Please Help - Computer Crashed During OE6 Compacting

Greetings,

I really hope that I am not screwed here, because I really need to
recover these emails if at all possible.

My computer crashed as Outlook Express 6 was compacting the emails. I
did locate the .dbx file which appears to accurate at 64,000 MB as
opposed the backup of 34,000 MB which I unforunately did 6 months ago.
So I have lost 6 months of vitally important business emails.

When I try to import the file into Outlook Express, a message pops up
that it was unable to import all emails and the folder that I created
for these emails is left empty. I don't know if the .dbx file is
corrupted or partially deleted. But I assume that if the file indicates
an accurate 64,000 MB - the emails are there in some capacity.

I have read much about these programs that claim to fix .dbx files or
read corrupted .dbx files, but I have been advised that most are spam
or do not do what they claim to do. I have yet to come across someone
who has said that one of these programs got their .dbx working again
when I was trying to find a solution. Maybe someone here has had luck
with one of these programs. I did try a free program (DBXtract), but it
read the .dbx file and couldn't find anything.

I don't know how valid this opinion is, but I was willing to spend good
money and have a computer professional try to restore the .dbx file and
he said it's gone. He wasn't even willing to have me spend the money
for him to try to fix it. He did suggest though that he has had luck in
the past with importing corrupted .dbx files into Outlook (not OE) and
that some of the emails were recovered.

I am desperate - so I hope based on the above, someone might have a
solution or had a similar situation. Do I need to cut my losses or
because the file does say 64,000 MB - is there hope at restoring the
file in some capacity.

Thank you so very much.




--
Hey Man

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


"Hey Man" wrote in message
...

Greetings,

I really hope that I am not screwed here, because I really need to
recover these emails if at all possible.

My computer crashed as Outlook Express 6 was compacting the emails. I
did locate the .dbx file which appears to accurate at 64,000 MB as
opposed the backup of 34,000 MB which I unforunately did 6 months ago.
So I have lost 6 months of vitally important business emails.

When I try to import the file into Outlook Express, a message pops up
that it was unable to import all emails and the folder that I created
for these emails is left empty. I don't know if the .dbx file is
corrupted or partially deleted. But I assume that if the file indicates
an accurate 64,000 MB - the emails are there in some capacity.

I have read much about these programs that claim to fix .dbx files or
read corrupted .dbx files, but I have been advised that most are spam
or do not do what they claim to do. I have yet to come across someone
who has said that one of these programs got their .dbx working again
when I was trying to find a solution. Maybe someone here has had luck
with one of these programs. I did try a free program (DBXtract), but it
read the .dbx file and couldn't find anything.

I don't know how valid this opinion is, but I was willing to spend good
money and have a computer professional try to restore the .dbx file and
he said it's gone. He wasn't even willing to have me spend the money
for him to try to fix it. He did suggest though that he has had luck in
the past with importing corrupted .dbx files into Outlook (not OE) and
that some of the emails were recovered.

I am desperate - so I hope based on the above, someone might have a
solution or had a similar situation. Do I need to cut my losses or
because the file does say 64,000 MB - is there hope at restoring the
file in some capacity.

Thank you so very much.




--
Hey Man

Your store folder totals 64,000 MB or a DBX file is 64,000 MB? Are you sure
you didn't mean 64MB?

You have a backup of your store that totals 34,000 MB or is that 34MB?

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

Tip: Use DBXpress in extract from disk mode only!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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/

Hey Man wrote:
I really hope that I am not screwed here, because I really need to
recover these emails if at all possible.

My computer crashed as Outlook Express 6 was compacting the emails. I
did locate the .dbx file which appears to accurate at 64,000 MB as
opposed the backup of 34,000 MB which I unforunately did 6 months ago.
So I have lost 6 months of vitally important business emails.

When I try to import the file into Outlook Express, a message pops up
that it was unable to import all emails and the folder that I created
for these emails is left empty. I don't know if the .dbx file is
corrupted or partially deleted. But I assume that if the file indicates
an accurate 64,000 MB - the emails are there in some capacity.

I have read much about these programs that claim to fix .dbx files or
read corrupted .dbx files, but I have been advised that most are spam
or do not do what they claim to do. I have yet to come across someone
who has said that one of these programs got their .dbx working again
when I was trying to find a solution. Maybe someone here has had luck
with one of these programs. I did try a free program (DBXtract), but it
read the .dbx file and couldn't find anything.

I don't know how valid this opinion is, but I was willing to spend good
money and have a computer professional try to restore the .dbx file and
he said it's gone. He wasn't even willing to have me spend the money
for him to try to fix it. He did suggest though that he has had luck in
the past with importing corrupted .dbx files into Outlook (not OE) and
that some of the emails were recovered.

I am desperate - so I hope based on the above, someone might have a
solution or had a similar situation. Do I need to cut my losses or
because the file does say 64,000 MB - is there hope at restoring the
file in some capacity.

Thank you so very much.

The files say 64,000 MB and 34,000 MB when I look at the properties. I
am talking about emails from 2002 here. I had it backed up in May. But
if I just go over the .dbx files with the mouse - it does say 64MB and
34MB.

'PA Bear [MS MVP Wrote:
;287895']Your store folder totals 64,000 MB or a DBX file is 64,000 MB?
Are you sure
you didn't mean 64MB?

You have a backup of your store that totals 34,000 MB or is that 34MB?

Why it happens:

http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/probl...s.htm#mailgone
http://tinyurl.com/4xs7f

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

Tip: Use DBXpress in extract from disk mode only!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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/

Hey Man wrote:-
I really hope that I am not screwed here, because I really need to
recover these emails if at all possible.

