OE6, ALL FOLDERS ARE GONE, SO ALL PAST EMAILS GONE, ?

Just turned on my PC and went to OE to find all folders with all my saved
emails gone. Any one know what happenned? Also, the one file that MS gives
you when you first start OE, the one that gives you an overview and shows
you how to use OE appeared once again, I had deleted this years ago. I
wonder if on of the automatic updates has a bug and just wiped out all my
emails?

Thanks in advance,
Joseph

url:http://www.ureader.com/gp/1379-1.aspx

"Joseph Malet" wrote in message
.. .
Just turned on my PC and went to OE to find all folders with all my saved
emails gone. Any one know what happenned? Also, the one file that MS gives
you when you first start OE, the one that gives you an overview and shows
you how to use OE appeared once again, I had deleted this years ago. I
wonder if on of the automatic updates has a bug and just wiped out all my
emails?


Click the file menuIdentitiesManage Identities and see if there if a new
one has been added.

This can happen if you sign onto to Windows differently when you boot.
Each Windows user logon gets a different copy of OE data files. Seeing
the welcome message indicates that you are signed into Windows with a
user that has not previously used OE.

For instance if you have Win95/98 and normally hit enter at the logon
screen but instead hit cancel, that will do it. If you shutdown Windows
and restart and do the logon as you normally would, you data will be
back.

--

Mike - http://pages.prodigy.net/michael_santovec/techhelp.htm



"Joseph Malet" wrote in message
.. .
Just turned on my PC and went to OE to find all folders with all my
saved
emails gone. Any one know what happenned? Also, the one file that MS
gives
you when you first start OE, the one that gives you an overview and
shows
you how to use OE appeared once again, I had deleted this years ago. I
wonder if on of the automatic updates has a bug and just wiped out all
my
emails?

Thanks in advance,
Joseph

url:http://www.ureader.com/gp/1379-1.aspx

Make sure you are in the correct identity.

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, Win2K & Win2K3, the OE user files (DBX and WAB) are by default
marked as hidden. To view these files in Windows Explorer, you must enable
Show Hidden Files and Folders under Start | Control Panel | Folder Options
Icon | View, or in Windows Explorer | Tools | Folder Options | View.

Do you see more than one identity listed in this path in Windows Explorer?
What do you see if when in OE: File | Switch Identities? Or: File |
Identities | Manage Identities?

If none of the above apply, that venture farther after you read this.

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.

Backup and Resto

http://www.insideoutlookexpress.com/backup/

And this good one click backup program.

Outlook Express Quick Backup (OEQB):

http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx
--

Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA


"Joseph Malet" wrote in message
.. .
Just turned on my PC and went to OE to find all folders with all my saved
emails gone. Any one know what happenned? Also, the one file that MS gives
you when you first start OE, the one that gives you an overview and shows
you how to use OE appeared once again, I had deleted this years ago. I
wonder if on of the automatic updates has a bug and just wiped out all my
emails?

Thanks in advance,
Joseph

url:http://www.ureader.com/gp/1379-1.aspx

I have only 2 identities and both were affected. I just checked and there
are only 2 identities.

Thanks,
Joseph

url:http://www.ureader.com/msg/137913295.aspx

I don't have a login, it goes into Windows XP each time I power up.

Thanks,
Joseph

url:http://www.ureader.com/msg/137913295.aspx

You replied to yourself and not anyone that offered a possible solution. Who
are your replies directed to?

Can you also lose the message header info in your replies? Thank you.
--

Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA

"Joseph Malet" wrote in message
.. .
Just turned on my PC and went to OE to find all folders with all my saved
emails gone. Any one know what happenned? Also, the one file that MS gives
you when you first start OE, the one that gives you an overview and shows
you how to use OE appeared once again, I had deleted this years ago. I
wonder if on of the automatic updates has a bug and just wiped out all my
emails?

Thanks in advance,
Joseph

url:http://www.ureader.com/gp/1379-1.aspx

Bruce, thanks for the info, I believe it was the disruption of the
compacting process that caused this. I had just started the compacting
process and some other process started, I believe it was the automatic
updates process wanting to restart.

I have XP SP3 plus all the latest updates. I have 2 identities and both were
affected. I still only have 2 identities. The one identity has several .dbx
and a corresponding .bak file. In the first Store Folder location, for the
first identity,they a

Deleted Items.bak/.dbx
Folders.bak/.dbx
Inbox.bak/.dbx
Offline.bak/.dbx
Outbox.bak/.dbx
Pop3uidl.bak/.dbx
Drafts.dbs/no .bak file
Sent Items.dbx/no .bak file

In the second Store Folder location, for the second identity,they a

Deleted Items.dbx/no .bak file
Folders.dbx/no .bak file
Offline.dbx/no .bak file
Sent Items.dbx/no .bak file
Drafts.dbx/no .bak file
Inbox.dbx/no .bak file
Outbox.dbx/no .bak file
Pop3uidl.dbx/no .bak file

When I checked in the Recycle Bin I found some of the OE files and Restored
all of them, they probably are the ones in the first folder. The Recycle Bin
in now empty.

In reading your method of restoring the files I get a little lost. I have
checked the Show all hidden files.

"Do you see more than one identity listed in this path in Windows Explorer?"
Only one path is listed for each identity, i.e., each identity shows is own
path, I have listed the files in each store folder above.

