Disappeared e-mails in OE6...

"Timur Abdullin" wrote in message

I ran DBXpress this time without the RECOVERY option set (all other
boxes were checked) and the results were significantly better. This
time I got *.eml files and a bit of *txt files. But oddly enough--and
I think this complicates things--a folder whose name contains
parenthesis (e.g. "Folder (items).dbx" that I put in its name when I
was first naming it all of a sudden became empty. Here's my analysis
of this: since OE6 generates a new folder upon the removal from its
own folder, a new folder DID get generated but since could not be
named with parenthesis (since I already used them for my own naming
convenience), it just overwrote the "Folder (items).dbx" and
therefore replaced its contents with emptiness. What's your look on
this? And what else should I do?

-TA

I don't know about your Folder (items).dbx, but OE's Folders.dbx does not
contain any messages for DBXpress to extract.

--
Frank Saunders, MS-MVP, IE/OE
Please respond in Newsgroup. Do not send email
http://www.fjsmjs.com
Protect your PC
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As long as OE is closed, there is no need to run DBXpress or DBXtract on a
copy. All those programs do is read the file. They in no way will
compromise its contents.

steve

"Jim Pickering" wrote in message
...
You should only run DBXpress on a copy of the DBX files, not on those in
your existing message store. What you are trying to do may well damage
other files and I'd stop it immediately. Make a copy of all DBX files you
want to run DBXpress on and move them to a folder on your Desktop and put
DBXpress in that same folder. Create another folder to contain the
extracted files. I hope you have not destroyed your message store files
already. Please be careful and only work with copies.
--
Jim Pickering, MVP-Outlook Express
Please reply only to newsgroup.


"Timur Abdullin" wrote in message
...
I ran DBXpress this time without the RECOVERY option set (all other
boxes
were checked) and the results were significantly better. This time I got
*.eml files and a bit of *txt files. But oddly enough--and I think this
complicates things--a folder whose name contains parenthesis (e.g.
"Folder
(items).dbx" that I put in its name when I was first naming it all of a
sudden became empty. Here's my analysis of this: since OE6 generates a
new
folder upon the removal from its own folder, a new folder DID get
generated
but since could not be named with parenthesis (since I already used them
for
my own naming convenience), it just overwrote the "Folder (items).dbx"
and
therefore replaced its contents with emptiness. What's your look on
this?
And what else should I do?

-TA

"Jim Pickering" wrote in message
...
Yes. Run it but not in Recover mode.

--
Jim Pickering
MVP-Outlook Express
Please reply to newsgroup only.

Timur Abdullin wrote:

Sure, but I have DBXpress. Do you mean try DBXpress?

"Jim Pickering" wrote in message
...

Try DBXtract again on the folder and this time, do not use Recover
mode.

Timur Abdullin wrote:

Greetings to everyone,

Have all my efforts been for nothing? Have my postings and attempts
to
understand the naturally-corruptible OE6 been in vain without much

success?

I don't really know as I try to evaluate the results of the
extracted

items

from supposedly corrupted folders via DBXpress. The situation seems

bleak to

me. But I shall present to you the results nonetheless for your own
evaluation.

Today I have successfully used DBXpress and had even some fun at it

because

of its clean, easy interface. However to my disappointment, when all
the
boxes were checked prior to extraction, the process yielded less
than
satisfactory results. I'm not blaming the program here but perhaps

myself

for not taking action sooner--for taking too long to stop and think.
Extraction only managed to get less than 10 *.txt files, all of
which,
seemed to have been deleted willingly by me some time ago.
Subsequent
extraction attempts proved to be just as hopeless.

So what am I to do now? What's the next step that you would
recommend
I
take--an alternate attempt, a completely different approach,
something

else

entirely, perhaps? I'm open to suggestions. And if its over for me
and

the

lost files, what would you say I ought to do at this point as I've
read

a

few of your earlier recommendations? New OE6 id? Better e-mail
client...would Outlook 2003 be best contender? (Which is the best
client

for

e-mail storage/retrieval?) If I CANNOT get the files back, should I
at

least

rename all files whose filenames have a number appended to them
(e.g.