My computer crashed as Outlook Express 6 was compacting the emails. I
did locate the .dbx file which appears to accurate at 64,000 MB as
opposed the backup of 34,000 MB which I unforunately did 6 months
ago.
So I have lost 6 months of vitally important business emails.

When I try to import the file into Outlook Express, a message pops up
that it was unable to import all emails and the folder that I created
for these emails is left empty. I don't know if the .dbx file is
corrupted or partially deleted. But I assume that if the file
indicates
an accurate 64,000 MB - the emails are there in some capacity.

I have read much about these programs that claim to fix .dbx files or
read corrupted .dbx files, but I have been advised that most are spam
or do not do what they claim to do. I have yet to come across someone
who has said that one of these programs got their .dbx working again
when I was trying to find a solution. Maybe someone here has had luck
with one of these programs. I did try a free program (DBXtract), but
it
read the .dbx file and couldn't find anything.

I don't know how valid this opinion is, but I was willing to spend
good
money and have a computer professional try to restore the .dbx file
and
he said it's gone. He wasn't even willing to have me spend the money
for him to try to fix it. He did suggest though that he has had luck
in
the past with importing corrupted .dbx files into Outlook (not OE)
and
that some of the emails were recovered.

I am desperate - so I hope based on the above, someone might have a
solution or had a similar situation. Do I need to cut my losses or
because the file does say 64,000 MB - is there hope at restoring the
file in some capacity.

Thank you so very much. -




--
Hey Man

Your best bet to recover at least some of your now-gone data is to purchase
DBXpress. See my previous reply.

Any messages recovered (and don't set your hopes too high) can be dragged
into an open OE folder *in a new identity*. I would NOT try to get them
back into the old identity.

Good luck.

Hey Man wrote:
The files say 64,000 MB and 34,000 MB when I look at the properties. I
am talking about emails from 2002 here. I had it backed up in May. But
if I just go over the .dbx files with the mouse - it does say 64MB and
34MB.

'PA Bear [MS MVP]' wrote:
Your store folder totals 64,000 MB or a DBX file is 64,000 MB?
Are you sure you didn't mean 64MB?

You have a backup of your store that totals 34,000 MB or is that 34MB?

Why it happens:

http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/probl...s.htm#mailgone
http://tinyurl.com/4xs7f

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

Tip: Use DBXpress in extract from disk mode only!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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/

Hey Man wrote:-
I really hope that I am not screwed here, because I really need to
recover these emails if at all possible.

My computer crashed as Outlook Express 6 was compacting the emails. I
did locate the .dbx file which appears to accurate at 64,000 MB as
opposed the backup of 34,000 MB which I unforunately did 6 months
ago.
So I have lost 6 months of vitally important business emails.

When I try to import the file into Outlook Express, a message pops up
that it was unable to import all emails and the folder that I created
for these emails is left empty. I don't know if the .dbx file is
corrupted or partially deleted. But I assume that if the file
indicates
an accurate 64,000 MB - the emails are there in some capacity.

I have read much about these programs that claim to fix .dbx files or
read corrupted .dbx files, but I have been advised that most are spam
or do not do what they claim to do. I have yet to come across someone
who has said that one of these programs got their .dbx working again
when I was trying to find a solution. Maybe someone here has had luck
with one of these programs. I did try a free program (DBXtract), but
it
read the .dbx file and couldn't find anything.

I don't know how valid this opinion is, but I was willing to spend
good
money and have a computer professional try to restore the .dbx file
and
he said it's gone. He wasn't even willing to have me spend the money
for him to try to fix it. He did suggest though that he has had luck
in
the past with importing corrupted .dbx files into Outlook (not OE)
and
that some of the emails were recovered.

I am desperate - so I hope based on the above, someone might have a
solution or had a similar situation. Do I need to cut my losses or
because the file does say 64,000 MB - is there hope at restoring the
file in some capacity.

Thank you so very much. -

mat mom danielle mckenzied dad red music aille holl mom
"Hey Man" wrote in message
...

Greetings,

I really hope that I am not screwed here, because I really need to
recover these emails if at all possible.

My computer crashed as Outlook Express 6 was compacting the emails. I
did locate the .dbx file which appears to accurate at 64,000 MB as
opposed the backup of 34,000 MB which I unforunately did 6 months ago.
So I have lost 6 months of vitally important business emails.

When I try to import the file into Outlook Express, a message pops up
that it was unable to import all emails and the folder that I created
for these emails is left empty. I don't know if the .dbx file is
corrupted or partially deleted. But I assume that if the file indicates
an accurate 64,000 MB - the emails are there in some capacity.

I have read much about these programs that claim to fix .dbx files or
read corrupted .dbx files, but I have been advised that most are spam
or do not do what they claim to do. I have yet to come across someone
who has said that one of these programs got their .dbx working again
when I was trying to find a solution. Maybe someone here has had luck
with one of these programs. I did try a free program (DBXtract), but it
read the .dbx file and couldn't find anything.

I don't know how valid this opinion is, but I was willing to spend good
money and have a computer professional try to restore the .dbx file and
he said it's gone. He wasn't even willing to have me spend the money
for him to try to fix it. He did suggest though that he has had luck in
the past with importing corrupted .dbx files into Outlook (not OE) and
that some of the emails were recovered.

I am desperate - so I hope based on the above, someone might have a
solution or had a similar situation. Do I need to cut my losses or
because the file does say 64,000 MB - is there hope at restoring the
file in some capacity.

Thank you so very much.




--
Hey Man