Outlook Express. Compact Folders glitch.

[forget]

My Outlook Express asked me to Compact Folders, as it does now and again. Half way through compacting the computer froze, which required a re-start.

On re-opening Outlook Express I found half of my e-mail folders were empty with all e-mails ( .dbx ) in the Recycle Bin. I’ve tried the obvious, highlight and Restore when the Recycle Bin file moves, but where is anyone’s guess.

Question is – how do I get .dbx files from the Recycle Bin back into Outlook Express. Thanks.

[le Pingouin]

Give this a go:

The Other E-Mail Threat: File Corruption in Outlook Express (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/community/columns/filecorruption.mspx)

Move the new dbx files in the storage folder & copy the ones from the bin.

[onetrack]

A constant problem with Outlook Express, it's the bane of users. Your .dbx files have become corrupted. There's some MS advice here... The Other E-Mail Threat: File Corruption in Outlook Express (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/community/columns/filecorruption.mspx)

I downloaded DBXextract (now superseded by DBXexpress). Costs a few dollars/quid/yuan/brass washers, but it works.

DBXtract (http://www.oehelp.com/dbxtract/default.aspx)

I now run Windows 7 and use Mozilla Thunderbird, as MS no longer provides an inbuilt mail program.

[Tarq57]

Silly me, one time, years ago, made the mistake of emptying the recycle bin after OE had done its compacting folders thing. Lost the lot. Managed to recover maybe half of the mail using recovery programs, some of these were corrupted and unusable.

Been using Mozilla Thunderbird and Mozzy Backup ever since. No major problems. Very happy.

[forget]

Thanks for the tips. I down-loaded DBExtract but the e-mails now in the Recycle Bin are suffixed .bak. I've got all e-mails up until a month ago (idle git) backed up on external hard drive with a copy of Outlook Express Backup Wizard, so all is not lost. In any case, the files in the Recycle Bin are the least important of all.

Can the .bak files be changed to .dbx?

[BOAC]

Introduction - Bulk Rename Utility (http://www.bulkrenameutility.co.uk/Main_Intro.php)

[Spurlash2]

To restore a bak folder to the message store folder, first locate the Message Store in Windows Explorer.

In OE: Tools | Options | Maintenance | Store Folder will reveal the location of your Outlook Express files. Press the Tab key to highlight the folder location, then Ctrl+C. Close OE, then Start | Run | Ctrl+V will put the location in the box - Click OK and you'll see the OE files. Otherwise, write the location down and navigate to it in Windows Explorer.

In WinXP, the dbx files 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.

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.

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.

[forget]

Thanks BOAC. I tried the sequence shown by Spurlash2 (Thanks) and bingo, all e-mails back where they should be. :ok: