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#1
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Hi, My email folders were recently compressed and I have only just noticed
that the bottom half of the folders in my list are empty. The top half have all of the original messages as intended. I opened the root OE folder and can see that all of the folders are present and under list/details, all the data is still present (just under 100mb for all of them) I did an import only to find that, again, all of the top folders have got their messages repeated but nothing dowloaded on the others (a second import brought same results). What might have been the reason for this? Why are they not importing and is there anything I an do to retrieve these? I am a bit worried because I do ot have a back up and they are important. Any advise greatly appreciated. Many thanks Tony |
#2
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First, check the obvious. Go to the Inbox and click View | Current View |
Show All Messages. If that was checked, 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, or SP3, and are fully patched, then you should have a backup of your dbx files in the Recycle Bin, (or possibly the message store), copied as bak files. To restore a bak folder to the message store folder, first find the location of the Message Store. Tools | Options | Maintenance | Store Folder will reveal the location of your Outlook Express files. Write the location down and navigate to it in Windows Explorer or, copy and paste it into Start | Run. 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. Close OE and then 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. First, check if there is a bak file already in the message store. If there is, and you removed the dbx file, go ahead and rename it to dbx. If it isn't already in the message store, 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. Outlook Express Quick Backup (OEQB Freeware) http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx -- Bruce Hagen MS-MVP Outlook Express Imperial Beach, CA "Tony" wrote in message ... Hi, My email folders were recently compressed and I have only just noticed that the bottom half of the folders in my list are empty. The top half have all of the original messages as intended. I opened the root OE folder and can see that all of the folders are present and under list/details, all the data is still present (just under 100mb for all of them) I did an import only to find that, again, all of the top folders have got their messages repeated but nothing dowloaded on the others (a second import brought same results). What might have been the reason for this? Why are they not importing and is there anything I an do to retrieve these? I am a bit worried because I do ot have a back up and they are important. Any advise greatly appreciated. Many thanks Tony |
#3
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Hi Bruce. Many thanks for extended info. A lot to read and do here and I will
keep you posted. All the obvious steps had been taken before writing and I am just keeping my finger crossed I have not file corruption. I must retrieve some if no most of the missing messages. I will be back. Thanks again Tony "Bruce Hagen" wrote: First, check the obvious. Go to the Inbox and click View | Current View | Show All Messages. If that was checked, 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, or SP3, and are fully patched, then you should have a backup of your dbx files in the Recycle Bin, (or possibly the message store), copied as bak files. To restore a bak folder to the message store folder, first find the location of the Message Store. Tools | Options | Maintenance | Store Folder will reveal the location of your Outlook Express files. Write the location down and navigate to it in Windows Explorer or, copy and paste it into Start | Run. 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. Close OE and then 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. First, check if there is a bak file already in the message store. If there is, and you removed the dbx file, go ahead and rename it to dbx. If it isn't already in the message store, 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. Outlook Express Quick Backup (OEQB Freeware) http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx -- Bruce Hagen MS-MVP Outlook Express Imperial Beach, CA "Tony" wrote in message ... Hi, My email folders were recently compressed and I have only just noticed that the bottom half of the folders in my list are empty. The top half have all of the original messages as intended. I opened the root OE folder and can see that all of the folders are present and under list/details, all the data is still present (just under 100mb for all of them) I did an import only to find that, again, all of the top folders have got their messages repeated but nothing dowloaded on the others (a second import brought same results). What might have been the reason for this? Why are they not importing and is there anything I an do to retrieve these? I am a bit worried because I do ot have a back up and they are important. Any advise greatly appreciated. Many thanks Tony |
#4
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Hi Bruce.
