![]() |
If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
![]()
I have been reading some of the posts that already exist in this group and am
now aware of some of the problems that can occur when compacting. Some of the solutions are a bit over my head therefore anyone who is kind enough to answer this please bare this in mind. Recently I was prompted to "Compact" my emails / Folders in Outlook Express 6. Afterwards I experienced the following problems. 1) My sub folders all became main folders under the local folders. 2) Some folders are missing from the local folders list, however they do appear to exist as .dbx files. 3) All of my recent emails in my "Sent Items" folder are missing. 4) My link to this discussion group (Outlook Express 6) has disappeared. Can anyone explain why these problems have occurred and more importantly how can I overcome them? I have used a "System Restore" to a point before I compacted when everything was ok, but this did not help. -- Regards Pete |
Ads |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
![]()
System Restore does not reclaim messages. This tells you how to get the
messages back, and the last section explains how to help avoid this in the future. 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 "Pete Harris" wrote in message ... I have been reading some of the posts that already exist in this group and am now aware of some of the problems that can occur when compacting. Some of the solutions are a bit over my head therefore anyone who is kind enough to answer this please bare this in mind. Recently I was prompted to "Compact" my emails / Folders in Outlook Express 6. Afterwards I experienced the following problems. 1) My sub folders all became main folders under the local folders. 2) Some folders are missing from the local folders list, however they do appear to exist as .dbx files. 3) All of my recent emails in my "Sent Items" folder are missing. 4) My link to this discussion group (Outlook Express 6) has disappeared. Can anyone explain why these problems have occurred and more importantly how can I overcome them? I have used a "System Restore" to a point before I compacted when everything was ok, but this did not help. -- Regards Pete |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
![]()
System Restore does not reclaim messages. This tells you how to get the
messages back, and the last section explains how to help avoid this in the future. 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 "Pete Harris" wrote in message ... I have been reading some of the posts that already exist in this group and am now aware of some of the problems that can occur when compacting. Some of the solutions are a bit over my head therefore anyone who is kind enough to answer this please bare this in mind. Recently I was prompted to "Compact" my emails / Folders in Outlook Express 6. Afterwards I experienced the following problems. 1) My sub folders all became main folders under the local folders. 2) Some folders are missing from the local folders list, however they do appear to exist as .dbx files. 3) All of my recent emails in my "Sent Items" folder are missing. 4) My link to this discussion group (Outlook Express 6) has disappeared. Can anyone explain why these problems have occurred and more importantly how can I overcome them? I have used a "System Restore" to a point before I compacted when everything was ok, but this did not help. -- Regards Pete |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
![]()
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 Client - since 2002 Pete Harris wrote: I have been reading some of the posts that already exist in this group and am now aware of some of the problems that can occur when compacting. Some of the solutions are a bit over my head therefore anyone who is kind enough to answer this please bare this in mind. Recently I was prompted to "Compact" my emails / Folders in Outlook Express 6. Afterwards I experienced the following problems. 1) My sub folders all became main folders under the local folders. 2) Some folders are missing from the local folders list, however they do appear to exist as .dbx files. 3) All of my recent emails in my "Sent Items" folder are missing. 4) My link to this discussion group (Outlook Express 6) has disappeared. Can anyone explain why these problems have occurred and more importantly how can I overcome them? I have used a "System Restore" to a point before I compacted when everything was ok, but this did not help. |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
![]()
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 Client - since 2002 Pete Harris wrote: I have been reading some of the posts that already exist in this group and am now aware of some of the problems that can occur when compacting. Some of the solutions are a bit over my head therefore anyone who is kind enough to answer this please bare this in mind. Recently I was prompted to "Compact" my emails / Folders in Outlook Express 6. Afterwards I experienced the following problems. 1) My sub folders all became main folders under the local folders. 2) Some folders are missing from the local folders list, however they do appear to exist as .dbx files. 3) All of my recent emails in my "Sent Items" folder are missing. 4) My link to this discussion group (Outlook Express 6) has disappeared. Can anyone explain why these problems have occurred and more importantly how can I overcome them? I have used a "System Restore" to a point before I compacted when everything was ok, but this did not help. |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
![]()
Thanks Bruce managed to fet folders back, however interested in your comments
