Hi Everyone,

I am looking for a FREE solution to recover messages that were
'purged' using the "Empty 'Deleted Items' Folder" option was used on
the 'Deleted Items' folder.

I was cleaning up mail for a friend and removed the 400 MB of items in
the Deleted Items folder. However just before I went to compact the
database, my friend told me he was storing messages there from his
Inbox since the messages never disappeared.

so Duhhhh - the 400 MB Deleted Items.dbx file is still on the drive.

How can a reverse the deletion so that I can recover the messages that
he wants to keep?

I did something for Outlook by corrupting the PST file and then it
rebuilt the index, is there something similar for OE?

I do not think this can be that hard.

Alternatively I would be willing to download a Free Trial program that
could accomplish this task - Any options?

Thanx,

John

Did you stop short of compacting? If you haven't, Macallan is free, but for
a file that size, it could take days. The other two are not free and only
DBXpress will work if the files were compacted.

Macallan Outlook Express Extraction:
http://www.insideoe.com/resources/tools.htm#macallan

DBXtract:
http://www.oehelp.com/DBXtract/Default.aspx

DBXpress: {much faster for large files}
http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/Default.aspx

You should not feel bad for what happened. Anyone that keeps messages in a
garbage pail is looking for trouble, as are those that don't back up OE
daily.

General precautions for Outlook Express:

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.

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. For more, see:
http://www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#3

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

And backup often.

Backup & Resto
http://www.insideoutlookexpress.com/backup/

This is a great two click program:

Outlook Express Quick Backup (OEQB)
http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA


wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi Everyone,

I am looking for a FREE solution to recover messages that were
'purged' using the "Empty 'Deleted Items' Folder" option was used on
the 'Deleted Items' folder.

I was cleaning up mail for a friend and removed the 400 MB of items in
the Deleted Items folder. However just before I went to compact the
database, my friend told me he was storing messages there from his
Inbox since the messages never disappeared.

so Duhhhh - the 400 MB Deleted Items.dbx file is still on the drive.

How can a reverse the deletion so that I can recover the messages that
he wants to keep?

I did something for Outlook by corrupting the PST file and then it
rebuilt the index, is there something similar for OE?

I do not think this can be that hard.

Alternatively I would be willing to download a Free Trial program that
could accomplish this task - Any options?

Thanx,

John