Problem sorted. You were 100% right. I found all the folders in the Recycle Bin and after following your detailed instructions, I have got all my messages back where they were. I realise now these folders are not a safe option to keep important data on and will be acting on it right away. I have learnt a very good lesson here and I consider myself lucky too, as I normally empty my recycle bin every couple of days or so. However, I wish to say that I am extremely grateful for your prompt reply and expert guidance. I think you people deserve every commendation for the excellent work you provide. As a matter of interest and before closing this chapter; I found all the folders from the root OE Folder (dbx) in the recycle bin as BAK folders. I did not loose any of my named folders in Folders/Inbox, only the messages within in some of them. The mayority of these folders, as stated, had been emptied but a few remained intact, so why only a percentage and not all of them? Anyway, many thanks for everything and best wishes. Tony (mmy thanks too to everyone else who joined in) "Bruce Hagen" wrote: First, check the obvious. Go to the Inbox and click View | Current View | Show All Messages. If that was checked, 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, or SP3, and are fully patched, then you should have a backup of your dbx files in the Recycle Bin, (or possibly the message store), copied as bak files. To restore a bak folder to the message store folder, first find the location of the Message Store. Tools | Options | Maintenance | Store Folder will reveal the location of your Outlook Express files. Write the location down and navigate to it in Windows Explorer or, copy and paste it into Start | Run. 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. Close OE and then 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. First, check if there is a bak file already in the message store. If there is, and you removed the dbx file, go ahead and rename it to dbx. If it isn't already in the message store, 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. Outlook Express Quick Backup (OEQB Freeware) http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx -- Bruce Hagen MS-MVP Outlook Express Imperial Beach, CA "Tony" wrote in message ... Hi, My email folders were recently compressed and I have only just noticed that the bottom half of the folders in my list are empty. The top half have all of the original messages as intended. I opened the root OE folder and can see that all of the folders are present and under list/details, all the data is still present (just under 100mb for all of them) I did an import only to find that, again, all of the top folders have got their messages repeated but nothing dowloaded on the others (a second import brought same results). What might have been the reason for this? Why are they not importing and is there anything I an do to retrieve these? I am a bit worried because I do ot have a back up and they are important. Any advise greatly appreciated. Many thanks Tony |
#5
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You're welcome and I'm glad you were able to get your folders back.
canned What are bak files?: This is due to the OE update, (KB923694). Now when you compact, a copy of your dbx files are sent to the Recycle Bin in the event that something should go wrong and messages, or entire folders, are lost when you are compacting. Many people do not back up Outlook Express on a regular basis. This new mandatory backup is something people have been asking for quite awhile as we spend a lot of time helping people getting their messages back, and they have to purchase a tool to recover messages. You can empty the Recycle Bin any time you want and the bak files will go away until you compact again. For more info, see the information outlined in red he www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#2 If you don't currently back up OE regularly, I would suggest you get this, or a similar tool, (freeware): This freeware tool backs up everything in OE in seconds. Disregard what is written in red. That is referring to a different program. Outlook Express Quick Backup (OEQB): http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx uncanned It is not uncommon to lose a percentage of messages. The dbx file system is very fragile and it why the successor programs to OE do not use that system. However, if you keep the folders trim in size and do not touch anything when compacting, the chance of losing messages is much smaller. I would also recommend compacting manually on a regular schedule, say once a week. This way you will never see the prompt and be forced into compacting at OE's request. 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. Compact Your OE Folders: http://www.insideoe.com/files/maintain.htm#compact -- Bruce Hagen MS-MVP Outlook Express Imperial Beach, CA "Tony" wrote in message news ![]() Hi Bruce. Problem sorted. You were 100% right. I found all the folders in the Recycle Bin and after following your detailed instructions, I have got all my messages back where they were. I realise now these folders are not a safe option to keep important data on and will be acting on it right away. I have learnt a very good lesson here and I consider myself lucky too, as I normally empty my recycle bin every couple of days or so. However, I wish to say that I am extremely grateful for your prompt reply and expert guidance. I think you people deserve every commendation for the excellent work you provide. As a matter of interest and before closing this chapter; I found all the folders from the root OE Folder (dbx) in the recycle bin as BAK folders. I did not loose any of my named folders in Folders/Inbox, only the messages within in some of them. The mayority of these folders, as stated, had been emptied but a few remained intact, so why only a percentage and not all of them? Anyway, many thanks for everything and best wishes. Tony (mmy thanks too to everyone else who joined in) "Bruce Hagen" wrote: First, check the obvious. Go to the Inbox and click View | Current View | Show All Messages. If that was checked, 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, or SP3, and are fully patched, then you should have a backup of your dbx files in the Recycle Bin, (or possibly the message store), copied as bak files. To restore a bak folder to the message store folder, first find the location of the Message Store. Tools | Options | Maintenance | Store Folder will reveal the location of your Outlook Express files. Write the location down and navigate to it in Windows Explorer or, copy and paste it into Start | Run. 