"To restore a bak folder to the message store folder, first find the
location of the Message Store." A bak folder? Where is this folder found, I
only have bak files as listed above. All the files listed above are in the
message store folder for each identity. I need a little clarification here.

"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." Which dbx file do I click? I have 8 to choose from, would it be the
one that says "Folders?"

"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." What folder? I had about 30-40 folders that
dissapeared.

Maybe you can shed some light on these items and I can try it.

Thanks,
Joseph

url:http://www.ureader.com/msg/137913295.aspx

If you ever get this figured out, please use MSNews to post your messages.
This moronic "Planet" newsreader won't let any replies to any post except
the original which makes things hard to follow.

It is very simple. For example, after you restore the bak files from the
Recycle Bin, you will have an Inbox.dbx file and an Inbox.bak file in the
message store. All you need to do is, (with OE closed), drag the Inbox.dbx
file out of the message store to the Desktop and rename the Inbox.bak file
to Inbox.dbx. When you open OE the restored Inbox should contain all your
messages.

Repeat this for every folder with missing messages. The only difference is
if the folder is a user created you need to create a folder in OE with the
same name before you do the above. Eg: If you have a folder you created
called Saved Mail in the store folder with the dbx and bak file extensions,
make sure there is a Saved Mail folder in OE first. Create a new one if
necessary, open the folder and close OE and then continue the process as
above.
--

Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA


"Joseph Malet" wrote in message
.. .
Just turned on my PC and went to OE to find all folders with all my saved
emails gone. Any one know what happenned? Also, the one file that MS gives
you when you first start OE, the one that gives you an overview and shows
you how to use OE appeared once again, I had deleted this years ago. I
wonder if on of the automatic updates has a bug and just wiped out all my
emails?

Thanks in advance,
Joseph

url:http://www.ureader.com/gp/1379-1.aspx

Bruce, I am now on MS News, I hope this is better. I see that none of my
replys are showing. So I have cut and paste my last one to you.

Before I paste I will update what I have tried. I was able to recover some
of the bak files in a limited way on one of the accounts (folders), as you
can see in my file list the other folder has no .bak files. Is there a way to
open these files or make OE read these files, they are there but OE is not
listing the content of the files.

Here is the paste:

Bruce, thanks for the info, I believe it was the disruption of the
compacting process that caused this. I had just started the compacting
process and some other process started, I believe it was the automatic
updates process wanting to restart.

I have XP SP3 plus all the latest updates. I have 2 identities and both were
affected. I still only have 2 identities. The one identity has several .dbx
and a corresponding .bak file. In the first Store Folder location, for the
first identity,they a

Deleted Items.bak/.dbx
Folders.bak/.dbx
Inbox.bak/.dbx
Offline.bak/.dbx
Outbox.bak/.dbx
Pop3uidl.bak/.dbx
Drafts.dbs/no .bak file
Sent Items.dbx/no .bak file

In the second Store Folder location, for the second identity,they a

Deleted Items.dbx/no .bak file
Folders.dbx/no .bak file
Offline.dbx/no .bak file
Sent Items.dbx/no .bak file
Drafts.dbx/no .bak file
Inbox.dbx/no .bak file
Outbox.dbx/no .bak file
Pop3uidl.dbx/no .bak file

When I checked in the Recycle Bin I found some of the OE files and Restored
all of them, they probably are the ones in the first folder. The Recycle Bin
in now empty.

In reading your method of restoring the files I get a little lost. I have
checked the Show all hidden files.

"Do you see more than one identity listed in this path in Windows Explorer?"
Only one path is listed for each identity, i.e., each identity shows is own
path, I have listed the files in each store folder above.

"To restore a bak folder to the message store folder, first find the
location of the Message Store." A bak folder? Where is this folder found, I
only have bak files as listed above. All the files listed above are in the
message store folder for each identity. I need a little clarification here.

"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." Which dbx file do I click? I have 8 to choose from, would it be the
one that says "Folders?"

"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." What folder? I had about 30-40 folders that
dissapeared.

Maybe you can shed some light on these items and I can try it.

Thanks,
Joseph


--
Thanks,
Joseph


"Bruce Hagen" wrote:

If you ever get this figured out, please use MSNews to post your messages.
This moronic "Planet" newsreader won't let any replies to any post except
the original which makes things hard to follow.

It is very simple. For example, after you restore the bak files from the
Recycle Bin, you will have an Inbox.dbx file and an Inbox.bak file in the
message store. All you need to do is, (with OE closed), drag the Inbox.dbx
file out of the message store to the Desktop and rename the Inbox.bak file
to Inbox.dbx. When you open OE the restored Inbox should contain all your
messages.

Repeat this for every folder with missing messages. The only difference is
if the folder is a user created you need to create a folder in OE with the
same name before you do the above. Eg: If you have a folder you created
called Saved Mail in the store folder with the dbx and bak file extensions,
make sure there is a Saved Mail folder in OE first. Create a new one if
necessary, open the folder and close OE and then continue the process as
above.
--

Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA


"Joseph Malet" wrote in message
.. .
Just turned on my PC and went to OE to find all folders with all my saved
emails gone. Any one know what happenned? Also, the one file that MS gives
you when you first start OE, the one that gives you an overview and shows
you how to use OE appeared once again, I had deleted this years ago. I
wonder if on of the automatic updates has a bug and just wiped out all my
emails?

Thanks in advance,
Joseph

url:http://www.ureader.com/gp/1379-1.aspx