Disappeared e-mails in OE6...

Greetings everyone,

I have stumbled upon a nasty problem with OE6. One of the many folders
created by me was completely emptied out a few days ago! I did not give OE6
or any other application the command to make that folder empty and therefore
naturally, I was shocked. Though this folder contained no more that 30
e-mail messages, they were all nonetheless of significant importance to me.

I have read numerous posts from users with a similar OE problem. I have also
read posts that replied to those distressed people. In most cases the
recommendations were to use one of the two available utilities to recover by
extracting the data from the corrupted *.dbx or *.dbt file. Though I have
read the posts and think that this is just the remedy for my malady, I have
not yet taken this advice for myself because I think that my situation is a
bit different from the others'. A few instances make my case a unique one
(as I will point out).

I think, though not sure, that my problem was caused by an anti-virus:
Avast! v4.1 Home Edition. On some day prior to the problem of the emptying
out of my previously full OE6 folder, while accomplishing the task of
downloading e-mail stored on my e-mail accounts, I received a message from
the aforementioned anti-virus program. Sorry; I cannot remember what this
message said but I can tell you a thing or two what I remember about it:

(1) it was generated by the anti-virus program
(2) it was questioning me about a particular message that was being
downloaded to the PC
(3) I believe it asked for me to make a decision to whether or not
accept or reject this e-mail
(4) this e-mail is from a service I subscribe to so it shouldn't have
been malicious
(5) when answering the dialog box, I had failed to find out exactly what
the question asked of me & wanted me to do
(6) I took a 50/50 chance--allowing the message to be downloaded without
any action of part of Avast!

Everything that had happened from the time of the dialog box to the time I
discovered the empty folder, I do not recall. But I'll tell you why I think
that my anti-virus is to blame--more than the many other frequent and often
extreme actions such as testing of new freebie app's I download often to my
PC--is the one responsible. I install quite frequently and am familiar with
the process of both installing an app. and of uninstalling it; such things
have never caused me any serious trouble as I know from personal experience.
That dialog box, on the other hand, I have seen for the first time ever
since the installation and daily use of Avast! 4.1 Home Edition. This is why
I can recall that event; because it was so sudden and new and bizarre. And
also I've read about anti-virus apps. wrecking havoc within OE. So you get
the picture.

With the probable source/cause, I can go on to tell you more about what
happened after my big discovery, namely the action or inactions that
followed. As I've read, in order not to lessen the chances of recovery, EO
*.dbx and/or *.dbt (which ever apply) files ought not be modified by doing
such things as downloading e-mails or moving them the files to another
location or tinkering with them. Well, not knowing this, I have downloaded
messages since the day I discovered the problem. But as soon as I learned
that I shouldn't, I have ceased immediately all e-mail (though not
newsgroup) downloading. Since then, I've neither sent not received a single
e-mail.

OK, so they say if all of a sudden a folder is empty, then it;s corrupted?
As I've said, the only suddenly-empty folder is the one I created; not the
inbox or any other standard folder. All others seem to be in order, though I
can't be sure. So they say a folder has to be empty for it to be corrupted?
So OE file corruption is only manifested in the erasing of all messages in a
folder as opposed to a few? Is this the way to tell if a folder is
corrupted--basically by it turning into a completely empty one with not even
a few e-mails lingering around? So HOW do I tell if any corruption has taken
place at all and when? And if it has, only then can I take appropriate
measures through recovery efforts built around the posed question of my
previous sentence.

Now I'll tell you exactly what I did to try to discover the source's source
and what exactly I found out. So, I followed directions from other posts'
suggestions by searching for *.dbx and *.dbt OE files on my PC. The searches
only uncovered *.dbx files. I don't know what the lack of *.dbt files tells
you--you be the judge. All files had standard names as you'd expect them
(example: Inbox.dbx). But a few *.dbx files did NOT have the standard name
as is defined by some posts. Those *.dbx had numbers in parenthesis
following their STANDARD name. I'll list simplified versions (for security
reasons) of ALL the names of the non-standard *.dbx files I found upon
scanning of my hard disk:

"Archived Items (1).dbx"
"Account A (1).dbx"
"Account B (2).dbx"
"Account C (1).dbx"

So there I found 4 files with numbers! Do those numbers in parenthesis
indicate that the file is actually not the original but an entirely another
copy created by OE from the time I began using Outlook Express?! If so, then
WHAT in the world does "(2)" mean if "(1)" means 2nd VERSION OF A GIVEN
*.dbx FILE? Does "(2)" mean a 3rd version? That's what I'd like to know,
please.
Are you up to my challenge?

--T. Abdullin

PS: Look, I apologize for making my expression of the issue so thorough and
probably time-consuming for you to read. You must understand that I am very
frustrated here. If you HAVE read it, I thank you; if you can help me with
an equal or greater amount of thoroughness, I thank you even more. )

Start he http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/probl...s.htm#mailgone.
~~~~~~~~~~~
DBXtract
http://www.oehelp.com/DBXtract/Default.aspx

DBXtend (additional functionality)
http://www.oehelp.com/DBXtend/Default.aspx

DBXpress (faster, more powerful, with even greater functionality)
http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/Default.aspx
~~~~~~~~~~~
For lost Inbox messages:
Inbox.dbx is damaged. Close OE and then Move Inbox.dbx from your store
folder (http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/files/store.htm) to another Windows
(not OE) folder and run any of the above applications on the moved file. (A
new, empty Inbox.dbx will be created when you next open OE.)

Other folders:
Close OE. Move the associated DBX file to another Windows folder and run
any of the above applications on the moved file.

If one of the above applications successfully recovers any messages, count
yourself fortunate. Do *not* import the messages from the moved DBX file
back into OE! Recovered messages may be dragged into an open OE folder,
but...

Don't use Inbox or Sent Items to archive messages. Move them to local
folders created for this purpose.

Disable Background Compacting and frequently perform a manual compact of all
OE folders while "working offline". More at
http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/files/maintain.htm.

Your anti-virus application's email scanning feature can also cause such
corruption. Disable it. It provides no additional protection.
--
HTH - Please Reply to This Thread

~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-Windows (IE/OE), AH-VSOP

AumHa Forums
http://forum.aumha.org

Protect Your PC
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect

Timur Abdullin wrote:
Greetings everyone,

I have stumbled upon a nasty problem with OE6. One of the many folders
created by me was completely emptied out a few days ago! I did not give
OE6 or any other application the command to make that folder empty and
therefore naturally, I was shocked. Though this folder contained no more
that 30 e-mail messages, they were all nonetheless of significant
importance to me.

I have read numerous posts from users with a similar OE problem. I have
also read posts that replied to those distressed people. In most cases the
recommendations were to use one of the two available utilities to recover
by extracting the data from the corrupted *.dbx or *.dbt file. Though I
have read the posts and think that this is just the remedy for my malady,
I have not yet taken this advice for myself because I think that my
situation is a bit different from the others'. A few instances make my
case a unique one (as I will point out).

I think, though not sure, that my problem was caused by an anti-virus:
Avast! v4.1 Home Edition. On some day prior to the problem of the emptying
out of my previously full OE6 folder, while accomplishing the task of
downloading e-mail stored on my e-mail accounts, I received a message from
the aforementioned anti-virus program. Sorry; I cannot remember what this
message said but I can tell you a thing or two what I remember about it:

(1) it was generated by the anti-virus program
(2) it was questioning me about a particular message that was being
downloaded to the PC
(3) I believe it asked for me to make a decision to whether or not
accept or reject this e-mail
(4) this e-mail is from a service I subscribe to so it shouldn't have
been malicious
(5) when answering the dialog box, I had failed to find out exactly
what the question asked of me & wanted me to do
(6) I took a 50/50 chance--allowing the message to be downloaded
without any action of part of Avast!

Everything that had happened from the time of the dialog box to the time I
discovered the empty folder, I do not recall. But I'll tell you why I
think that my anti-virus is to blame--more than the many other frequent
and often extreme actions such as testing of new freebie app's I download
often to my PC--is the one responsible. I install quite frequently and am
familiar with the process of both installing an app. and of uninstalling
it; such things have never caused me any serious trouble as I know from
personal experience. That dialog box, on the other hand, I have seen for
the first time ever since the installation and daily use of Avast! 4.1
Home Edition. This is why I can recall that event; because it was so
sudden and new and bizarre. And also I've read about anti-virus apps.
wrecking havoc within OE. So you get the picture.

With the probable source/cause, I can go on to tell you more about what
happened after my big discovery, namely the action or inactions that
followed. As I've read, in order not to lessen the chances of recovery, EO
*.dbx and/or *.dbt (which ever apply) files ought not be modified by doing
such things as downloading e-mails or moving them the files to another
location or tinkering with them. Well, not knowing this, I have downloaded
messages since the day I discovered the problem. But as soon as I learned
that I shouldn't, I have ceased immediately all e-mail (though not
newsgroup) downloading. Since then, I've neither sent not received a
single e-mail.

OK, so they say if all of a sudden a folder is empty, then it;s corrupted?
As I've said, the only suddenly-empty folder is the one I created; not the
inbox or any other standard folder. All others seem to be in order,
though I can't be sure. So they say a folder has to be empty for it to be
corrupted? So OE file corruption is only manifested in the erasing of all
messages in a folder as opposed to a few? Is this the way to tell if a
folder is corrupted--basically by it turning into a completely empty one
with not even a few e-mails lingering around? So HOW do I tell if any
corruption has taken place at all and when? And if it has, only then can
I take appropriate measures through recovery efforts built around the
posed question of my previous sentence.