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. Close OE and then 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. First, check if there is a bak file already in the message store. If there is, and you removed the dbx file, go ahead and rename it to dbx. If it isn't already in the message store, 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. Outlook Express Quick Backup (OEQB Freeware) http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx -- Bruce Hagen MS-MVP Outlook Express Imperial Beach, CA "Tony" wrote in message ... Hi, My email folders were recently compressed and I have only just noticed that the bottom half of the folders in my list are empty. The top half have all of the original messages as intended. I opened the root OE folder and can see that all of the folders are present and under list/details, all the data is still present (just under 100mb for all of them) I did an import only to find that, again, all of the top folders have got their messages repeated but nothing dowloaded on the others (a second import brought same results). What might have been the reason for this? Why are they not importing and is there anything I an do to retrieve these? I am a bit worried because I do ot have a back up and they are important. Any advise greatly appreciated. Many thanks Tony |
#6
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Anyone who now thinks backing up to the Recycle bin was a bad idea, can read
this thread and then reconsider. steve "Bruce Hagen" wrote in message ... You're welcome and I'm glad you were able to get your folders back. canned What are bak files?: This is due to the OE update, (KB923694). Now when you compact, a copy of your dbx files are sent to the Recycle Bin in the event that something should go wrong and messages, or entire folders, are lost when you are compacting. Many people do not back up Outlook Express on a regular basis. This new mandatory backup is something people have been asking for quite awhile as we spend a lot of time helping people getting their messages back, and they have to purchase a tool to recover messages. You can empty the Recycle Bin any time you want and the bak files will go away until you compact again. For more info, see the information outlined in red he www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#2 If you don't currently back up OE regularly, I would suggest you get this, or a similar tool, (freeware): This freeware tool backs up everything in OE in seconds. Disregard what is written in red. That is referring to a different program. Outlook Express Quick Backup (OEQB): http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx uncanned It is not uncommon to lose a percentage of messages. The dbx file system is very fragile and it why the successor programs to OE do not use that system. However, if you keep the folders trim in size and do not touch anything when compacting, the chance of losing messages is much smaller. I would also recommend compacting manually on a regular schedule, say once a week. This way you will never see the prompt and be forced into compacting at OE's request. 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. Compact Your OE Folders: http://www.insideoe.com/files/maintain.htm#compact -- Bruce Hagen MS-MVP Outlook Express Imperial Beach, CA "Tony" wrote in message news ![]() Hi Bruce. Problem sorted. You were 100% right. I found all the folders in the Recycle Bin and after following your detailed instructions, I have got all my messages back where they were. I realise now these folders are not a safe option to keep important data on and will be acting on it right away. I have learnt a very good lesson here and I consider myself lucky too, as I normally empty my recycle bin every couple of days or so. However, I wish to say that I am extremely grateful for your prompt reply and expert guidance. I think you people deserve every commendation for the excellent work you provide. As a matter of interest and before closing this chapter; I found all the folders from the root OE Folder (dbx) in the recycle bin as BAK folders. I did not loose any of my named folders in Folders/Inbox, only the messages within in some of them. The mayority of these folders, as stated, had been emptied but a few remained intact, so why only a percentage and not all of them? Anyway, many thanks for everything and best wishes. Tony (mmy thanks too to everyone else who joined in) "Bruce Hagen" wrote: First, check the obvious. Go to the Inbox and click View | Current View | Show All Messages. If that was checked, 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, or SP3, and are fully patched, then you should have a backup of your dbx files in the Recycle Bin, (or possibly the message store), copied as bak files. To restore a bak folder to the message store folder, first find the location of the Message Store. Tools | Options | Maintenance | Store Folder will reveal the location of your Outlook Express files. Write the location down and navigate to it in Windows Explorer or, copy and paste it into Start | Run. 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. Close OE and then 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. First, check if there is a bak file already in the message store. If there is, and you removed the dbx file, go ahead and rename it to dbx. If it isn't already in the message store, 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. Outlook Express Quick Backup (OEQB Freeware) http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx -- Bruce Hagen MS-MVP Outlook Express Imperial Beach, CA "Tony" wrote in message ... Hi, My email folders were recently compressed and I have only just noticed that the bottom half of the folders in my list are empty. The top half have all of the original messages as intended. I opened the root OE folder and can see that all of the folders are present and under list/details, all the data is still present (just under 100mb for all of them) I did an import only to find that, again, all of the top folders have got their messages repeated but nothing dowloaded on the others (a second import brought same results). What might have been the reason for this? Why are they not importing and is there anything I an do to retrieve these? I am a bit worried because I do ot have a back up and they are important. Any advise greatly appreciated. Many thanks Tony |
#7
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Did you CC your post to Sinofsky? eg
