How to correct OE maint directory?

How can I correct the OE maintenance directory?

The issue is: there appears to be DBX files for some OE subfolders that do
not appear in the Local Folders list in OE. I would like to recover those
subfolders, if feasible.

I believe the ignored DBX files did appear under Local Folders until one day
recently (7/9?), when I powered-off the system summarily instead of shutting
it down (Turn Off) just after an automatic OE compaction cycle. That is,
after exiting OE, I got a pop-up indicating that OE wanted to compact
folders; I waited for that to complete.

When I restarted the system and started OE after that, messages were missing
from standard folders (notably Sent Items), and non-standard subfolders were
missing from both Local Folders and the NG accounts. (Since then, I have
deleted the news accounts.)

Below is the list of the contents of the OE maintenance directory, as well
as the list of folders in OE. The maint dir list was made when OE was not
running. The OE folders list was made just after starting OE, before
setting up a news account for this posting.

In particular, I would like to recover (restore to the Local Folders list)
the two "My Sent Items" subfolders, and I would like to merge the two "Sent
Items" subfolder, if possible. Alternatively, I would be content to have
separate "Sent Items" folders appropriately namely distinctly.

How do I do that?


OE Folders:

Local Folders
Inbox
Outbox
Sent Items
Deleted Items
Drafts


Maintenance Directory:

Deleted Items.dbx 322 KB 7/9/2009
Drafts(1).dbx 139 KB 7/14/2009
Drafts.dbx 59 KB 7/9/2009
Folders.dbx 1347 KB 7/14/2009
Inbox(1).dbx 139 KB 7/14/2009 2:36 PM
Inbox.dbx 59 KB 7/14/2009 2:33 PM
My Sent Items from LA.dbx 137 KB 7/9/2009
My Sent Items.dbx 1965 KB 7/9/2009
Offline.dbx 10 KB 7/14/2009
Outbox(1).dbx 139 KB 7/14/2009
Pop3uidl.dbx 73 KB 7/14/2009
Sent Items(1).dbx 203 KB 7/14/2009
Sent Items.dbx 1332 KB 7/9/2009

[All yours, Bruce or Ron. I've got a KILLER headache and just reading OP's
post makes it worse.]

WhatsUp31415 wrote:
How can I correct the OE maintenance directory?

The issue is: there appears to be DBX files for some OE subfolders that
do
not appear in the Local Folders list in OE. I would like to recover those
subfolders, if feasible.

I believe the ignored DBX files did appear under Local Folders until one
day
recently (7/9?), when I powered-off the system summarily instead of
shutting
it down (Turn Off) just after an automatic OE compaction cycle. That is,
after exiting OE, I got a pop-up indicating that OE wanted to compact
folders; I waited for that to complete.

When I restarted the system and started OE after that, messages were
missing
from standard folders (notably Sent Items), and non-standard subfolders
were
missing from both Local Folders and the NG accounts. (Since then, I have
deleted the news accounts.)

Below is the list of the contents of the OE maintenance directory, as well
as the list of folders in OE. The maint dir list was made when OE was not
running. The OE folders list was made just after starting OE, before
setting up a news account for this posting.

In particular, I would like to recover (restore to the Local Folders list)
the two "My Sent Items" subfolders, and I would like to merge the two
"Sent
Items" subfolder, if possible. Alternatively, I would be content to have
separate "Sent Items" folders appropriately namely distinctly.

How do I do that?


OE Folders:

Local Folders
Inbox
Outbox
Sent Items
Deleted Items
Drafts


Maintenance Directory:

Deleted Items.dbx 322 KB 7/9/2009
Drafts(1).dbx 139 KB 7/14/2009
Drafts.dbx 59 KB 7/9/2009
Folders.dbx 1347 KB 7/14/2009
Inbox(1).dbx 139 KB 7/14/2009 2:36 PM
Inbox.dbx 59 KB 7/14/2009 2:33 PM
My Sent Items from LA.dbx 137 KB 7/9/2009
My Sent Items.dbx 1965 KB 7/9/2009
Offline.dbx 10 KB 7/14/2009
Outbox(1).dbx 139 KB 7/14/2009
Pop3uidl.dbx 73 KB 7/14/2009
Sent Items(1).dbx 203 KB 7/14/2009
Sent Items.dbx 1332 KB 7/9/2009

Any dbx file under 200KB is *virtually* empty.

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 [Mail]
Imperial Beach, CA


"WhatsUp31415" wrote in message
...
How can I correct the OE maintenance directory?

The issue is: there appears to be DBX files for some OE subfolders that
do not appear in the Local Folders list in OE. I would like to recover
those subfolders, if feasible.

I believe the ignored DBX files did appear under Local Folders until one
day recently (7/9?), when I powered-off the system summarily instead of
shutting it down (Turn Off) just after an automatic OE compaction cycle.
That is, after exiting OE, I got a pop-up indicating that OE wanted to
compact folders; I waited for that to complete.

When I restarted the system and started OE after that, messages were
missing from standard folders (notably Sent Items), and non-standard
subfolders were missing from both Local Folders and the NG accounts.
(Since then, I have deleted the news accounts.)

Below is the list of the contents of the OE maintenance directory, as well
as the list of folders in OE. The maint dir list was made when OE was not
running. The OE folders list was made just after starting OE, before
setting up a news account for this posting.

In particular, I would like to recover (restore to the Local Folders list)
the two "My Sent Items" subfolders, and I would like to merge the two
"Sent Items" subfolder, if possible. Alternatively, I would be content to
have separate "Sent Items" folders appropriately namely distinctly.

How do I do that?


OE Folders:

Local Folders
Inbox
Outbox
Sent Items
Deleted Items
Drafts


Maintenance Directory:

Deleted Items.dbx 322 KB 7/9/2009
Drafts(1).dbx 139 KB 7/14/2009
Drafts.dbx 59 KB 7/9/2009
Folders.dbx 1347 KB 7/14/2009
Inbox(1).dbx 139 KB 7/14/2009 2:36 PM
Inbox.dbx 59 KB 7/14/2009 2:33 PM
My Sent Items from LA.dbx 137 KB 7/9/2009
My Sent Items.dbx 1965 KB 7/9/2009
Offline.dbx 10 KB 7/14/2009
Outbox(1).dbx 139 KB 7/14/2009
Pop3uidl.dbx 73 KB 7/14/2009
Sent Items(1).dbx 203 KB 7/14/2009
Sent Items.dbx 1332 KB 7/9/2009