Inbox contents simply vanished

In OE 6, Windows 98, the entire contents of the Inbox just vanished after
restarting computer. There were about 4 weeks of e-mail in there.

Other folders do not seem to be affected.

I looked in the Outlook Express folder on my hard drive, and the Inbox file
at this address:

C:\WINDOWS\Application
Data\Identities\{9226D728-E116-11DA-8D61-00045A5FABE0}\Microsoft\Outlook
Express

was down to something like 130 KB, containing just a lot of unreadable code.

I normally move Inbox contents to other folders regularly to keep Inbox from
getting too large.

I've never seen anything like this. The contents of a huge file simply
vanishing.

Fan924
Tue Mar 25 23:28:36 PDT 2008

Are there any .dbx files in c:\recycled?

Larry
Tue Mar 25 23:47:56 PDT 2008

C:\Recyled is completely empty.

I use Norton Protected Recyle Bin, and it is also completely empty, which is
odd, because it's been a while since I emptied it.



"Fan924" <a924fan@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:346949bc-b4e2-4730-84c4-5d88a80ba66c@e10g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
> Are there any .dbx files in c:\recycled?

Fan924
Wed Mar 26 00:04:43 PDT 2008

Outlook Express can lose folders. Sort you Outlook Express folder by
date. All the file dates should be the same. Any old dates on a .dbx
file is a email folder that it lost track of.

Ron
Wed Mar 26 06:31:31 PDT 2008

Do a search on: inbox.dbx If found, note the location as it may have
gotten moved

--
Regards

Ron Badour
MS MVP 1997 - 2008


"Larry" <larry328NOSPAM@att.net> wrote in message
news:eLNm3YwjIHA.1204@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> In OE 6, Windows 98, the entire contents of the Inbox just vanished after
> restarting computer. There were about 4 weeks of e-mail in there.
>
> Other folders do not seem to be affected.
>
> I looked in the Outlook Express folder on my hard drive, and the Inbox
> file
> at this address:
>
> C:\WINDOWS\Application
> Data\Identities\{9226D728-E116-11DA-8D61-00045A5FABE0}\Microsoft\Outlook
> Express
>
> was down to something like 130 KB, containing just a lot of unreadable
> code.
>
> I normally move Inbox contents to other folders regularly to keep Inbox
> from
> getting too large.
>
> I've never seen anything like this. The contents of a huge file simply
> vanishing.
>
>
>

Larry
Wed Mar 26 07:17:57 PDT 2008

The folders are all dated today except for a bunch of "Search folder.dbx"
which are very small and cleanup.log which is very amall.


"Fan924" <a924fan@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:cd7d269d-53da-4aa1-a4b6-66cd9dd6bafd@s19g2000prg.googlegroups.com...
> Outlook Express can lose folders. Sort you Outlook Express folder by
> date. All the file dates should be the same. Any old dates on a .dbx
> file is a email folder that it lost track of.

Larry
Wed Mar 26 07:27:46 PDT 2008

There are two inbox.dbx in the present OE folder, they are both very tiny, a
couple of hundred kb. There is one other inbox.dbx in another folder. That
inbox.dbx is of large size around 100 mb, but that's the OE folder of the
previous Identity that I haven't actively used for a couple of years. (I
created the present Identity on the suggestion of a tech support person who
said my main identity had become corrupted.) The old identity is located
here:

C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Express

It's just gone. The inbox with four weeks of e-mail is gone.

Larry



"Ron Badour" <Sorry@NoAddress.com> wrote in message
news:%23Ci60W0jIHA.1184@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> Do a search on: inbox.dbx If found, note the location as it may have
> gotten moved
>
> --
> Regards
>
> Ron Badour
> MS MVP 1997 - 2008
>
>
> "Larry" <larry328NOSPAM@att.net> wrote in message
> news:eLNm3YwjIHA.1204@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> > In OE 6, Windows 98, the entire contents of the Inbox just vanished
after
> > restarting computer. There were about 4 weeks of e-mail in there.
> >
> > Other folders do not seem to be affected.
> >
> > I looked in the Outlook Express folder on my hard drive, and the Inbox
> > file
> > at this address:
> >
> > C:\WINDOWS\Application
> > Data\Identities\{9226D728-E116-11DA-8D61-00045A5FABE0}\Microsoft\Outlook
> > Express
> >
> > was down to something like 130 KB, containing just a lot of unreadable
> > code.
> >
> > I normally move Inbox contents to other folders regularly to keep Inbox
> > from
> > getting too large.
> >
> > I've never seen anything like this. The contents of a huge file simply
> > vanishing.
> >
> >
> >
>
>

Bruce
Wed Mar 26 07:32:50 PDT 2008

While in the Inbox, View | Current View. Is Show All Messages checked and
nothing else?