Steve Cochran wrote: Anyone who now thinks backing up to the Recycle bin was a bad idea, can read this thread and then reconsider. steve "Bruce Hagen" wrote in message ... You're welcome and I'm glad you were able to get your folders back. canned What are bak files?: This is due to the OE update, (KB923694). Now when you compact, a copy of your dbx files are sent to the Recycle Bin in the event that something should go wrong and messages, or entire folders, are lost when you are compacting. Many people do not back up Outlook Express on a regular basis. This new mandatory backup is something people have been asking for quite awhile as we spend a lot of time helping people getting their messages back, and they have to purchase a tool to recover messages. You can empty the Recycle Bin any time you want and the bak files will go away until you compact again. For more info, see the information outlined in red he www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#2 If you don't currently back up OE regularly, I would suggest you get this, or a similar tool, (freeware): This freeware tool backs up everything in OE in seconds. Disregard what is written in red. That is referring to a different program. Outlook Express Quick Backup (OEQB): http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx uncanned It is not uncommon to lose a percentage of messages. The dbx file system is very fragile and it why the successor programs to OE do not use that system. However, if you keep the folders trim in size and do not touch anything when compacting, the chance of losing messages is much smaller. I would also recommend compacting manually on a regular schedule, say once a week. This way you will never see the prompt and be forced into compacting at OE's request. 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. Compact Your OE Folders: http://www.insideoe.com/files/maintain.htm#compact -- Bruce Hagen MS-MVP Outlook Express Imperial Beach, CA "Tony" wrote in message news ![]() Hi Bruce. Problem sorted. You were 100% right. I found all the folders in the Recycle Bin and after following your detailed instructions, I have got all my messages back where they were. I realise now these folders are not a safe option to keep important data on and will be acting on it right away. I have learnt a very good lesson here and I consider myself lucky too, as I normally empty my recycle bin every couple of days or so. However, I wish to say that I am extremely grateful for your prompt reply and expert guidance. I think you people deserve every commendation for the excellent work you provide. As a matter of interest and before closing this chapter; I found all the folders from the root OE Folder (dbx) in the recycle bin as BAK folders. I did not loose any of my named folders in Folders/Inbox, only the messages within in some of them. The mayority of these folders, as stated, had been emptied but a few remained intact, so why only a percentage and not all of them? Anyway, many thanks for everything and best wishes. Tony (mmy thanks too to everyone else who joined in) "Bruce Hagen" wrote: First, check the obvious. Go to the Inbox and click View | Current View Show All Messages. If that was checked, 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, or SP3, and are fully patched, then you should have a backup of your dbx files in the Recycle Bin, (or possibly the message store), copied as bak files. To restore a bak folder to the message store folder, first find the location of the Message Store. Tools | Options | Maintenance | Store Folder will reveal the location of your Outlook Express files. Write the location down and navigate to it in Windows Explorer or, copy and paste it into Start | Run. 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. Close OE and then 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. First, check if there is a bak file already in the message store. If there is, and you removed the dbx file, go ahead and rename it to dbx. If it isn't already in the message store, 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. Outlook Express Quick Backup (OEQB Freeware) http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx -- Bruce Hagen MS-MVP Outlook Express Imperial Beach, CA "Tony" wrote in message ... Hi, My email folders were recently compressed and I have only just noticed that the bottom half of the folders in my list are empty. The top half have all of the original messages as intended. I opened the root OE folder and can see that all of the folders are present and under list/details, all the data is still present (just under 100mb for all of them) I did an import only to find that, again, all of the top folders have got their messages repeated but nothing dowloaded on the others (a second import brought same results). What might have been the reason for this? Why are they not importing and is there anything I an do to retrieve these? I am a bit worried because I do ot have a back up and they are important. Any advise greatly appreciated. Many thanks Tony |
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Tony wrote:
Hi, My email folders were recently compressed and I have only just noticed that the bottom half of the folders in my list are empty. The top half have all of the original messages as intended. I opened the root OE folder and can see that all of the folders are present and under list/details, all the data is still present (just under 100mb for all of them) I did an import only to find that, again, all of the top folders have got their messages repeated but nothing dowloaded on the others (a second import brought same results). What might have been the reason for this? Why are they not importing and is there anything I an do to retrieve these? I am a bit worried because I do ot have a back up and they are important. Any advise greatly appreciated. Many thanks Tony If you have SP3, they might be sitting right there inthe Recycle Bin. Check, just for GPs unless you've emptied it since you discovered this. |
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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 than DBXtract) 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. - Frequently perform a manual compact of all OE folders while "working offline". More at http://www.insideoe.com/files/maintain.htm - Do not cancel Automatic Compacting, should it occur, and do not attempt to close OE via Task Manager or shutdown your machine if Automatic Compacting is taking place. - Disable email scanning by your anti-virus application. It can cause corruption (i.e., loss of messages) and provides no additional protection: Why you don't need your anti-virus to scan your email http://thundercloud.net/infoave/tuto...ning/index.htm -- ~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/ Tony wrote: Hi, My email folders were recently compressed and I have only just noticed that the bottom half of the folders in my list are empty. The top half have all of the original messages as intended. I opened the root OE folder and can see that all of the folders are present and under list/details, all the data is still present (just under 100mb for all of them) I did an import only to find that, again, all of the top folders have got their messages repeated but nothing dowloaded on the others (a second import brought same results). What might have been the reason for this? Why are they not importing and is there anything I an do to retrieve these? I am a bit worried because I do ot have a back up and they are important. Any advise greatly appreciated. Many thanks Tony |
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