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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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