If that is the case, and the Inbox.dbx file is empty, (130KB is essentially
empty), In Tools | Options | Maintenance, is: Compact messages in background
checked? If so, OE was probably compacting the message store when you shut
OE down, causing the loss of messages. (Why this option was removed with
XP?SP2).

Should this be the case, DBXpress run in Extract From Disk Mode has the best
chance to recover messages:
http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/Default.aspx


General precautions for Outlook Express:

Do not archive mail in default OE folders. They will eventually become
corrupt. 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.

After you are done, follow up by compacting your folders manually while
working *offline* and do it often.

Click on Outlook Express at the top of the folder tree so no folders are
open. Then: File | Work Offline (or double click Working Online in the
Status Bar). File | Folder | Compact all folders. Don't touch anything until
the compacting is completed.

Turn off e-mail scanning in your anti-virus program. It is a redundant layer
of protection that eats up CPUs and causes a multitude of problems such as
time-outs and account setting changes. Your up-to-date A/V program will
continue to protect you sufficiently. For more, see:
http://www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#3

In Tools | Options | Maintenance: Uncheck Compact messages in background and
leave it unchecked. {N/A if running XP/SP2}.

And backup often.

Backup & Restore:
http://www.insideoe.com/backup/

This is a great two click program:

Outlook Express Quick Backup (OEQB)
http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA


"Larry" <larry328NOSPAM@att.net> wrote in message
news:eLNm3YwjIHA.1204@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> In OE 6, Windows 98, the entire contents of the Inbox just vanished after
> restarting computer. There were about 4 weeks of e-mail in there.
>
> Other folders do not seem to be affected.
>
> I looked in the Outlook Express folder on my hard drive, and the Inbox
> file
> at this address:
>
> C:\WINDOWS\Application
> Data\Identities\{9226D728-E116-11DA-8D61-00045A5FABE0}\Microsoft\Outlook
> Express
>
> was down to something like 130 KB, containing just a lot of unreadable
> code.
>
> I normally move Inbox contents to other folders regularly to keep Inbox
> from
> getting too large.
>
> I've never seen anything like this. The contents of a huge file simply
> vanishing.
>
>
>

Larry
Wed Mar 26 09:40:58 PDT 2008

Yes, Show All Messages is checked and nothing else is checked.

The way this happened was: my computer froze last night and I restarted it
by pressing the external restart button on the tower, which I regularly do
when the computer freezes, which happens fairly frequently (Win 98!). But
there was no compacting of OE going on at the time.

And yes, I regularly follow all those steps for OE maintenance. I allow up
to a month of messages in Inbox and Sent box, keeping older messages in my
own custom folders.

But it's still a mystery how this happened. I have never had a saved file
on the hard drive simply become empty. Could it indicate a hard drive
failure?

Larry




"Bruce Hagen" <Nospam@mymail.invalid> wrote in message
news:ertRD50jIHA.6092@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> While in the Inbox, View | Current View. Is Show All Messages checked and
> nothing else?
>
> If that is the case, and the Inbox.dbx file is empty, (130KB is
essentially
> empty), In Tools | Options | Maintenance, is: Compact messages in
background
> checked? If so, OE was probably compacting the message store when you shut
> OE down, causing the loss of messages. (Why this option was removed with
> XP?SP2).
>
> Should this be the case, DBXpress run in Extract From Disk Mode has the
best
> chance to recover messages:
> http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/Default.aspx
>
>
> General precautions for Outlook Express:
>
> Do not archive mail in default OE folders. They will eventually become
> corrupt. 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.
>
> After you are done, follow up by compacting your folders manually while
> working *offline* and do it often.
>
> Click on Outlook Express at the top of the folder tree so no folders are
> open. Then: File | Work Offline (or double click Working Online in the
> Status Bar). File | Folder | Compact all folders. Don't touch anything
until
> the compacting is completed.
>
> Turn off e-mail scanning in your anti-virus program. It is a redundant
layer
> of protection that eats up CPUs and causes a multitude of problems such as
> time-outs and account setting changes. Your up-to-date A/V program will
> continue to protect you sufficiently. For more, see:
> http://www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#3
>
> In Tools | Options | Maintenance: Uncheck Compact messages in background
and
> leave it unchecked. {N/A if running XP/SP2}.
>
> And backup often.
>
> Backup & Restore:
> http://www.insideoe.com/backup/
>
> This is a great two click program:
>
> Outlook Express Quick Backup (OEQB)
> http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx
> --
> Bruce Hagen
> MS-MVP Outlook Express
> Imperial Beach, CA
>
>
> "Larry" <larry328NOSPAM@att.net> wrote in message
> news:eLNm3YwjIHA.1204@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> > In OE 6, Windows 98, the entire contents of the Inbox just vanished
after
> > restarting computer. There were about 4 weeks of e-mail in there.
> >
> > Other folders do not seem to be affected.
> >
> > I looked in the Outlook Express folder on my hard drive, and the Inbox
> > file
> > at this address:
> >
> > C:\WINDOWS\Application
> > Data\Identities\{9226D728-E116-11DA-8D61-00045A5FABE0}\Microsoft\Outlook
> > Express
> >
> > was down to something like 130 KB, containing just a lot of unreadable
> > code.
> >
> > I normally move Inbox contents to other folders regularly to keep Inbox
> > from
> > getting too large.
> >
> > I've never seen anything like this. The contents of a huge file simply
> > vanishing.
> >
> >
> >
>

Bruce
Wed Mar 26 09:52:33 PDT 2008

If background compacting was not checked, how often do you compact manually?
Moving or deleting messages does not retrieve wasted space until you
compact.

Bloated folders and interrupting compacting are the two most common reasons
for losing messages, but other things can cause it as well, such as e-mail
scanning.

Bottom line is that you should backup OE daily if you value your messages.

At this point, the reason is moot. If you are sure background compacting was
not involved, then any of these programs may retrieve your messages.

Macallan Outlook Express Extraction:
http://www.insideoe.com/resources/tools.htm#macallan

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

DBXpress: {much faster for large files}
http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/Default.aspx
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA


"Larry" <larry328NOSPAM@att.net> wrote in message
news:OjxxpB2jIHA.6084@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> Yes, Show All Messages is checked and nothing else is checked.
>
> The way this happened was: my computer froze last night and I restarted
> it
> by pressing the external restart button on the tower, which I regularly do
> when the computer freezes, which happens fairly frequently (Win 98!). But
> there was no compacting of OE going on at the time.
>
> And yes, I regularly follow all those steps for OE maintenance. I allow
> up
> to a month of messages in Inbox and Sent box, keeping older messages in my
> own custom folders.
>
> But it's still a mystery how this happened. I have never had a saved file
> on the hard drive simply become empty. Could it indicate a hard drive
> failure?
>
> Larry
>
>
>
>
> "Bruce Hagen" <Nospam@mymail.invalid> wrote in message
> news:ertRD50jIHA.6092@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>> While in the Inbox, View | Current View. Is Show All Messages checked and
>> nothing else?
>>
>> If that is the case, and the Inbox.dbx file is empty, (130KB is
> essentially
>> empty), In Tools | Options | Maintenance, is: Compact messages in
> background
>> checked? If so, OE was probably compacting the message store when you
>> shut
>> OE down, causing the loss of messages. (Why this option was removed with
>> XP?SP2).
>>
>> Should this be the case, DBXpress run in Extract From Disk Mode has the
> best
>> chance to recover messages:
>> http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/Default.aspx
>>
>>
>> General precautions for Outlook Express:
>>
>> Do not archive mail in default OE folders. They will eventually become
>> corrupt. 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.
>>
>> After you are done, follow up by compacting your folders manually while
>> working *offline* and do it often.
>>
>> Click on Outlook Express at the top of the folder tree so no folders are
>> open. Then: File | Work Offline (or double click Working Online in the
>> Status Bar). File | Folder | Compact all folders. Don't touch anything
> until
>> the compacting is completed.
>>
>> Turn off e-mail scanning in your anti-virus program. It is a redundant
> layer
>> of protection that eats up CPUs and causes a multitude of problems such
>> as
>> time-outs and account setting changes. Your up-to-date A/V program will
>> continue to protect you sufficiently. For more, see:
>> http://www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#3
>>
>> In Tools | Options | Maintenance: Uncheck Compact messages in background
> and
>> leave it unchecked. {N/A if running XP/SP2}.
>>
>> And backup often.
>>
>> Backup & Restore:
>> http://www.insideoe.com/backup/
>>
>> This is a great two click program:
>>
>> Outlook Express Quick Backup (OEQB)
>> http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx
>> --
>> Bruce Hagen
>> MS-MVP Outlook Express
>> Imperial Beach, CA
>>
>>
>> "Larry" <larry328NOSPAM@att.net> wrote in message
>> news:eLNm3YwjIHA.1204@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>> > In OE 6, Windows 98, the entire contents of the Inbox just vanished
> after
>> > restarting computer. There were about 4 weeks of e-mail in there.
>> >
>> > Other folders do not seem to be affected.
>> >
>> > I looked in the Outlook Express folder on my hard drive, and the Inbox
>> > file
>> > at this address:
>> >
>> > C:\WINDOWS\Application
>> > Data\Identities\{9226D728-E116-11DA-8D61-00045A5FABE0}\Microsoft\Outlook
>> > Express
>> >
>> > was down to something like 130 KB, containing just a lot of unreadable
>> > code.
>> >
>> > I normally move Inbox contents to other folders regularly to keep Inbox
>> > from
>> > getting too large.
>> >
>> > I've never seen anything like this. The contents of a huge file simply
>> > vanishing.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>>
>

Larry
Wed Mar 26 10:45:06 PDT 2008

I compact manually every few weeks, usually after I've moved stuff from the
Inbox and Sent folder into my custom folders.

> Bottom line is that you should backup OE daily if you value your
messages.

This is news to me. I've never heard of saved files on a computer hard
drive simply vanishing, short of a hard drive failure.

I will check out the programs you recommend. Thank you.

Larry


"Bruce Hagen" <Nospam@mymail.invalid> wrote in message
news:%23Eq4HH2jIHA.1188@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> If background compacting was not checked, how often do you compact
manually?
> Moving or deleting messages does not retrieve wasted space until you
> compact.
>
> Bloated folders and interrupting compacting are the two most common
reasons
> for losing messages, but other things can cause it as well, such as e-mail
> scanning.
>
> Bottom line is that you should backup OE daily if you value your messages.
>
> At this point, the reason is moot. If you are sure background compacting
was
> not involved, then any of these programs may retrieve your messages.
>
> Macallan Outlook Express Extraction:
> http://www.insideoe.com/resources/tools.htm#macallan
>
> DBXtract:
> http://www.oehelp.com/DBXtract/Default.aspx
>
> DBXpress: {much faster for large files}
> http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/Default.aspx
> --
> Bruce Hagen
> MS-MVP Outlook Express
> Imperial Beach, CA
>
>
> "Larry" <larry328NOSPAM@att.net> wrote in message
> news:OjxxpB2jIHA.6084@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> > Yes, Show All Messages is checked and nothing else is checked.
> >
> > The way this happened was: my computer froze last night and I restarted
> > it
> > by pressing the external restart button on the tower, which I regularly
do
> > when the computer freezes, which happens fairly frequently (Win 98!).
But
> > there was no compacting of OE going on at the time.
> >
> > And yes, I regularly follow all those steps for OE maintenance. I allow
> > up
> > to a month of messages in Inbox and Sent box, keeping older messages in
my
> > own custom folders.
> >
> > But it's still a mystery how this happened. I have never had a saved
file
> > on the hard drive simply become empty. Could it indicate a hard drive
> > failure?
> >
> > Larry
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > "Bruce Hagen" <Nospam@mymail.invalid> wrote in message
> > news:ertRD50jIHA.6092@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> >> While in the Inbox, View | Current View. Is Show All Messages checked
and
> >> nothing else?
> >>
> >> If that is the case, and the Inbox.dbx file is empty, (130KB is
> > essentially
> >> empty), In Tools | Options | Maintenance, is: Compact messages in
> > background
> >> checked? If so, OE was probably compacting the message store when you
> >> shut
> >> OE down, causing the loss of messages. (Why this option was removed
with
> >> XP?SP2).
> >>
> >> Should this be the case, DBXpress run in Extract From Disk Mode has the
> > best
> >> chance to recover messages:
> >> http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/Default.aspx
> >>
> >>
> >> General precautions for Outlook Express:
> >>
> >> Do not archive mail in default OE folders. They will eventually become
> >> corrupt. 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.
> >>
> >> After you are done, follow up by compacting your folders manually while
> >> working *offline* and do it often.
> >>
> >> Click on Outlook Express at the top of the folder tree so no folders
are
> >> open. Then: File | Work Offline (or double click Working Online in the
> >> Status Bar). File | Folder | Compact all folders. Don't touch anything
> > until
> >> the compacting is completed.
> >>
> >> Turn off e-mail scanning in your anti-virus program. It is a redundant
> > layer
> >> of protection that eats up CPUs and causes a multitude of problems such
> >> as
> >> time-outs and account setting changes. Your up-to-date A/V program will
> >> continue to protect you sufficiently. For more, see:
> >> http://www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#3
> >>
> >> In Tools | Options | Maintenance: Uncheck Compact messages in
background
> > and
> >> leave it unchecked. {N/A if running XP/SP2}.
> >>
> >> And backup often.
> >>
> >> Backup & Restore:
> >> http://www.insideoe.com/backup/
> >>
> >> This is a great two click program:
> >>
> >> Outlook Express Quick Backup (OEQB)
> >> http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx
> >> --
> >> Bruce Hagen
> >> MS-MVP Outlook Express
> >> Imperial Beach, CA
> >>
> >>
> >> "Larry" <larry328NOSPAM@att.net> wrote in message
> >> news:eLNm3YwjIHA.1204@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> >> > In OE 6, Windows 98, the entire contents of the Inbox just vanished
> > after
> >> > restarting computer. There were about 4 weeks of e-mail in there.
> >> >
> >> > Other folders do not seem to be affected.
> >> >
> >> > I looked in the Outlook Express folder on my hard drive, and the
Inbox
> >> > file
> >> > at this address:
> >> >
> >> > C:\WINDOWS\Application
> >> >
Data\Identities\{9226D728-E116-11DA-8D61-00045A5FABE0}\Microsoft\Outlook
> >> > Express
> >> >
> >> > was down to something like 130 KB, containing just a lot of
unreadable
> >> > code.
> >> >
> >> > I normally move Inbox contents to other folders regularly to keep
Inbox
> >> > from
> >> > getting too large.
> >> >
> >> > I've never seen anything like this. The contents of a huge file
simply
> >> > vanishing.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >>
> >
>

PA
Wed Mar 26 10:54:13 PDT 2008

Why it happens:

http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/problems/bugs.htm#mailgone
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/IE/community/columns/filecorruption.mspx

Avoiding Such Corruption in Future (Win9x):

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

- Empty Deleted Items folder daily.

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

- Disable email scanning by your anti-virus application. It can cause
corruption (i.e., loss of messages), it provides no additional protection,
and even Symantec says it's not necessary:

<QP>
Disabling Email Scanning does not leave you unprotected against viruses that
are distributed as email attachments. Norton AntiVirus Auto-Protect scans
incoming files as they are saved to your hard drive, including email and
email attachments. Email Scanning is just another layer on top of this. To
make sure that Auto-Protect is providing the maximum protection, keep
Auto-Protect enabled and run LiveUpdate regularly to ensure that you have
the most recent virus definitions.
</QP>
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/nav.nsf/docid/2002111812533106
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/


Larry wrote:
> ... But it's still a mystery how this happened.

Bruce
Wed Mar 26 11:31:11 PDT 2008

OE's dbx file structure is very fragile and has been prone to corruption
from its conception. In Windows Mail in Vista, the file structure was
replaced and each message is saved as its own eml file. Unfortunately, while
they fixed that issue, they screwed up numerous other things, and Windows
Mail is all but being abandoned already.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA


"Larry" <larry328NOSPAM@att.net> wrote in message
news:uoC7gl2jIHA.4664@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>I compact manually every few weeks, usually after I've moved stuff from the
> Inbox and Sent folder into my custom folders.
>
> > Bottom line is that you should backup OE daily if you value your
> messages.
>
> This is news to me. I've never heard of saved files on a computer hard
> drive simply vanishing, short of a hard drive failure.
>
> I will check out the programs you recommend. Thank you.
>
> Larry
>
>
> "Bruce Hagen" <Nospam@mymail.invalid> wrote in message
> news:%23Eq4HH2jIHA.1188@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>> If background compacting was not checked, how often do you compact
> manually?
>> Moving or deleting messages does not retrieve wasted space until you
>> compact.
>>
>> Bloated folders and interrupting compacting are the two most common
> reasons
>> for losing messages, but other things can cause it as well, such as
>> e-mail
>> scanning.
>>
>> Bottom line is that you should backup OE daily if you value your
>> messages.
>>
>> At this point, the reason is moot. If you are sure background compacting
> was
>> not involved, then any of these programs may retrieve your messages.
>>
>> Macallan Outlook Express Extraction:
>> http://www.insideoe.com/resources/tools.htm#macallan
>>
>> DBXtract:
>> http://www.oehelp.com/DBXtract/Default.aspx
>>
>> DBXpress: {much faster for large files}
>> http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/Default.aspx
>> --
>> Bruce Hagen
>> MS-MVP Outlook Express
>> Imperial Beach, CA
>>
>>
>> "Larry" <larry328NOSPAM@att.net> wrote in message
>> news:OjxxpB2jIHA.6084@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>> > Yes, Show All Messages is checked and nothing else is checked.
>> >
>> > The way this happened was: my computer froze last night and I
>> > restarted
>> > it
>> > by pressing the external restart button on the tower, which I regularly
> do
>> > when the computer freezes, which happens fairly frequently (Win 98!).
> But
>> > there was no compacting of OE going on at the time.
>> >
>> > And yes, I regularly follow all those steps for OE maintenance. I
>> > allow
>> > up
>> > to a month of messages in Inbox and Sent box, keeping older messages in
> my
>> > own custom folders.
>> >
>> > But it's still a mystery how this happened. I have never had a saved
> file
>> > on the hard drive simply become empty. Could it indicate a hard drive
>> > failure?
>> >
>> > Larry
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > "Bruce Hagen" <Nospam@mymail.invalid> wrote in message
>> > news:ertRD50jIHA.6092@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>> >> While in the Inbox, View | Current View. Is Show All Messages checked
> and
>> >> nothing else?
>> >>
>> >> If that is the case, and the Inbox.dbx file is empty, (130KB is
>> > essentially
>> >> empty), In Tools | Options | Maintenance, is: Compact messages in
>> > background
>> >> checked? If so, OE was probably compacting the message store when you
>> >> shut
>> >> OE down, causing the loss of messages. (Why this option was removed
> with
>> >> XP?SP2).
>> >>
>> >> Should this be the case, DBXpress run in Extract From Disk Mode has
>> >> the
>> > best
>> >> chance to recover messages:
>> >> http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/Default.aspx
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> General precautions for Outlook Express:
>> >>
>> >> Do not archive mail in default OE folders. They will eventually become
>> >> corrupt. 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.
>> >>
>> >> After you are done, follow up by compacting your folders manually
>> >> while
>> >> working *offline* and do it often.
>> >>
>> >> Click on Outlook Express at the top of the folder tree so no folders
> are
>> >> open. Then: File | Work Offline (or double click Working Online in the
>> >> Status Bar). File | Folder | Compact all folders. Don't touch anything
>> > until
>> >> the compacting is completed.
>> >>
>> >> Turn off e-mail scanning in your anti-virus program. It is a redundant
>> > layer
>> >> of protection that eats up CPUs and causes a multitude of problems
>> >> such
>> >> as
>> >> time-outs and account setting changes. Your up-to-date A/V program
>> >> will
>> >> continue to protect you sufficiently. For more, see:
>> >> http://www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#3
>> >>
>> >> In Tools | Options | Maintenance: Uncheck Compact messages in
> background
>> > and
>> >> leave it unchecked. {N/A if running XP/SP2}.
>> >>
>> >> And backup often.
>> >>
>> >> Backup & Restore:
>> >> http://www.insideoe.com/backup/
>> >>
>> >> This is a great two click program:
>> >>
>> >> Outlook Express Quick Backup (OEQB)
>> >> http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx
>> >> --
>> >> Bruce Hagen
>> >> MS-MVP Outlook Express
>> >> Imperial Beach, CA
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> "Larry" <larry328NOSPAM@att.net> wrote in message
>> >> news:eLNm3YwjIHA.1204@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>> >> > In OE 6, Windows 98, the entire contents of the Inbox just vanished
>> > after
>> >> > restarting computer. There were about 4 weeks of e-mail in there.
>> >> >
>> >> > Other folders do not seem to be affected.
>> >> >
>> >> > I looked in the Outlook Express folder on my hard drive, and the
> Inbox
>> >> > file
>> >> > at this address:
>> >> >
>> >> > C:\WINDOWS\Application
>> >> >
> Data\Identities\{9226D728-E116-11DA-8D61-00045A5FABE0}\Microsoft\Outlook
>> >> > Express
>> >> >
>> >> > was down to something like 130 KB, containing just a lot of
> unreadable
>> >> > code.
>> >> >
>> >> > I normally move Inbox contents to other folders regularly to keep
> Inbox
>> >> > from
>> >> > getting too large.
>> >> >
>> >> > I've never seen anything like this. The contents of a huge file
> simply
>> >> > vanishing.
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >>
>> >
>>
>

Larry
Wed Mar 26 17:44:31 PDT 2008


I downloaded the Macallan Outlook Express Extraction and it doesn't offer
any instructions or anything. There's no indication of how to go about
fixing a damaged .dbx file.

The Inbox.dbx is currently working normally, that is, further e-mail I've
received is my Inbox. Does that mean the Inbox.dbx is working correctly on
some e-mails, while the older e-mails in it are corrupted? What actually
happens to the .dbx file when the Outlook Express Extraction is run on it?

Another odd thing. When I click on any .dbx file in the Outlook Express
folder, even the smaller ones, I'm prompted to open it with WordPad instead
of NotePad. Then when I open it, it's nothing but squares. No legible
characters. As I remember from the past, when I would open a .dbx file I
would see all the e-mail messages that were in the folder represented by
that file.

However, in the OE application itself, all my folders (except for the
disappeared messages from the Inbox) are operating normally.




"Larry" <larry328NOSPAM@att.net> wrote in message
news:uoC7gl2jIHA.4664@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> I compact manually every few weeks, usually after I've moved stuff from
the
> Inbox and Sent folder into my custom folders.
>
> > Bottom line is that you should backup OE daily if you value your
> messages.
>
> This is news to me. I've never heard of saved files on a computer hard
> drive simply vanishing, short of a hard drive failure.
>
> I will check out the programs you recommend. Thank you.
>
> Larry
>
>
> "Bruce Hagen" <Nospam@mymail.invalid> wrote in message
> news:%23Eq4HH2jIHA.1188@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> > If background compacting was not checked, how often do you compact
> manually?
> > Moving or deleting messages does not retrieve wasted space until you
> > compact.
> >
> > Bloated folders and interrupting compacting are the two most common
> reasons
> > for losing messages, but other things can cause it as well, such as
e-mail
> > scanning.
> >
> > Bottom line is that you should backup OE daily if you value your
messages.
> >
> > At this point, the reason is moot. If you are sure background compacting
> was
> > not involved, then any of these programs may retrieve your messages.
> >
> > Macallan Outlook Express Extraction:
> > http://www.insideoe.com/resources/tools.htm#macallan
> >
> > DBXtract:
> > http://www.oehelp.com/DBXtract/Default.aspx
> >
> > DBXpress: {much faster for large files}
> > http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/Default.aspx
> > --
> > Bruce Hagen
> > MS-MVP Outlook Express
> > Imperial Beach, CA
> >
> >
> > "Larry" <larry328NOSPAM@att.net> wrote in message
> > news:OjxxpB2jIHA.6084@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> > > Yes, Show All Messages is checked and nothing else is checked.
> > >
> > > The way this happened was: my computer froze last night and I
restarted
> > > it
> > > by pressing the external restart button on the tower, which I
regularly
> do
> > > when the computer freezes, which happens fairly frequently (Win 98!).
> But
> > > there was no compacting of OE going on at the time.
> > >
> > > And yes, I regularly follow all those steps for OE maintenance. I
allow
> > > up
> > > to a month of messages in Inbox and Sent box, keeping older messages
in
> my
> > > own custom folders.
> > >
> > > But it's still a mystery how this happened. I have never had a saved
> file
> > > on the hard drive simply become empty. Could it indicate a hard drive
> > > failure?
> > >
> > > Larry
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > "Bruce Hagen" <Nospam@mymail.invalid> wrote in message
> > > news:ertRD50jIHA.6092@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> > >> While in the Inbox, View | Current View. Is Show All Messages checked
> and
> > >> nothing else?
> > >>
> > >> If that is the case, and the Inbox.dbx file is empty, (130KB is
> > > essentially
> > >> empty), In Tools | Options | Maintenance, is: Compact messages in
> > > background
> > >> checked? If so, OE was probably compacting the message store when you
> > >> shut
> > >> OE down, causing the loss of messages. (Why this option was removed
> with
> > >> XP?SP2).
> > >>
> > >> Should this be the case, DBXpress run in Extract From Disk Mode has
the
> > > best
> > >> chance to recover messages:
> > >> http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/Default.aspx
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> General precautions for Outlook Express:
> > >>
> > >> Do not archive mail in default OE folders. They will eventually
become
> > >> corrupt. 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.
> > >>
> > >> After you are done, follow up by compacting your folders manually
while
> > >> working *offline* and do it often.
> > >>
> > >> Click on Outlook Express at the top of the folder tree so no folders
> are
> > >> open. Then: File | Work Offline (or double click Working Online in
the
> > >> Status Bar). File | Folder | Compact all folders. Don't touch
anything
> > > until
> > >> the compacting is completed.
> > >>
> > >> Turn off e-mail scanning in your anti-virus program. It is a
redundant
> > > layer
> > >> of protection that eats up CPUs and causes a multitude of problems
such
> > >> as
> > >> time-outs and account setting changes. Your up-to-date A/V program
will
> > >> continue to protect you sufficiently. For more, see:
> > >> http://www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#3
> > >>
> > >> In Tools | Options | Maintenance: Uncheck Compact messages in
> background
> > > and
> > >> leave it unchecked. {N/A if running XP/SP2}.
> > >>
> > >> And backup often.
> > >>
> > >> Backup & Restore:
> > >> http://www.insideoe.com/backup/
> > >>
> > >> This is a great two click program:
> > >>
> > >> Outlook Express Quick Backup (OEQB)
> > >> http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx
> > >> --
> > >> Bruce Hagen
> > >> MS-MVP Outlook Express
> > >> Imperial Beach, CA
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> "Larry" <larry328NOSPAM@att.net> wrote in message
> > >> news:eLNm3YwjIHA.1204@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> > >> > In OE 6, Windows 98, the entire contents of the Inbox just vanished
> > > after
> > >> > restarting computer. There were about 4 weeks of e-mail in there.
> > >> >
> > >> > Other folders do not seem to be affected.
> > >> >
> > >> > I looked in the Outlook Express folder on my hard drive, and the
> Inbox
> > >> > file
> > >> > at this address:
> > >> >
> > >> > C:\WINDOWS\Application
> > >> >
> Data\Identities\{9226D728-E116-11DA-8D61-00045A5FABE0}\Microsoft\Outlook
> > >> > Express
> > >> >
> > >> > was down to something like 130 KB, containing just a lot of
> unreadable
> > >> > code.
> > >> >
> > >> > I normally move Inbox contents to other folders regularly to keep
> Inbox
> > >> > from
> > >> > getting too large.
> > >> >
> > >> > I've never seen anything like this. The contents of a huge file
> simply
> > >> > vanishing.
> > >> >
> > >> >
> > >> >
> > >>
> > >
> >
>