Now I'll tell you exactly what I did to try to discover the source's
source and what exactly I found out. So, I followed directions from other
posts' suggestions by searching for *.dbx and *.dbt OE files on my PC.
The searches only uncovered *.dbx files. I don't know what the lack of
*.dbt files tells you--you be the judge. All files had standard names as
you'd expect them (example: Inbox.dbx). But a few *.dbx files did NOT
have the standard name as is defined by some posts. Those *.dbx had
numbers in parenthesis following their STANDARD name. I'll list
simplified versions (for security reasons) of ALL the names of the
non-standard *.dbx files I found upon scanning of my hard disk:

"Archived Items (1).dbx"
"Account A (1).dbx"
"Account B (2).dbx"
"Account C (1).dbx"

So there I found 4 files with numbers! Do those numbers in parenthesis
indicate that the file is actually not the original but an entirely
another copy created by OE from the time I began using Outlook Express?!
If so, then WHAT in the world does "(2)" mean if "(1)" means 2nd VERSION
OF A GIVEN *.dbx FILE? Does "(2)" mean a 3rd version? That's what I'd
like to know, please.
Are you up to my challenge?

--T. Abdullin

PS: Look, I apologize for making my expression of the issue so thorough
and probably time-consuming for you to read. You must understand that I
am very frustrated here. If you HAVE read it, I thank you; if you can
help me with an equal or greater amount of thoroughness, I thank you even
more. )

Greetings again,

Thank you for the valuable feedback, PABear. However, I am already familiar
with the recovering process of corrupted files. What is keeping me from
taking the approach you are suggesting is my lack of understanding of the
nature of my problem. I don't want to rush because I just don't have the
answers I need in order to get the show on the road to resolving my OE
issue. Namely the answers to the questions I asked in paragraphs 6 and 8
(last paragraph) of my ORIGINAL post are of great importance to me. Only
when they are answered to my satisfaction, can I then myself take any
actions. So please, who can, read carefully and provide me with as thorough
answers as you can - answers that I seek. I know that you are all busy and
so am I, but I can't go on using OE6 until the matter is resolved; and until
it's resolved, I won't be able to send and receive e-mail. I thank you for
your effort, and again, I apologize for making my ORIGINAL post so lengthy.

-TA

"PA Bear" wrote in message
...
Start he http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/probl...s.htm#mailgone.
~~~~~~~~~~~
DBXtract
http://www.oehelp.com/DBXtract/Default.aspx

DBXtend (additional functionality)
http://www.oehelp.com/DBXtend/Default.aspx

DBXpress (faster, more powerful, with even greater functionality)
http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/Default.aspx
~~~~~~~~~~~
For lost Inbox messages:
Inbox.dbx is damaged. Close OE and then Move Inbox.dbx from your store
folder (http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/files/store.htm) to another Windows
(not OE) folder and run any of the above applications on the moved file.
(A
new, empty Inbox.dbx will be created when you next open OE.)

Other folders:
Close OE. Move the associated DBX file to another Windows folder and run
any of the above applications on the moved file.

If one of the above applications successfully recovers any messages, count
yourself fortunate. Do *not* import the messages from the moved DBX file
back into OE! Recovered messages may be dragged into an open OE folder,
but...

Don't use Inbox or Sent Items to archive messages. Move them to local
folders created for this purpose.

Disable Background Compacting and frequently perform a manual compact of
all
OE folders while "working offline". More at
http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/files/maintain.htm.

Your anti-virus application's email scanning feature can also cause such
corruption. Disable it. It provides no additional protection.
--
HTH - Please Reply to This Thread

~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-Windows (IE/OE), AH-VSOP

AumHa Forums
http://forum.aumha.org

Protect Your PC
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect

Timur Abdullin wrote:
Greetings everyone,

I have stumbled upon a nasty problem with OE6. One of the many folders
created by me was completely emptied out a few days ago! I did not give
OE6 or any other application the command to make that folder empty and
therefore naturally, I was shocked. Though this folder contained no more
that 30 e-mail messages, they were all nonetheless of significant
importance to me.

I have read numerous posts from users with a similar OE problem. I have
also read posts that replied to those distressed people. In most cases
the
recommendations were to use one of the two available utilities to
recover
by extracting the data from the corrupted *.dbx or *.dbt file. Though I
have read the posts and think that this is just the remedy for my
malady,
I have not yet taken this advice for myself because I think that my
situation is a bit different from the others'. A few instances make my
case a unique one (as I will point out).

I think, though not sure, that my problem was caused by an anti-virus:
Avast! v4.1 Home Edition. On some day prior to the problem of the
emptying
out of my previously full OE6 folder, while accomplishing the task of
downloading e-mail stored on my e-mail accounts, I received a message
from
the aforementioned anti-virus program. Sorry; I cannot remember what
this
message said but I can tell you a thing or two what I remember about it:

(1) it was generated by the anti-virus program
(2) it was questioning me about a particular message that was being
downloaded to the PC
(3) I believe it asked for me to make a decision to whether or not
accept or reject this e-mail
(4) this e-mail is from a service I subscribe to so it shouldn't have
been malicious
(5) when answering the dialog box, I had failed to find out exactly
what the question asked of me & wanted me to do
(6) I took a 50/50 chance--allowing the message to be downloaded
without any action of part of Avast!

