I do not use MacAfee and for the 2nd time, Outlook has deleted my entire
inbox without warning. what is happening and how do I restore what has been
lost? Any ideas. I do not find a place to contact tech support without
paying $$$
Thank You

If you are using Outlook, you are in the wrong place. If you mean Outlook
Express, then read on.

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


"jseggerman" wrote in message
...
I do not use MacAfee and for the 2nd time, Outlook has deleted my entire
inbox without warning. what is happening and how do I restore what has
been lost? Any ideas. I do not find a place to contact tech support
without paying $$$
Thank You

I cannot find "Message Store" in Windows Explorer. Where do I look? I
find nothing with an options tab and a maintenance tab, only internet
options. I am a novice at this. Any help?

Please include previous messages in your replies.

Windows Explorer is /not/ Internet Explorer.

Start | Program | Accessories | Windows Explorer.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA


"jseggerman" wrote in message
...
I cannot find "Message Store" in Windows Explorer. Where do I look? I
find nothing with an options tab and a maintenance tab, only internet
options. I am a novice at this. Any help?

"Bruce Hagen" wrote in message
...
Please include previous messages in your replies.

Windows Explorer is /not/ Internet Explorer.

Start | Program | Accessories | Windows Explorer.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA






I certainly could be wrong here, but since the OP posted
to the OE group, and mentioned "message store", I think
s/he is looking at verifying/changing OE's message store
location(s).

If I'm incorrect, please ignore. If that is correct, you can
find the OE message store at:

OEtoolsoptionsmaintenancestore folder

From there you can see the current OE store folder, or
alternatively, relocate this folder.




"jseggerman" wrote in message
...
I cannot find "Message Store" in Windows Explorer. Where do I look? I
find nothing with an options tab and a maintenance tab, only internet
options. I am a novice at this. Any help?

OEtoolsoptionsmaintenancestore folder shows the path to the store
folder. You still have to physically get there which the OP has not been
able to do. The OP was trying to find the path in Internet Explorer instead
of Windows Explorer.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA



"Anonymous" wrote in message
t...

"Bruce Hagen" wrote in message
...
Please include previous messages in your replies.

Windows Explorer is /not/ Internet Explorer.

Start | Program | Accessories | Windows Explorer.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA






I certainly could be wrong here, but since the OP posted
to the OE group, and mentioned "message store", I think
s/he is looking at verifying/changing OE's message store
location(s).

If I'm incorrect, please ignore. If that is correct, you can
find the OE message store at:

OEtoolsoptionsmaintenancestore folder

From there you can see the current OE store folder, or
alternatively, relocate this folder.




"jseggerman" wrote in message
...
I cannot find "Message Store" in Windows Explorer. Where do I look? I
find nothing with an options tab and a maintenance tab, only internet
options. I am a novice at this. Any help?

I can find Windows Explorer but cannot find Message Store. When I click on
tools I do not get anything like that. I get folder options and some other
stuff but now Windows store.

Please include previous messages in your replies. It make things easier to
follow.

I can not explain it better than this:

***While in Outlook Express****

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, Win2K & Win2K3, 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
Icon | View, or in Windows Explorer | Tools | Folder Options | View.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA


"jseggerman" wrote in message
...
I can find Windows Explorer but cannot find Message Store. When I click on
tools I do not get anything like that. I get folder options and some other
stuff but now Windows store.