on a couple of points. 1) The .dbx files were not hidden in the message store and enabling and disabling show hidden files made no difference! 2) Dragged .dbx to desktop, opened OE & created folder with *exact* name, opened new folder & closed OE. No .bak in message store so restored from recycle bin. Went back to message store tried to rename .bak to .dbx but could not because anther .dbx file had appeared in the message store. Decided to drag new .dbx to desktop and chose to overwrite original .dbx in desktop. I can only assume that when new folder was created in OE this created a new ..dbx file in the message store. Have you heard of this happening beforeor did I do something wrong in the process. -- Regards Pete "Bruce Hagen" wrote: System Restore does not reclaim messages. This tells you how to get the messages back, and the last section explains how to help avoid this in the future. 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 "Pete Harris" wrote in message ... I have been reading some of the posts that already exist in this group and am now aware of some of the problems that can occur when compacting. Some of the solutions are a bit over my head therefore anyone who is kind enough to answer this please bare this in mind. Recently I was prompted to "Compact" my emails / Folders in Outlook Express 6. Afterwards I experienced the following problems. 1) My sub folders all became main folders under the local folders. 2) Some folders are missing from the local folders list, however they do appear to exist as .dbx files. 3) All of my recent emails in my "Sent Items" folder are missing. 4) My link to this discussion group (Outlook Express 6) has disappeared. Can anyone explain why these problems have occurred and more importantly how can I overcome them? I have used a "System Restore" to a point before I compacted when everything was ok, but this did not help. -- Regards Pete |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
![]()
Thanks Bruce managed to fet folders back, however interested in your comments
on a couple of points. 1) The .dbx files were not hidden in the message store and enabling and disabling show hidden files made no difference! 2) Dragged .dbx to desktop, opened OE & created folder with *exact* name, opened new folder & closed OE. No .bak in message store so restored from recycle bin. Went back to message store tried to rename .bak to .dbx but could not because anther .dbx file had appeared in the message store. Decided to drag new .dbx to desktop and chose to overwrite original .dbx in desktop. I can only assume that when new folder was created in OE this created a new ..dbx file in the message store. Have you heard of this happening beforeor did I do something wrong in the process. -- Regards Pete "Bruce Hagen" wrote: System Restore does not reclaim messages. This tells you how to get the messages back, and the last section explains how to help avoid this in the future. 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 "Pete Harris" wrote in message ... I have been reading some of the posts that already exist in this group and am now aware of some of the problems that can occur when compacting. Some of the solutions are a bit over my head therefore anyone who is kind enough to answer this please bare this in mind. Recently I was prompted to "Compact" my emails / Folders in Outlook Express 6. Afterwards I experienced the following problems. 1) My sub folders all became main folders under the local folders. 2) Some folders are missing from the local folders list, however they do appear to exist as .dbx files. 3) All of my recent emails in my "Sent Items" folder are missing. 4) My link to this discussion group (Outlook Express 6) has disappeared. Can anyone explain why these problems have occurred and more importantly how can I overcome them? I have used a "System Restore" to a point before I compacted when everything was ok, but this did not help. -- Regards Pete |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
![]()
1: Did you ever move the message store from its original default location?
That would explain why it wasn't hidden. 2: Any default OE folder, (Inbox, Sent Items, etc.) that was removed from the message store will be regenerated when you open OE. The correct steps would be to close OE. Then restore the bak file. Open the message store and drag out the old dbx file at that time and then rename the bak file. But you got there in the end. As long as you have all your messages back, you can go ahead and delete the dbx files you dragged out of the store. Please adhere to the warnings I posted and even if this happens again, which is much less likely, you have the backup from OEQB. I always backup prior to compacting. "Pete Harris" wrote in message ... Thanks Bruce managed to fet folders back, however interested in your comments on a couple of points. 1) The .dbx files were not hidden in the message store and enabling and disabling show hidden files made no difference! 2) Dragged .dbx to desktop, opened OE & created folder with *exact* name, opened new folder & closed OE. No .bak in message store so restored from recycle bin. Went back to message store tried to rename .bak to .dbx but could not because anther .dbx file had appeared in the message store. Decided to drag new .dbx to desktop and chose to overwrite original .dbx in desktop. I can only assume that when new folder was created in OE this created a new .dbx file in the message store. Have you heard of this happening beforeor did I do something wrong in the process. -- Regards Pete "Bruce Hagen" wrote: System Restore does not reclaim messages. This tells you how to get the messages back, and the last section explains how to help avoid this in the future. 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 "Pete Harris" wrote in message ... I have been reading some of the posts that already exist in this group and am now aware of some of the problems that can occur when compacting. Some of the solutions are a bit over my head therefore anyone who is kind enough to answer this please bare this in mind. Recently I was prompted to "Compact" my emails / Folders in Outlook Express 6. Afterwards I experienced the following problems. 1) My sub folders all became main folders under the local folders. 2) Some folders are missing from the local folders list, however they do appear to exist as .dbx files. 3) All of my recent emails in my "Sent Items" folder are missing. 4) My link to this discussion group (Outlook Express 6) has disappeared. Can anyone explain why these problems have occurred and more importantly how can I overcome them? I have used a "System Restore" to a point before I compacted when everything was ok, but this did not help. -- Regards Pete |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
![]()
1: Did you ever move the message store from its original default location?