Everything that had happened from the time of the dialog box to the time
I
discovered the empty folder, I do not recall. But I'll tell you why I
think that my anti-virus is to blame--more than the many other frequent
and often extreme actions such as testing of new freebie app's I
download
often to my PC--is the one responsible. I install quite frequently and
am
familiar with the process of both installing an app. and of uninstalling
it; such things have never caused me any serious trouble as I know from
personal experience. That dialog box, on the other hand, I have seen for
the first time ever since the installation and daily use of Avast! 4.1
Home Edition. This is why I can recall that event; because it was so
sudden and new and bizarre. And also I've read about anti-virus apps.
wrecking havoc within OE. So you get the picture.

With the probable source/cause, I can go on to tell you more about what
happened after my big discovery, namely the action or inactions that
followed. As I've read, in order not to lessen the chances of recovery,
EO
*.dbx and/or *.dbt (which ever apply) files ought not be modified by
doing
such things as downloading e-mails or moving them the files to another
location or tinkering with them. Well, not knowing this, I have
downloaded
messages since the day I discovered the problem. But as soon as I
learned
that I shouldn't, I have ceased immediately all e-mail (though not
newsgroup) downloading. Since then, I've neither sent not received a
single e-mail.

OK, so they say if all of a sudden a folder is empty, then it;s
corrupted?
As I've said, the only suddenly-empty folder is the one I created; not
the
inbox or any other standard folder. All others seem to be in order,
though I can't be sure. So they say a folder has to be empty for it to
be
corrupted? So OE file corruption is only manifested in the erasing of
all
messages in a folder as opposed to a few? Is this the way to tell if a
folder is corrupted--basically by it turning into a completely empty one
with not even a few e-mails lingering around? So HOW do I tell if any
corruption has taken place at all and when? And if it has, only then can
I take appropriate measures through recovery efforts built around the
posed question of my previous sentence.

Now I'll tell you exactly what I did to try to discover the source's
source and what exactly I found out. So, I followed directions from
other
posts' suggestions by searching for *.dbx and *.dbt OE files on my PC.
The searches only uncovered *.dbx files. I don't know what the lack of
*.dbt files tells you--you be the judge. All files had standard names as
you'd expect them (example: Inbox.dbx). But a few *.dbx files did NOT
have the standard name as is defined by some posts. Those *.dbx had
numbers in parenthesis following their STANDARD name. I'll list
simplified versions (for security reasons) of ALL the names of the
non-standard *.dbx files I found upon scanning of my hard disk:

"Archived Items (1).dbx"
"Account A (1).dbx"
"Account B (2).dbx"
"Account C (1).dbx"

So there I found 4 files with numbers! Do those numbers in parenthesis
indicate that the file is actually not the original but an entirely
another copy created by OE from the time I began using Outlook Express?!
If so, then WHAT in the world does "(2)" mean if "(1)" means 2nd VERSION
OF A GIVEN *.dbx FILE? Does "(2)" mean a 3rd version? That's what I'd
like to know, please.
Are you up to my challenge?

--T. Abdullin

PS: Look, I apologize for making my expression of the issue so thorough
and probably time-consuming for you to read. You must understand that I
am very frustrated here. If you HAVE read it, I thank you; if you can
help me with an equal or greater amount of thoroughness, I thank you
even
more. )

"Timur Abdullin" wrote in message
...

OK, so they say if all of a sudden a folder is empty, then it;s corrupted?

Normally, that would be yes. You can check by looking in the message store
folder to see if a new dbx with a number appended has been created. If so,
this would indicate corruption in the earlier existing file. Most
corruption is caused by having an option set in OE under
Tools/Options/Maintenance to Compact Messages in the Background. That
option should be disabled and is disabled in all new versions of IE/OE that
will be available from Microsoft.

As I've said, the only suddenly-empty folder is the one I created; not the
inbox or any other standard folder. All others seem to be in order, though
I
can't be sure. So they say a folder has to be empty for it to be
corrupted?

No, any folder can become corrupt by having the option above set. This is
particularly the case if OE is doing a compact in the background and the
user terminates the compacting by shutting down the computer, experiences a
power failure or forces a shutdown because they notice that msimn.exe is
still running in the background when they open Task Manager and they force a
shutdown.


Now I'll tell you exactly what I did to try to discover the source's
source
and what exactly I found out. So, I followed directions from other posts'
suggestions by searching for *.dbx and *.dbt OE files on my PC. The
searches
only uncovered *.dbx files. I don't know what the lack of *.dbt files
tells
you--you be the judge.

The DBT files are temporary files created during the compacting. When the
compacting completes, the DBT files are erased.


So there I found 4 files with numbers! Do those numbers in parenthesis
indicate that the file is actually not the original but an entirely
another
copy created by OE from the time I began using Outlook Express?! If so,
then
WHAT in the world does "(2)" mean if "(1)" means 2nd VERSION OF A GIVEN
*.dbx FILE? Does "(2)" mean a 3rd version? That's what I'd like to know,
please.

A (2), (3) or (4) appended to a file means that corruption has been an
ongoing event, again most probably linked to background compaction. Disable
it and follow the advice on compacting at this link:
http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/files...in.htm#compact
--
Jim Pickering, MVP-Outlook Express
Please reply only to newsgroup.

Hello,

Just have 3 question for you: how are the programs you listed different in
regard to each other? Which is the BEST of the 3 that they are offering for
sale? Would DBXtend be the better of the 3 since its price tag is heftiest?

DBXtract - $5
DBXtend - $30
DBXpress - $25

-TA

PS: I posted this message once...not sure why it never went through.

"PA Bear" wrote in message
...
Start he http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/probl...s.htm#mailgone.
~~~~~~~~~~~
DBXtract
http://www.oehelp.com/DBXtract/Default.aspx

DBXtend (additional functionality)
http://www.oehelp.com/DBXtend/Default.aspx

DBXpress (faster, more powerful, with even greater functionality)
http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/Default.aspx
~~~~~~~~~~~
For lost Inbox messages:
Inbox.dbx is damaged. Close OE and then Move Inbox.dbx from your store
folder (http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/files/store.htm) to another Windows
(not OE) folder and run any of the above applications on the moved file.
(A
new, empty Inbox.dbx will be created when you next open OE.)

Other folders:
Close OE. Move the associated DBX file to another Windows folder and run
any of the above applications on the moved file.

If one of the above applications successfully recovers any messages, count
yourself fortunate. Do *not* import the messages from the moved DBX file
back into OE! Recovered messages may be dragged into an open OE folder,
but...

Don't use Inbox or Sent Items to archive messages. Move them to local
folders created for this purpose.

Disable Background Compacting and frequently perform a manual compact of
all
OE folders while "working offline". More at
http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/files/maintain.htm.

Your anti-virus application's email scanning feature can also cause such
corruption. Disable it. It provides no additional protection.
--
HTH - Please Reply to This Thread

~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-Windows (IE/OE), AH-VSOP

AumHa Forums
http://forum.aumha.org

Protect Your PC
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect

Timur Abdullin wrote:
Greetings everyone,

I have stumbled upon a nasty problem with OE6. One of the many folders
created by me was completely emptied out a few days ago! I did not give
OE6 or any other application the command to make that folder empty and
therefore naturally, I was shocked. Though this folder contained no more
that 30 e-mail messages, they were all nonetheless of significant
importance to me.

I have read numerous posts from users with a similar OE problem. I have
also read posts that replied to those distressed people. In most cases
the
recommendations were to use one of the two available utilities to
recover
by extracting the data from the corrupted *.dbx or *.dbt file. Though I
have read the posts and think that this is just the remedy for my
malady,
I have not yet taken this advice for myself because I think that my
situation is a bit different from the others'. A few instances make my
case a unique one (as I will point out).

I think, though not sure, that my problem was caused by an anti-virus:
Avast! v4.1 Home Edition. On some day prior to the problem of the
emptying
out of my previously full OE6 folder, while accomplishing the task of
downloading e-mail stored on my e-mail accounts, I received a message
from
the aforementioned anti-virus program. Sorry; I cannot remember what
this
message said but I can tell you a thing or two what I remember about it:

(1) it was generated by the anti-virus program
(2) it was questioning me about a particular message that was being
downloaded to the PC
(3) I believe it asked for me to make a decision to whether or not
accept or reject this e-mail
(4) this e-mail is from a service I subscribe to so it shouldn't have
been malicious
(5) when answering the dialog box, I had failed to find out exactly
what the question asked of me & wanted me to do
(6) I took a 50/50 chance--allowing the message to be downloaded
without any action of part of Avast!

Everything that had happened from the time of the dialog box to the time
I
discovered the empty folder, I do not recall. But I'll tell you why I
think that my anti-virus is to blame--more than the many other frequent
and often extreme actions such as testing of new freebie app's I
download
often to my PC--is the one responsible. I install quite frequently and
am
familiar with the process of both installing an app. and of uninstalling
it; such things have never caused me any serious trouble as I know from
personal experience. That dialog box, on the other hand, I have seen for
the first time ever since the installation and daily use of Avast! 4.1
Home Edition. This is why I can recall that event; because it was so
sudden and new and bizarre. And also I've read about anti-virus apps.
wrecking havoc within OE. So you get the picture.