"My

Folder (1).dbx" -- "My Folder.dbx"? What about backing up OE? Suing
the
pants off Microsoft or my anti-virus provider? Like I said, I'm open
to

your

expert advice.

One more thing I forgot to add that may explain for the initial

corruption.

Some of the me-created folders in my OE6 carry names that have
spaces

and/or

parenthesis and/or periods and/or slashes. Some examples:

"My Work"
"Stuff (online IDs)"
"TVGuide.com"
"News/Entertainment"

Would you say this (non-alpha-numerical characters) has any bearing
on

my

current situation with OE corruption? I await you answers,
gentlemen.
I

just

hope its not a failed mission for me and that the files are still
recoverable.

Sincerely,

T. Abdullin


"Jim Pickering" wrote in message
...


All I can suggest is make sure you read the instructions on using

DBXpress

at the site: www.oehelp.com and make sure you print them out for

reference.


Until you run the program, the contents of the DBX files are in
question
since no one knows what's in them. I hope you find your missing

messages

and the only advice I could give you would be to always backup your
essential files, including your DBX files in your message store
folder

to

another location (or to removeable media) for safety sake. Good
luck

and

let us know how things turn out.

One other cause of damage to DBX files is often using an antivirus

product

to scan incoming email. Early versions of McAffee were notorious
for
destroying stored messages (and without hope of recovery) and there
is

some


hope that they've fixed it in their newer versions but I won't
allow

McAffee


anywhere near any computer I own or service. Recent versions of
Norton

are


almost as bad as getting a virus, but I recognize the need for
antivirus
protection and am dismayed that those two products have created so
many
problems for their users.
--
Jim Pickering, MVP-Outlook Express
Please reply only to newsgroup.


"Timur Abdullin" wrote in message
...


Hello Jim,

To update you on my situation, I just found out something odd that
somewhat
goes against what you said about corrupted *.dbx files having
appende
d
numbers. (Read up on the INITIAL post of this thread.) I found out
that
the
corrupted folder, because of which I had turned to this newsgroup
for
answers, had NOT been tagged with a "(*)"-format number! But I
know
for

a


fact that it contained e-mails!! Where's the number (the indicator
of
corruption) and where are my 30-some e-mails? What's going on?

And , FYI, the other folders I talked about in the beginning post,
it
seems,
were corrupted much earlier and only later, when one folder (the
recent
center of my attention) suddenly emptied out, did I learn of OE's
corrupt-ability. Also, I got DBXpress just today and am waiting
for

your

reply so I could begin the recovery process.

-TA



--
Jim Pickering
MVP-Outlook Express
Please reply to newsgroup only.

Sorry, I meant to use the name "Folder (items).dbx" as a representation of a
folder I myself made. I wasn't talking about a system or proprietary OE
folder. Here's a better representation "Timur (work).dbx". I apologize for
the confusion.

-TA

"Frank Saunders, MS-MVP IE/OE" wrote in message
...
"Timur Abdullin" wrote in message

I ran DBXpress this time without the RECOVERY option set (all other
boxes were checked) and the results were significantly better. This
time I got *.eml files and a bit of *txt files. But oddly enough--and
I think this complicates things--a folder whose name contains
parenthesis (e.g. "Folder (items).dbx" that I put in its name when I
was first naming it all of a sudden became empty. Here's my analysis
of this: since OE6 generates a new folder upon the removal from its
own folder, a new folder DID get generated but since could not be
named with parenthesis (since I already used them for my own naming
convenience), it just overwrote the "Folder (items).dbx" and
therefore replaced its contents with emptiness. What's your look on
this? And what else should I do?

-TA

I don't know about your Folder (items).dbx, but OE's Folders.dbx does not
contain any messages for DBXpress to extract.

--
Frank Saunders, MS-MVP, IE/OE
Please respond in Newsgroup. Do not send email
http://www.fjsmjs.com
Protect your PC
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/