When I try to compact all folders I get a popup message saying the folders
file is currently in use by another application...

How do I get it to compact all folders?

Sandy

Reboot and open OE. Try compacting before you do anything else.

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 it still gets stuck, post back.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA


"Sandy J" wrote in message
...
When I try to compact all folders I get a popup message saying the folders
file is currently in use by another application...

How do I get it to compact all folders?

Sandy

Hi Bruce,
Thanks for replying... I had done that many times and it still said the
file was in use so I moved all the mail I had been saving from all the
folders I had created and deleted every dbx file that was in the folders
except 2 or 3 that I didn't recognize (like the pop3 one) and that fixed
it...
Thanks again.
Sandy

"Bruce Hagen" wrote in message
...
Reboot and open OE. Try compacting before you do anything else.

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 it still gets stuck, post back.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA


"Sandy J" wrote in message
...
When I try to compact all folders I get a popup message saying the folders
file is currently in use by another application...

How do I get it to compact all folders?

Sandy

YW. My next suggestion would have been to delete Folders.dbx. If you deleted
that, that is probably what fixed it.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA


"Sandy J" wrote in message
...
Hi Bruce,
Thanks for replying... I had done that many times and it still said the
file was in use so I moved all the mail I had been saving from all the
folders I had created and deleted every dbx file that was in the folders
except 2 or 3 that I didn't recognize (like the pop3 one) and that fixed
it...
Thanks again.
Sandy

"Bruce Hagen" wrote in message
...
Reboot and open OE. Try compacting before you do anything else.

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 it still gets stuck, post back.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA


"Sandy J" wrote in message
...
When I try to compact all folders I get a popup message saying the
folders
file is currently in use by another application...

How do I get it to compact all folders?

Sandy

LOL,
That's probably the one that did it..
Thanks again.
Sandy

"Bruce Hagen" wrote in message
...
YW. My next suggestion would have been to delete Folders.dbx. If you deleted
that, that is probably what fixed it.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA


"Sandy J" wrote in message
...
Hi Bruce,
Thanks for replying... I had done that many times and it still said the
file was in use so I moved all the mail I had been saving from all the
folders I had created and deleted every dbx file that was in the folders
except 2 or 3 that I didn't recognize (like the pop3 one) and that fixed
it...
Thanks again.
Sandy

"Bruce Hagen" wrote in message
...
Reboot and open OE. Try compacting before you do anything else.

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 it still gets stuck, post back.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA


"Sandy J" wrote in message
...
When I try to compact all folders I get a popup message saying the
folders
file is currently in use by another application...

How do I get it to compact all folders?

Sandy

Hi Sandy. I am no expert, but I have compacted my folders last night upon the
request of Outlook Express and then had a major error message occur, and then
i lost all of my emails in the inbox. If anyone knows how to get them back, i
would appreciate the advice. I will not be compacting again!
--
Many thanks for your time.

-Gordon


"Sandy J" wrote:

When I try to compact all folders I get a popup message saying the folders
file is currently in use by another application...

How do I get it to compact all folders?

Sandy

You should always start your own thread. Your problem is completely
different.

The two most common reasons for what you describe is disruption of the
compacting process, (never touch anything until it's finished), or bloated
folders. More on that below.

Why does OE insist on compacting folders when I close it?:
http://www.insideoe.com/faqs/why.htm#compact

Why Mail Disappears:
http://www.insideoe.com/problems/bugs.htm#mailgone

About File Corruption:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/IE/...orruption.mspx

Recovery tools:

If you are running XP/SP2, and are fully patched, then you should have a
backup of your dbx files in the Recycle Bin, copied as bak files.

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.

If you do not have bak copies of your dbx files in the Recycle Bin, then:

DBXpress run in Extract From Disk Mode is the best chance to recover
messages:
http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/Default.aspx

And see:
http://www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#4

A general warning to help avoid this in the futu

Do not archive mail in default OE folders. They will eventually become
corrupted. 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.

Turn off e-mail scanning in your anti-virus program. It is a redundant layer
of protection that eats up CPUs, slows down sending and receiving, and
causes a multitude of problems such as time-outs, account setting changes
and has even been responsible for lose of messages. Your up-to-date A/V
program will continue to protect you sufficiently. For more, see:
http://www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#3

And backup often.

Backup and Resto

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

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

And this good one click backup program.

Outlook Express Quick Backup (OEQB):

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


"Gordon R" wrote in message
...
Hi Sandy. I am no expert, but I have compacted my folders last night upon
the
request of Outlook Express and then had a major error message occur, and
then
i lost all of my emails in the inbox. If anyone knows how to get them
back, i
would appreciate the advice. I will not be compacting again!
--
Many thanks for your time.

-Gordon


"Sandy J" wrote:

When I try to compact all folders I get a popup message saying the
folders
file is currently in use by another application...

How do I get it to compact all folders?

Sandy

i will try this, i truly appreciate the advice.
--
Many thanks for your time.

-Gordon


"Bruce Hagen" wrote:

You should always start your own thread. Your problem is completely
different.

The two most common reasons for what you describe is disruption of the
compacting process, (never touch anything until it's finished), or bloated
folders. More on that below.

Why does OE insist on compacting folders when I close it?:
http://www.insideoe.com/faqs/why.htm#compact

Why Mail Disappears:
http://www.insideoe.com/problems/bugs.htm#mailgone

About File Corruption:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/IE/...orruption.mspx

Recovery tools:

If you are running XP/SP2, and are fully patched, then you should have a
backup of your dbx files in the Recycle Bin, copied as bak files.

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.

If you do not have bak copies of your dbx files in the Recycle Bin, then:

DBXpress run in Extract From Disk Mode is the best chance to recover
messages:
http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/Default.aspx

And see:
http://www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#4

A general warning to help avoid this in the futu

Do not archive mail in default OE folders. They will eventually become
corrupted. 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.

Turn off e-mail scanning in your anti-virus program. It is a redundant layer
of protection that eats up CPUs, slows down sending and receiving, and
causes a multitude of problems such as time-outs, account setting changes
and has even been responsible for lose of messages. Your up-to-date A/V
program will continue to protect you sufficiently. For more, see:
http://www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#3

And backup often.

Backup and Resto

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

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

And this good one click backup program.

Outlook Express Quick Backup (OEQB):

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


"Gordon R" wrote in message
...
Hi Sandy. I am no expert, but I have compacted my folders last night upon
the
request of Outlook Express and then had a major error message occur, and
then
i lost all of my emails in the inbox. If anyone knows how to get them
back, i
would appreciate the advice. I will not be compacting again!
--
Many thanks for your time.

-Gordon


"Sandy J" wrote:

When I try to compact all folders I get a popup message saying the
folders
file is currently in use by another application...

How do I get it to compact all folders?

Sandy

Outlook express will do that periodically Gordon.. to avoid that just click
workoffline and then compact all your folders yourself... You shouldn't
lose anything if you are working offline.
I do it daily (that's probably too often) so I never get that message from
Outlook Express.
:-)
Thanks for replying.
Sandy

"Gordon R" wrote in message
...
Hi Sandy. I am no expert, but I have compacted my folders last night upon
the
request of Outlook Express and then had a major error message occur, and
then
i lost all of my emails in the inbox. If anyone knows how to get them back,
i
would appreciate the advice. I will not be compacting again!
--
Many thanks for your time.

-Gordon


"Sandy J" wrote:

When I try to compact all folders I get a popup message saying the folders
file is currently in use by another application...

How do I get it to compact all folders?

Sandy

"Sandy J" wrote in message
...
Outlook express will do that periodically Gordon.. to avoid that just
click
workoffline and then compact all your folders yourself... You shouldn't
lose anything if you are working offline.
I do it daily (that's probably too often) so I never get that message
from
Outlook Express.


The version of OE you are using saves a copy of each DBX file in the
Recycled Bin as a BAK file before compacting.

--
Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE/WM
Do not send mail.