With the probable source/cause, I can go on to tell you more about what
happened after my big discovery, namely the action or inactions that
followed. As I've read, in order not to lessen the chances of recovery,
EO
*.dbx and/or *.dbt (which ever apply) files ought not be modified by
doing
such things as downloading e-mails or moving them the files to another
location or tinkering with them. Well, not knowing this, I have
downloaded
messages since the day I discovered the problem. But as soon as I
learned
that I shouldn't, I have ceased immediately all e-mail (though not
newsgroup) downloading. Since then, I've neither sent not received a
single e-mail.

OK, so they say if all of a sudden a folder is empty, then it;s
corrupted?
As I've said, the only suddenly-empty folder is the one I created; not
the
inbox or any other standard folder. All others seem to be in order,
though I can't be sure. So they say a folder has to be empty for it to
be
corrupted? So OE file corruption is only manifested in the erasing of
all
messages in a folder as opposed to a few? Is this the way to tell if a
folder is corrupted--basically by it turning into a completely empty one
with not even a few e-mails lingering around? So HOW do I tell if any
corruption has taken place at all and when? And if it has, only then can
I take appropriate measures through recovery efforts built around the
posed question of my previous sentence.

Now I'll tell you exactly what I did to try to discover the source's
source and what exactly I found out. So, I followed directions from
other
posts' suggestions by searching for *.dbx and *.dbt OE files on my PC.
The searches only uncovered *.dbx files. I don't know what the lack of
*.dbt files tells you--you be the judge. All files had standard names as
you'd expect them (example: Inbox.dbx). But a few *.dbx files did NOT
have the standard name as is defined by some posts. Those *.dbx had
numbers in parenthesis following their STANDARD name. I'll list
simplified versions (for security reasons) of ALL the names of the
non-standard *.dbx files I found upon scanning of my hard disk:

"Archived Items (1).dbx"
"Account A (1).dbx"
"Account B (2).dbx"
"Account C (1).dbx"

So there I found 4 files with numbers! Do those numbers in parenthesis
indicate that the file is actually not the original but an entirely
another copy created by OE from the time I began using Outlook Express?!
If so, then WHAT in the world does "(2)" mean if "(1)" means 2nd VERSION
OF A GIVEN *.dbx FILE? Does "(2)" mean a 3rd version? That's what I'd
like to know, please.
Are you up to my challenge?

--T. Abdullin

PS: Look, I apologize for making my expression of the issue so thorough
and probably time-consuming for you to read. You must understand that I
am very frustrated here. If you HAVE read it, I thank you; if you can
help me with an equal or greater amount of thoroughness, I thank you
even
more. )

Thank you Jim,

Now I think I understand what I was unsure about before. Just to confirm,
are you saying that a *.dbx file with an appended number has been corrupted?
So as I've stated in my INITIAL post, I've found 4 such files on my hard
disk: three of them with a "(1)" mark and the other one with a "(2)". The
"(2)" mark indicates for sure a file's corruption, as I understood you.
Files marked "(2)" and up have been continuously corrupted, as I understood
you. But what is still unclear to me is what does "(1)" mean. Could you
explain this please?

-TA

"Jim Pickering" wrote in message
...
"Timur Abdullin" wrote in message
...

OK, so they say if all of a sudden a folder is empty, then it;s
corrupted?

Normally, that would be yes. You can check by looking in the message
store
folder to see if a new dbx with a number appended has been created. If
so,
this would indicate corruption in the earlier existing file. Most
corruption is caused by having an option set in OE under
Tools/Options/Maintenance to Compact Messages in the Background. That
option should be disabled and is disabled in all new versions of IE/OE
that
will be available from Microsoft.

As I've said, the only suddenly-empty folder is the one I created; not
the
inbox or any other standard folder. All others seem to be in order,
though
I
can't be sure. So they say a folder has to be empty for it to be
corrupted?

No, any folder can become corrupt by having the option above set. This is
particularly the case if OE is doing a compact in the background and the
user terminates the compacting by shutting down the computer, experiences
a
power failure or forces a shutdown because they notice that msimn.exe is
still running in the background when they open Task Manager and they force
a
shutdown.


Now I'll tell you exactly what I did to try to discover the source's
source
and what exactly I found out. So, I followed directions from other
posts'
suggestions by searching for *.dbx and *.dbt OE files on my PC. The
searches
only uncovered *.dbx files. I don't know what the lack of *.dbt files
tells
you--you be the judge.

The DBT files are temporary files created during the compacting. When the
compacting completes, the DBT files are erased.


So there I found 4 files with numbers! Do those numbers in parenthesis
indicate that the file is actually not the original but an entirely
another
copy created by OE from the time I began using Outlook Express?! If so,
then
WHAT in the world does "(2)" mean if "(1)" means 2nd VERSION OF A GIVEN
*.dbx FILE? Does "(2)" mean a 3rd version? That's what I'd like to know,
please.

A (2), (3) or (4) appended to a file means that corruption has been an
ongoing event, again most probably linked to background compaction.
Disable
it and follow the advice on compacting at this link:
http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/files...in.htm#compact
--
Jim Pickering, MVP-Outlook Express
Please reply only to newsgroup.

