Identity has disapeared!

J

Jack

Hello,
My Windows XP SP3 froze several times and the last time I was
unable to start Windows.
To save the data, I put my spare (IDE) hard drive in, installed Windows on
it,
attached the original drive (SATA) and I tried to recover my data.
What I have found out is the under my user name where Outlook Express keeps
all the mail folders the Identity containing my emails is gone!
Only Identity (default) with default OE mail folders was there.
What can I do?
Is there any known procedure to recover that?

Also, when copying some other files from that drive some files fail cyclic
redundancy check and Windows cannot copy them.
Please advise,
Fred
 
P

Pegasus [MVP]

Jack said:
Hello,
My Windows XP SP3 froze several times and the last time I was
unable to start Windows.
To save the data, I put my spare (IDE) hard drive in, installed Windows on
it,
attached the original drive (SATA) and I tried to recover my data.
What I have found out is the under my user name where Outlook Express
keeps all the mail folders the Identity containing my emails is gone!
Only Identity (default) with default OE mail folders was there.
What can I do?
Is there any known procedure to recover that?

Also, when copying some other files from that drive some files fail cyclic
redundancy check and Windows cannot copy them.
Please advise,
Fred
Click to expand...

About your OE question: Best to ask the experts in one of the many OE
newsgroups.

About your Cyclic Redundancy Check: This means that one of your drive has
bad clusters. At the very least you should run chkdsk /F on that disk. Many
people will replace such a disk because of the risk of a catastrophic
failure.
 
P

PA Bear [MS MVP]

To save the data, I put my spare (IDE) hard drive in, installed Windows on
it,
attached the original drive (SATA) and I tried to recover my data.
Click to expand...

All well and good but that's not how to recover/migrate OE data from the
original HDD.

References:

Backup & Restore OE Data
http://www.insideoe.com/backup/
http://www.oehelp.com/backup.aspx <=includes info on Windows Mail in Vista

Importing OE Data (all DBX files, including Folders.dbx)
http://www.insideoe.com/faqs/how.htm#importOE5

Importing a single DBX file
http://www.insideoe.com/faqs/how.htm#importdbx
http://www.oehelp.com/backup.aspx#imp1

About OE Files & Settings
http://www.insideoe.com/files/index.htm

How OE stores your data
http://www.insideoe.com/files/store.htm#storemain

All About Address Book
http://www.insideoe.com/files/wab.htm

About OE Registry Keys
http://www.insideoe.com/files/regkeys.htm
 
T

Twayne

Pegasus said:
About your OE question: Best to ask the experts in one of the many OE
newsgroups.

About your Cyclic Redundancy Check: This means that one of your drive
has bad clusters. At the very least you should run chkdsk /F on that
disk. Many people will replace such a disk because of the risk of a
catastrophic failure.
Click to expand...


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclic_redundancy_check

CRC errors can simply mean a software corruption or failed write or even
a failed read of that section (sector area) of a disk. As a one-off,
CRC issues are often able to be ignored as long as they don't repeat and
diags don't show increasing numbers of bad sectors.
There is no assurance of a disk surface deterioration based on a
single CRC error. Only in the case of super-sensitive and
instant-access requirements without pause would a CRC be cause for
instant drive replacement and those are usually in RAID configuatons,
overkill for the majority of us. I've seen very few CRC errors and the
ones I have seen have been in downloaded zip, rar, tag, etc. files
(transmission damage).
Consistently appearing CRC errors however should be investigated to
decide whether it is a hardware or software related issue and reacted to
quickly by first changing out the drive if it's in a critical mission
situation, something a home user should seldom have to worry about.
There is little risk of a catastrophic failure based on one CRC event
unless it repeats or diags find a climbing number of bad sectors.