Bruce
Wed Mar 26 18:33:23 PDT 2008

I just went back through all your posts. How large is this Inbox? An empty
Inbox is 59KB. I noted that you mentioned "small", "a couple hundred KB". I
don't know how much mail constitutes 4 weeks worth, but unless they are all
text, a couple hundred KB isn't very much.

I can't help with instructions for Macallan. What do you have in the message
store right now? An Inbox.dbx with the missing messages, and a new
Inbox(1).dbx that you are currently using? Or do you only have one
Inbox.dbx? If only one, that is a whole new ball game, and one you're likely
to lose.

From what I remember reading here in the past, I believe you need to close
OE and then rename the old Inbox to say, Inboxold.dbx. Then drag it to the
desktop and work on it there, but this just fragmented memories.

If you click on a dbx file to open, only Outlook Express can read it. With
Notepad, you will see somewhat meaningless letters and numbers. If they are
all zeros, I believe the file is empty. WordPad is not meant to open them at
all.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA


"Larry" <larry328NOSPAM@att.net> wrote in message
news:Ot0kOT6jIHA.944@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>
> I downloaded the Macallan Outlook Express Extraction and it doesn't offer
> any instructions or anything. There's no indication of how to go about
> fixing a damaged .dbx file.
>
> The Inbox.dbx is currently working normally, that is, further e-mail I've
> received is my Inbox. Does that mean the Inbox.dbx is working correctly
> on
> some e-mails, while the older e-mails in it are corrupted? What actually
> happens to the .dbx file when the Outlook Express Extraction is run on it?
>
> Another odd thing. When I click on any .dbx file in the Outlook Express
> folder, even the smaller ones, I'm prompted to open it with WordPad
> instead
> of NotePad. Then when I open it, it's nothing but squares. No legible
> characters. As I remember from the past, when I would open a .dbx file I
> would see all the e-mail messages that were in the folder represented by
> that file.
>
> However, in the OE application itself, all my folders (except for the
> disappeared messages from the Inbox) are operating normally.
>
>
>
>
> "Larry" <larry328NOSPAM@att.net> wrote in message
>