Any file with a number appended, whether (1), (2), (3) etc. is most likely a
corrupted folder. The folder in use at the present by Outlook Express will
not have a number appended to it. I hope you've disabled Background
Compaction already to keep this from happening again. Also some antivirus
programs, set to scan incoming email will also cause corruption and in some
cases, even a complete, unrecoverable loss of all stored messages.
--
Jim Pickering, MVP-Outlook Express
Please reply only to newsgroup.


"Timur Abdullin" wrote in message
...
Thank you Jim,

Now I think I understand what I was unsure about before. Just to confirm,
are you saying that a *.dbx file with an appended number has been
corrupted?
So as I've stated in my INITIAL post, I've found 4 such files on my hard
disk: three of them with a "(1)" mark and the other one with a "(2)". The
"(2)" mark indicates for sure a file's corruption, as I understood you.
Files marked "(2)" and up have been continuously corrupted, as I
understood
you. But what is still unclear to me is what does "(1)" mean. Could you
explain this please?

-TA

"Jim Pickering" wrote in message
...
"Timur Abdullin" wrote in message
...

OK, so they say if all of a sudden a folder is empty, then it;s
corrupted?

Normally, that would be yes. You can check by looking in the message
store
folder to see if a new dbx with a number appended has been created. If
so,
this would indicate corruption in the earlier existing file. Most
corruption is caused by having an option set in OE under
Tools/Options/Maintenance to Compact Messages in the Background. That
option should be disabled and is disabled in all new versions of IE/OE
that
will be available from Microsoft.

As I've said, the only suddenly-empty folder is the one I created; not
the
inbox or any other standard folder. All others seem to be in order,
though
I
can't be sure. So they say a folder has to be empty for it to be
corrupted?

No, any folder can become corrupt by having the option above set. This
is
particularly the case if OE is doing a compact in the background and the
user terminates the compacting by shutting down the computer, experiences
a
power failure or forces a shutdown because they notice that msimn.exe is
still running in the background when they open Task Manager and they
force
a
shutdown.


Now I'll tell you exactly what I did to try to discover the source's
source
and what exactly I found out. So, I followed directions from other
posts'
suggestions by searching for *.dbx and *.dbt OE files on my PC. The
searches
only uncovered *.dbx files. I don't know what the lack of *.dbt files
tells
you--you be the judge.

The DBT files are temporary files created during the compacting. When
the
compacting completes, the DBT files are erased.


So there I found 4 files with numbers! Do those numbers in parenthesis
indicate that the file is actually not the original but an entirely
another
copy created by OE from the time I began using Outlook Express?! If so,
then
WHAT in the world does "(2)" mean if "(1)" means 2nd VERSION OF A GIVEN
*.dbx FILE? Does "(2)" mean a 3rd version? That's what I'd like to
know,
please.

A (2), (3) or (4) appended to a file means that corruption has been an
ongoing event, again most probably linked to background compaction.
Disable
it and follow the advice on compacting at this link:
http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/files...in.htm#compact
--
Jim Pickering, MVP-Outlook Express
Please reply only to newsgroup.

Hello Jim,

Thank you for helping me understand. Yes, I have done as you instructed and
powered off automatic Background Compaction in OE6, disabled my A-V's
(Avast! v4.1) e-mail scanning, and even disabled my firewall's (ZoneAlarm
Pro) outgoing/incoming scanning. Also I have copied those numbered corrupt
*.dbx's to a new, clean folder so that I'll be ready come the next step
(extracting from the *dbx's my lost e-mails).

Thanks again.

-TA


"Jim Pickering" wrote in message
...
Any file with a number appended, whether (1), (2), (3) etc. is most likely
a
corrupted folder. The folder in use at the present by Outlook Express
will
not have a number appended to it. I hope you've disabled Background
Compaction already to keep this from happening again. Also some antivirus
programs, set to scan incoming email will also cause corruption and in
some
cases, even a complete, unrecoverable loss of all stored messages.
--
Jim Pickering, MVP-Outlook Express
Please reply only to newsgroup.


"Timur Abdullin" wrote in message
...
Thank you Jim,

Now I think I understand what I was unsure about before. Just to
confirm,
are you saying that a *.dbx file with an appended number has been
corrupted?
So as I've stated in my INITIAL post, I've found 4 such files on my hard
disk: three of them with a "(1)" mark and the other one with a "(2)".
The
"(2)" mark indicates for sure a file's corruption, as I understood you.
Files marked "(2)" and up have been continuously corrupted, as I
understood
you. But what is still unclear to me is what does "(1)" mean. Could you
explain this please?

-TA

"Jim Pickering" wrote in message
...
"Timur Abdullin" wrote in message
...

OK, so they say if all of a sudden a folder is empty, then it;s
corrupted?