Bad sectors on a drive are not even necessarily an indicator of a
failing drive. A bump, drop, power surge, building vibration, electrical
surges, even malware and all kinds of things can cause a head-collision
or data change (corruption) with the disk surface and result in bad
sectors.
The key information is not that there are bad sectors, but that the
number of bad sectors is not changing. If the number of bad sectors is
changing however, that may well indicate a failing hard drive and
further drive diagnostics, often available from the drive vendor, are
advised plus immediate backup of all data on the drive and critical use
drives should be replaced while the drive is separatelyjudged to be
failing or not. I am currently running a 5+ year old WD drive with 4 bad
sectors for the last about 3 of those 5+ years. It's one of the
original 80 Gig drives that came with a Gateway computer long ago and is
still serving me well as a boot and downloads saving locations drive.

HTH,

Twayne`
 
J

Jack

I cannot start the other Windows anymore.
I cannot migrate OE, access registry etc.
How your reply relates to that?
Besides, the folder holding emal folders is not there anymore.
I am not asking how to transfer my OE data.
I am asking how to procede when the OE account inside Identity folder is
lost for unknown reason.
It is not deleted. I used several (free) file recovery programs and none of
them can find missing email folders.
Anyone knows how to procede?
 
B

Bruce Hagen

Do an *Advanced* search and include Hidden Files and Folders. Search for:

*.dbx

Do you find the dbx files related to the missing identity? Note their
location. Can you access that location?

Note:

In WinXP, Win2K & Win2K3, the OE user files (DBX and WAB) 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.
 
S

Steve Cochran

If Bruce's suggestion (searching for hidden files and folders) doesn't help,
then its likely your only recourse is DBXpress (www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/)
which has an extract from disk feature that will analyze the entire drive
for messages and bypass the file system, and if the messages are still on
the drive somewhere, it will recover them.

steve
 
J

Jack

I have downloaded WMUtil151.zip from your site and also from brothersoft
site.
Both downloads do not run on my WinXP.
The message:
"The application failed to initilize properly (0x0000135)..."
Thanx
 
P

Peter Foldes

Jack

First go to Windows Update and Update your IE6 which is not updated. You are missing
a few updates
 
J

Jack

I have installed all Windows updates except IE ver.8
I have the same error.
Both files:
scxout.dll and WMUtil.exe reside in the same folder.
What should I try next?
Please tell me whether I am wasting my time.
Did you cripple intentionally 1.51 version?
Thanx
 
S

Steve Cochran

WMUtil is for Windows Mail in Vista. Its not for XP. I don't know why you
are wasting you time. DBXpress is what you need and that is what I
indicated, not WMUtil. Some 3rd party locations point to WMUTil as DBXpress
and indicate it is free, but WMUtil is free and DBXpress is NOT. Try
reading the website and the directions and you will see you are not supposed
to use WMUtil in XP nor DBXpress in Vista.

steve
 
T

Twayne

Jack said:
Please see this:
http://www.brothersoft.com/dbxpress-download-76631.html
Click to expand...

For what it's worth, Norton says that web site is "unsafe" and lists 3
computer threats and one identity threat for it. It's up to you of
course, but I'd avoid using that web site. It tries to push malware to
you covertly and also to get at your personal data. I didn't stay long
enough to find out exactly what it did; left as soon as I saw the
notice. IE7/Norton 2009 integration.

Twayne`
 
J

Jack

It is up to author to correct that.
I have also my own programming displayed on that website.
I am in control what it is displayed.
Jack
 
P

PA Bear [MS MVP]

Did they steal your software, too?
It is up to author to correct that.
I have also my own programming displayed on that website.
I am in control what it is displayed.
Jack
Click to expand...
 
S

Steve Cochran

I'm aware of the AS&H0L3S! on that site. Its not my responsibility if some
irresponsible people post a lie. I would think you'd have better sense and
would read the actual site. My website is NOT brothersoft. They have no
distribution rights for my software. DBXpress is NOT WMUtil, no matter what
package someone puts it into and its NOT FREE! Get it?

No junky shortcut to the program is going to recover your messages, not
matter how many lies it is couched in. Try reading. You can learn from
doing that.

steve
 
N

N. Miller

It is up to author to correct that.
Click to expand...

The author of which? Is that link on your site, or does it point to your
site? There is definitely something fishy about the link you posted, and a
discrepancy between what it claims to provide, and what it actually
provides. And the author of DBXpress disputes that the site, whose link you
posted, is authorized to distribute DBXpress.
 

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