore a bak folder to the message store folder, first close OE and
locate the Message Store in Windows Explorer.

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 Start | Run | Ctrl+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 WinXP, the .dbx files are by default marked as hidden. To view these
files in Explorer, you must enable Show Hidden Files and Folders under
Start
| Control Panel | Folder Options | View.

In Windows Explorer, click on the dbx file for the missing, or empty,
folder
and drag it to the Desktop. It can be deleted later once you have
successfully restored the bak file. Minimize the Message Store.

Open OE and, if the folder is missing, create a folder with the *exact*
same
name as the bak file you want to restore but without the .bak. Eg: If
the
file is Saved.bak, the new folder should be named Saved. Open the new
folder
and then close OE. If the folder is there, but just empty, continue on
to
the next step.

Open the Recycle bin and right click on the bak file for the folder in
question and click Restore. Open the Message Store back up and change
the
file extension from .bak to .dbx. Close the Message Store and open OE.
The
messages should now be back in the folder.

If the messages are successfully restored, you can go ahead and delete
the
old dbx file that you moved to the Desktop.

I have done it on purpose to test it, and it works as advertised.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
~IB-CA~

"Kyna" wrote in message
...
OE became unresponsive while compacting my mail folders and the
system
restarted. Of course now I'm missing half my mail folders and mails.
I
have
tried the restore options from
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918069/en-us
however the folders still show empty when I restart OE. Any
suggestions?