Compacted Outlook Express and now.....

[Chomauk]

I kept getting a message to Compact my files in Outlook Express(Windows XP Pro) and I just Canceled it for a future date. However, I accidently clicked ok and it compacted everything and now my inbox is empty! GRRRRRRRRRRR. I tried to find where the files went and thought I found them(.dbx) but when I went to import them back to the Identity I get files from another identity instead. There's another place I think they may be but I get a message that Outlook Express may be using the Message store.

Please! How do I restore my Inbox?

thanks

If you're going through hell, keep going.
--Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)

 

[Chomauk]

Nobody has any idea???

If you're going through hell, keep going.
--Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)

 

[smah]

Have a little patience..........


With OE closed, try Start, Run, regsvr32 inetcomm.dll, OK. Open OE & test.

 

[Chomauk]

Sorry, I just didn't want my question to go too far down the list without any replies.

I tried your suggestion and it succeeded, however, still no luck. The files(as far as I know) are located in C:\Documents and Settings\Chomauk\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\ and none of them have today's date. Shouldn't the file/folder have today's date on it since today is the day I compacted the folder? Am I looking in the wrong area? Is there another location I should be looking at?

thanks

If you're going through hell, keep going.
--Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)

 

[linney]

If you have no backups to restore from, you might try the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard to see if they are recoverable using that.

Users recycle bin
thread779-744465

 

[Chomauk]

If you're talking about the Import Wizard in OE I tried that.

The path I specified is the correct path where the messages should have been saved too?

So...when I allowed Windows to compact my folder it sent it off into Never Never land? Can that possibly be true? Please tell me they're saved elsewhere....


thanks

If you're going through hell, keep going.
--Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)

 

[linney]

A slightly different approach in that the Wizard can be configured to save your emails if they exist and to restore them later. It is different from the Import/Export of Outlook Express.

293118 - HOW TO: Use Files and Settings Transfer Wizard in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;293118&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH#2

 

[bcastner]

http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/Default.aspx

 

[bcastner]

An explanation of the compaction procedure:

http://www.phoenix360.com/tech/datadr/index2003.asp?did=4113

 

[Chomauk]

Sounds like I'm screwed.

Thanks for the links.

If you're going through hell, keep going.
--Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)

 

[smah]

As you may have found out, the OE mail store is not the most robust. Did the compact complete successfully or did it get interrupted? How many OE identities did you have? Have you used the Windows Search function to search your entire drive (including system & hidden files) for *.dbx?

 

[bcastner]

6. DBXpress can bypass a drive's file system and extract messages directly from the hard drive, enabling extraction of messages from deleted files, or from drives whose partition table has been damaged, or from drives that have been formatted.

If it can recover .dbx files from formatted volumes, I suspect it can help you.

http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/Default.aspx

 

[Chomauk]

I didn't search the ENTIRE drive but if you think there is a chance I can still retrieve my data I'll pursue your suggestions.

thanks again. I'll be in touch

If you're going through hell, keep going.
--Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)

 

[Chomauk]

The compact completed successfully and I did a search and found a folder I'd like to try to restore. However, when I ran the wizard it didn't give me that folder as an option to retrieve. I double-checked to make sure I was in the right identity and I was.

I'll try the link from bcastner next.

Still struggling but still trying.

Thanks again

If you're going through hell, keep going.
--Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)

 

[smah]

If there's anything there, DBExpress will have the best chance of recovering it. Do you have McAfee Viruscan 6.0 installed?

 

[mattjurado]

C:\Documents and Settings\Chomauk\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities"

Is this the path of the profile you are using? If you are not chomauk, then look for the dbx files in your profile.

Also, being XP, you may have to enable the option to search in hidden and system files. When you go to search for *.dbx in your c drive, click on "More advanced options."

Outlook and Outlook Express do not handle large file sizes well, I've seen problems with as little as 100mb. Compact and backup frequently.

The key here is to make sure you are working with the right dbx files, then I suggest moving them to a safe location (i would use c:\safe). When you start Outlook Express again, it will create new dbx files. Now try to reimport them.

Matt J.

Please always take the time to backup any and all data before performing any actions suggested for ANY problem, regardless of how minor a change it might seem. Also test the backup to make sure it is intact.

 

[jglampe]

Did you have any luck? I am having the same problems. I had an incomplete compaction so only a few of my dbx files were compacted but now those "folders" are completely empty. I have tried to see if they are recoverable, however, the recovery software I am using does not show that these deleted files/emails exist. Did the DBXExpress work?

 

[Chomauk]

No luck...none what-so-ever. Didn't buy/try the DBXEpress because it would be a waste of money as the file(s) I lost are not critical...just badly missed. I'll just take it as a lesson learned...thanks Microsoft.

Good luck.

If you're going through hell, keep going.
--Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)