Inbox question
 

I know messages aren't supposed to be kept in Inbox very long, but a friend
just wrote and said this:
"My computer keeps e-mail messages in my Sent file but if I don't reply and
just keep it in the Inbox file then often my computer erases all the e-mails
I have received from a certain date to a certain date."
Does anyone know why this happens to her mail? And/or what she can do about
it?

Inbox question
 

Joy wrote:

I know messages aren't supposed to be kept in Inbox very long, but a friend
just wrote and said this:
"My computer keeps e-mail messages in my Sent file but if I don't reply and
just keep it in the Inbox file then often my computer erases all the e-mails
I have received from a certain date to a certain date."
Does anyone know why this happens to her mail? And/or what she can do about
it?

The view used in a folder.

Auto-archiving.

Inbox question
 

Windows version? OE version?

What kind of account does she have? Pop3, IMAP, Hotmail?

If it is a pop3 account, then it is possibly a corrupt Inbox, or one that
has not been compacted in a very long time.

Send her this.

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.insideoe.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


"Joy" wrote in message
...
I know messages aren't supposed to be kept in Inbox very long, but a friend
just wrote and said this:
"My computer keeps e-mail messages in my Sent file but if I don't reply
and just keep it in the Inbox file then often my computer erases all the
e-mails I have received from a certain date to a certain date."
Does anyone know why this happens to her mail? And/or what she can do
about it?

Inbox question
 

Bruce,

Thank you VERY much for all this valuable information. I've forwarded it to
my friend and she's very appreciative.

"Bruce Hagen" wrote in message
...
Windows version? OE version?

What kind of account does she have? Pop3, IMAP, Hotmail?

If it is a pop3 account, then it is possibly a corrupt Inbox, or one that
has not been compacted in a very long time.

Send her this.

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.insideoe.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


"Joy" wrote in message
...
I know messages aren't supposed to be kept in Inbox very long, but a
friend just wrote and said this:
"My computer keeps e-mail messages in my Sent file but if I don't reply
and just keep it in the Inbox file then often my computer erases all the
e-mails I have received from a certain date to a certain date."
Does anyone know why this happens to her mail? And/or what she can do
about it?

Inbox question
 

Bruce,

Thank you VERY much for all this valuable information. I've forwarded it to
my friend and she's very appreciative.

"Bruce Hagen" wrote in message
...
Windows version? OE version?

What kind of account does she have? Pop3, IMAP, Hotmail?

If it is a pop3 account, then it is possibly a corrupt Inbox, or one that
has not been compacted in a very long time.

Send her this.

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.insideoe.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


"Joy" wrote in message
...
I know messages aren't supposed to be kept in Inbox very long, but a
friend just wrote and said this:
"My computer keeps e-mail messages in my Sent file but if I don't reply
and just keep it in the Inbox file then often my computer erases all the
e-mails I have received from a certain date to a certain date."
Does anyone know why this happens to her mail? And/or what she can do
about it?

Inbox question
 

Bruce,

Thank you VERY much for all this valuable information. I've forwarded it to
my friend and she's very appreciative.

"Bruce Hagen" wrote in message
...
Windows version? OE version?

What kind of account does she have? Pop3, IMAP, Hotmail?

If it is a pop3 account, then it is possibly a corrupt Inbox, or one that
has not been compacted in a very long time.

Send her this.

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.insideoe.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


"Joy" wrote in message
...
I know messages aren't supposed to be kept in Inbox very long, but a
friend just wrote and said this:
"My computer keeps e-mail messages in my Sent file but if I don't reply
and just keep it in the Inbox file then often my computer erases all the
e-mails I have received from a certain date to a certain date."
Does anyone know why this happens to her mail? And/or what she can do
about it?

Inbox question
 

You're welcome.
--

Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA


"Joy" wrote in message
...
Bruce,

Thank you VERY much for all this valuable information. I've forwarded it
to my friend and she's very appreciative.

"Bruce Hagen" wrote in message
...
Windows version? OE version?

What kind of account does she have? Pop3, IMAP, Hotmail?

If it is a pop3 account, then it is possibly a corrupt Inbox, or one that
has not been compacted in a very long time.

Send her this.

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.insideoe.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


"Joy" wrote in message
...
I know messages aren't supposed to be kept in Inbox very long, but a
friend just wrote and said this:
"My computer keeps e-mail messages in my Sent file but if I don't reply
and just keep it in the Inbox file then often my computer erases all the
e-mails I have received from a certain date to a certain date."
Does anyone know why this happens to her mail? And/or what she can do
about it?

Inbox question
 

Is your friend using Outlook Express?
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/

Joy wrote:
I know messages aren't supposed to be kept in Inbox very long, but a
friend
just wrote and said this:
"My computer keeps e-mail messages in my Sent file but if I don't reply
and
just keep it in the Inbox file then often my computer erases all the
e-mails
I have received from a certain date to a certain date."
Does anyone know why this happens to her mail? And/or what she can do
about
it?

Inbox question
 

Yes, she is. I think the "secret" is that she has been keeping WAY too many
e-mails in her Inbox (which she will be changing now).

"PA Bear [MS MVP]" wrote in message
...
Is your friend using Outlook Express?
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/

Joy wrote:
I know messages aren't supposed to be kept in Inbox very long, but a
friend
just wrote and said this:
"My computer keeps e-mail messages in my Sent file but if I don't reply
and
just keep it in the Inbox file then often my computer erases all the
e-mails
I have received from a certain date to a certain date."
Does anyone know why this happens to her mail? And/or what she can do
about
it?

Inbox question
 

Why it happens:

http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/probl...s.htm#mailgone
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/IE/...orruption.mspx

Recovering the missing data: http://www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx (#2 and #4)
and http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=918069 (see Notes section under
Resolution)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DBXpress (faster, more powerful, with even greater functionality)
http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/Default.aspx
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Avoiding Such Corruption in Futu

- 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.

- Disable email scanning by your anti-virus application. It can cause
corruption (i.e., loss of messages), it provides no additional protection,
and even Symantec says it's not necessary:

QP
Disabling Email Scanning does not leave you unprotected against viruses that
are distributed as email attachments. Norton AntiVirus Auto-Protect scans
incoming files as they are saved to your hard drive, including email and
email attachments. Email Scanning is just another layer on top of this. To
make sure that Auto-Protect is providing the maximum protection, keep
Auto-Protect enabled and run LiveUpdate regularly to ensure that you have
the most recent virus definitions.
/QP
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT...02111812533106

--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/

Joy wrote:
Yes, she is. I think the "secret" is that she has been keeping WAY too
many
e-mails in her Inbox (which she will be changing now).

"PA Bear [MS MVP]" wrote in message
...
Is your friend using Outlook Express?
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/

Joy wrote:
I know messages aren't supposed to be kept in Inbox very long, but a
friend
just wrote and said this:
"My computer keeps e-mail messages in my Sent file but if I don't reply
and
just keep it in the Inbox file then often my computer erases all the
e-mails
I have received from a certain date to a certain date."
Does anyone know why this happens to her mail? And/or what she can do
about
it?