That would explain why it wasn't hidden. 2: Any default OE folder, (Inbox, Sent Items, etc.) that was removed from the message store will be regenerated when you open OE. The correct steps would be to close OE. Then restore the bak file. Open the message store and drag out the old dbx file at that time and then rename the bak file. But you got there in the end. As long as you have all your messages back, you can go ahead and delete the dbx files you dragged out of the store. Please adhere to the warnings I posted and even if this happens again, which is much less likely, you have the backup from OEQB. I always backup prior to compacting. "Pete Harris" wrote in message ... Thanks Bruce managed to fet folders back, however interested in your comments on a couple of points. 1) The .dbx files were not hidden in the message store and enabling and disabling show hidden files made no difference! 2) Dragged .dbx to desktop, opened OE & created folder with *exact* name, opened new folder & closed OE. No .bak in message store so restored from recycle bin. Went back to message store tried to rename .bak to .dbx but could not because anther .dbx file had appeared in the message store. Decided to drag new .dbx to desktop and chose to overwrite original .dbx in desktop. I can only assume that when new folder was created in OE this created a new .dbx file in the message store. Have you heard of this happening beforeor did I do something wrong in the process. -- Regards Pete "Bruce Hagen" wrote: System Restore does not reclaim messages. This tells you how to get the messages back, and the last section explains how to help avoid this in the future. 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 "Pete Harris" wrote in message ... I have been reading some of the posts that already exist in this group and am now aware of some of the problems that can occur when compacting. Some of the solutions are a bit over my head therefore anyone who is kind enough to answer this please bare this in mind. Recently I was prompted to "Compact" my emails / Folders in Outlook Express 6. Afterwards I experienced the following problems. 1) My sub folders all became main folders under the local folders. 2) Some folders are missing from the local folders list, however they do appear to exist as .dbx files. 3) All of my recent emails in my "Sent Items" folder are missing. 4) My link to this discussion group (Outlook Express 6) has disappeared. Can anyone explain why these problems have occurred and more importantly how can I overcome them? I have used a "System Restore" to a point before I compacted when everything was ok, but this did not help. -- Regards Pete |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
![]()
Hi Bruce
Don't recall ever moving the message store. here is the current location --C:\Documents and Settings\Peter\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\{97EFEA23-3740-45BE-A71B-9B1E523BF17B}\Microsoft\Outlook Express Would this be the original? Regards Pete "Bruce Hagen" wrote: 1: Did you ever move the message store from its original default location? That would explain why it wasn't hidden. 2: Any default OE folder, (Inbox, Sent Items, etc.) that was removed from the message store will be regenerated when you open OE. The correct steps would be to close OE. Then restore the bak file. Open the message store and drag out the old dbx file at that time and then rename the bak file. But you got there in the end. As long as you have all your messages back, you can go ahead and delete the dbx files you dragged out of the store. Please adhere to the warnings I posted and even if this happens again, which is much less likely, you have the backup from OEQB. I always backup prior to compacting. "Pete Harris" wrote in message ... Thanks Bruce managed to fet folders back, however interested in your comments on a couple of points. 1) The .dbx files were not hidden in the message store and enabling and disabling show hidden files made no difference! 2) Dragged .dbx to desktop, opened OE & created folder with *exact* name, opened new folder & closed OE. No .bak in message store so restored from recycle bin. Went back to message store tried to rename .bak to .dbx but could not because anther .dbx file had appeared in the message store. Decided to drag new .dbx to desktop and chose to overwrite original .dbx in desktop. I can only assume that when new folder was created in OE this created a new .dbx file in the message store. Have you heard of this happening beforeor did I do something wrong in the process. -- Regards Pete "Bruce Hagen" wrote: System Restore does not reclaim messages. This tells you how to get the messages back, and the last section explains how to help avoid this in the future. 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 "Pete Harris" wrote in message ... I have been reading some of the posts that already exist in this group and am now aware of some of the problems that can occur when compacting. Some of the solutions are a bit over my head therefore anyone who is kind enough to answer this please bare this in mind. Recently I was prompted to "Compact" my emails / Folders in Outlook Express 6. Afterwards I experienced the following problems. 1) My sub folders all became main folders under the local folders. 2) Some folders are missing from the local folders list, however they do appear to exist as .dbx files. 3) All of my recent emails in my "Sent Items" folder are missing. 4) My link to this discussion group (Outlook Express 6) has disappeared. Can anyone explain why these problems have occurred and more importantly how can I overcome them? I have used a "System Restore" to a point before I compacted when everything was ok, but this did not help. -- Regards Pete |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
![]() |
||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Compacting OE | Bill Ridgeway | Outlook Express | 1 | May 22nd 07 06:52 PM |
Compacting | George | Outlook Express | 11 | February 26th 07 08:35 PM |
OE6 compacting mailbox and problems thereafter | soreub | Outlook Express | 1 | October 24th 06 03:52 PM |
cleanup/compacting problems | G. Silber | Outlook Express | 6 | July 16th 06 02:59 PM |
PlanPlus v 3 (and Outlook 2003 SP2) - install problems, uninstall problems, bugs? | kkernspa | Add-ins for Outlook | 0 | April 9th 06 04:07 AM |