Normally, that would be yes. You can check by looking in the message
store
folder to see if a new dbx with a number appended has been created. If
so,
this would indicate corruption in the earlier existing file. Most
corruption is caused by having an option set in OE under
Tools/Options/Maintenance to Compact Messages in the Background. That
option should be disabled and is disabled in all new versions of IE/OE
that
will be available from Microsoft.

As I've said, the only suddenly-empty folder is the one I created;
not
the
inbox or any other standard folder. All others seem to be in order,
though
I
can't be sure. So they say a folder has to be empty for it to be
corrupted?

No, any folder can become corrupt by having the option above set. This
is
particularly the case if OE is doing a compact in the background and
the
user terminates the compacting by shutting down the computer,
experiences
a
power failure or forces a shutdown because they notice that msimn.exe
is
still running in the background when they open Task Manager and they
force
a
shutdown.


Now I'll tell you exactly what I did to try to discover the source's
source
and what exactly I found out. So, I followed directions from other
posts'
suggestions by searching for *.dbx and *.dbt OE files on my PC. The
searches
only uncovered *.dbx files. I don't know what the lack of *.dbt files
tells
you--you be the judge.

The DBT files are temporary files created during the compacting. When
the
compacting completes, the DBT files are erased.


So there I found 4 files with numbers! Do those numbers in
parenthesis
indicate that the file is actually not the original but an entirely
another
copy created by OE from the time I began using Outlook Express?! If
so,
then
WHAT in the world does "(2)" mean if "(1)" means 2nd VERSION OF A
GIVEN
*.dbx FILE? Does "(2)" mean a 3rd version? That's what I'd like to
know,
please.

A (2), (3) or (4) appended to a file means that corruption has been an
ongoing event, again most probably linked to background compaction.
Disable
it and follow the advice on compacting at this link:
http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/files...in.htm#compact
--
Jim Pickering, MVP-Outlook Express
Please reply only to newsgroup.

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 appended
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" wrote in message
...
Any file with a number appended, whether (1), (2), (3) etc. is most likely
a
corrupted folder. The folder in use at the present by Outlook Express
will
not have a number appended to it. I hope you've disabled Background
Compaction already to keep this from happening again. Also some antivirus
programs, set to scan incoming email will also cause corruption and in
some
cases, even a complete, unrecoverable loss of all stored messages.
--
Jim Pickering, MVP-Outlook Express
Please reply only to newsgroup.


"Timur Abdullin" wrote in message
...
Thank you Jim,

Now I think I understand what I was unsure about before. Just to
confirm,
are you saying that a *.dbx file with an appended number has been
corrupted?
So as I've stated in my INITIAL post, I've found 4 such files on my hard
disk: three of them with a "(1)" mark and the other one with a "(2)".
The
"(2)" mark indicates for sure a file's corruption, as I understood you.
Files marked "(2)" and up have been continuously corrupted, as I
understood
you. But what is still unclear to me is what does "(1)" mean. Could you
explain this please?

-TA

"Jim Pickering" wrote in message
...
"Timur Abdullin" wrote in message
...

OK, so they say if all of a sudden a folder is empty, then it;s
corrupted?

Normally, that would be yes. You can check by looking in the message
store
folder to see if a new dbx with a number appended has been created. If
so,
this would indicate corruption in the earlier existing file. Most
corruption is caused by having an option set in OE under
Tools/Options/Maintenance to Compact Messages in the Background. That
option should be disabled and is disabled in all new versions of IE/OE
that
will be available from Microsoft.

As I've said, the only suddenly-empty folder is the one I created;
not
the
inbox or any other standard folder. All others seem to be in order,
though
I
can't be sure. So they say a folder has to be empty for it to be
corrupted?

No, any folder can become corrupt by having the option above set. This
is
particularly the case if OE is doing a compact in the background and
the
user terminates the compacting by shutting down the computer,
experiences
a
power failure or forces a shutdown because they notice that msimn.exe
is
still running in the background when they open Task Manager and they
force
a
shutdown.


Now I'll tell you exactly what I did to try to discover the source's
source
and what exactly I found out. So, I followed directions from other
posts'
suggestions by searching for *.dbx and *.dbt OE files on my PC. The
searches
only uncovered *.dbx files. I don't know what the lack of *.dbt files
tells
you--you be the judge.

The DBT files are temporary files created during the compacting. When
the
compacting completes, the DBT files are erased.


So there I found 4 files with numbers! Do those numbers in
parenthesis
indicate that the file is actually not the original but an entirely
another
copy created by OE from the time I began using Outlook Express?! If
so,
then
WHAT in the world does "(2)" mean if "(1)" means 2nd VERSION OF A
GIVEN
*.dbx FILE? Does "(2)" mean a 3rd version? That's what I'd like to
know,
please.

A (2), (3) or (4) appended to a file means that corruption has been an
ongoing event, again most probably linked to background compaction.
Disable
it and follow the advice on compacting at this link:
http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/files...in.htm#compact
--
Jim Pickering, MVP-Outlook Express
Please reply only to newsgroup.

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 appended
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