"Windows Mail can compact the message store"

[Thomas in Texas]

Hi
So in plain english is it a good thing to say yes to compact messages or
not? Will I lose my messages if I compact them or is it just compacting old
ones. I am not great with computers and I don't like saying yes to things I
don't know what they are. So just a simple answer if you please should we do
this and will it create problems with my computer if I do? It sounds like
other people have had problems after they have done this. Thank you in
advance for your help.

 

[Angie]

Finally! A message I can understand! Thanks, Gary! I have just been changing
the number of shut downs to make it stop asking me for longer of periods of
time. After this, I let it do it's thing and went back and changed it back to
100. Thanks again!

By default the compaction process asks to run after you've opened
and closed Windows Mail 100 times. That frequency can be adjusted
under Tools, Options, Advanced, Maintenance. Once you let it do its
thing, it should not bother you again for another 100 runs.
What it does, it removes blank spaces that have developed in the
database. Every time you delete an email, that slot in the database
is made into a blank. Periodic removal of the blanks will make database
accesses faster.
--
Gary VanderMolen, MS-MVP (WLMail)

I have been running Vista for 2 months and the message asking if I wanted to
compact just started appearing. It does so every time I log onto my windows
mail. After reading these threads, I still do not understand what the program
will do if I respond "yes". Someone else asked that question a few threads
ago and did not get an answer as well. What the heck is this?

Mitch

What does the windows say?
You mean the one about compacting the message store? That one
should not come up every time you read an email.

Gary VanderMolen [MS MVP-WLM]


How do you stop the window that keeps popping up everytime you read an email?
This is very annoying.

 

[Gary VanderMolen]

You're very welcome, Angie. Thanks for your feedback.

--
Gary VanderMolen, MS-MVP (Mail)

Finally! A message I can understand! Thanks, Gary! I have just been changing
the number of shut downs to make it stop asking me for longer of periods of
time. After this, I let it do it's thing and went back and changed it back to
100. Thanks again!

By default the compaction process asks to run after you've opened
and closed Windows Mail 100 times. That frequency can be adjusted
under Tools, Options, Advanced, Maintenance. Once you let it do its
thing, it should not bother you again for another 100 runs.
What it does, it removes blank spaces that have developed in the
database. Every time you delete an email, that slot in the database
is made into a blank. Periodic removal of the blanks will make database
accesses faster.
--
Gary VanderMolen, MS-MVP (WLMail)

I have been running Vista for 2 months and the message asking if I wanted to
compact just started appearing. It does so every time I log onto my windows
mail. After reading these threads, I still do not understand what the program
will do if I respond "yes". Someone else asked that question a few threads
ago and did not get an answer as well. What the heck is this?

Mitch

:

What does the windows say?
You mean the one about compacting the message store? That one
should not come up every time you read an email.

Gary VanderMolen [MS MVP-WLM]


How do you stop the window that keeps popping up everytime you read an email?
This is very annoying.

 

[Don_M]

My thanks, too Gary. Now I don't have to be annoyed anymore by that pop up
message. Knowledge IS power!

By default the compaction process asks to run after you've opened
and closed Windows Mail 100 times. That frequency can be adjusted
under Tools, Options, Advanced, Maintenance. Once you let it do its
thing, it should not bother you again for another 100 runs.
What it does, it removes blank spaces that have developed in the
database. Every time you delete an email, that slot in the database
is made into a blank. Periodic removal of the blanks will make database
accesses faster.
--
Gary VanderMolen, MS-MVP (WLMail)

I have been running Vista for 2 months and the message asking if I wanted to
compact just started appearing. It does so every time I log onto my windows
mail. After reading these threads, I still do not understand what the program
will do if I respond "yes". Someone else asked that question a few threads
ago and did not get an answer as well. What the heck is this?

Mitch

What does the windows say?
You mean the one about compacting the message store? That one
should not come up every time you read an email.

Gary VanderMolen [MS MVP-WLM]


How do you stop the window that keeps popping up everytime you read an email?
This is very annoying.

 

[Gary VanderMolen]

You're very welcome, Don.

--
Gary VanderMolen, MS-MVP (Mail)

My thanks, too Gary. Now I don't have to be annoyed anymore by that pop up
message. Knowledge IS power!

By default the compaction process asks to run after you've opened
and closed Windows Mail 100 times. That frequency can be adjusted
under Tools, Options, Advanced, Maintenance. Once you let it do its
thing, it should not bother you again for another 100 runs.
What it does, it removes blank spaces that have developed in the
database. Every time you delete an email, that slot in the database
is made into a blank. Periodic removal of the blanks will make database
accesses faster.
--
Gary VanderMolen, MS-MVP (WLMail)

I have been running Vista for 2 months and the message asking if I wanted to
compact just started appearing. It does so every time I log onto my windows
mail. After reading these threads, I still do not understand what the program
will do if I respond "yes". Someone else asked that question a few threads
ago and did not get an answer as well. What the heck is this?

Mitch

:

What does the windows say?
You mean the one about compacting the message store? That one
should not come up every time you read an email.

Gary VanderMolen [MS MVP-WLM]


How do you stop the window that keeps popping up everytime you read an email?
This is very annoying.

 

[Dave]

I get the same message as Carol but when I click on "ok" it says something
about being used in another folder.

Any idea how I can fix this ??

Dave

 

[Steve Cochran]

Try compacting and repairing the database with my Windows Mail utility:
www.oehelp.com/WMUTil/

steve

 

[Jean of Ohio]

Jean in Ohio
"

 

[Pama Lyons]

I have lost important information. Where does it go? How do I find it once I
compact?
Pama

 

[Steve Cochran]

Compaction only removes wasted space in the database. It doesn't erase
messages as it does sometimes in OE.

steve

 

[lpskaggs]

Doug, my search 4 the answer is over. COMPACT= yes.

 

[Jan]

Unfortunately, I had the same problem when letting it compact, and had
important email messages gone as well. Now, Hubby moves all past saved, sent,
etc. emails to a folder in documents to store them prior to letting the
compaction occur. That might be a good idea for folks who need to make sure
that their emails are safe and will not be lost??

I know you and others have said that emails should not go missing, so don't
know why that happened?

Thank you for explaining the process and sharing your time. I know more than
I did before about the process!!

 

[Steve Cochran]

Compaction only affects the database which does not hold the messages. Its
more likely that something else is deleting the messages if that is what is
happening. It may be the messages are still there, but WinMail no longer
recognizes them.

You can open the directory of messages with Explorer and add columns such as
Author and Subject to examine what messages are actually in each folder.
The message store location is found via Tools | Options | Advanced |
Maintenance | Store Folder.

steve

 

[sadiegirl200838]

I wondered the same thing as I had no idea of what would be done if they
compacted the messages. So reading these, I assume then we should answer
"yes" to this message, am I correct?
cef

 

[Gary VanderMolen]

It's a good thing, so answer Yes.

 

[Steve Cochran]

Its a good thing to backup your messages if you value them too.

steve

 

[Dave]

Let it do it, and then you won't see it for a while.
You can change the frequency at..
Tools - Options - Advanced - Maintenance
[x] Compact the database on shutdown every [xx] runs
The default is 100.

 

[Gary VanderMolen]

It's similar to getting a warning light on your dash that the oil pressure is
getting low. Are you sure you want to ignore that?

 

[Guest]

goto tools >> options >> advanced >> click on maintenance button, you will
see an checkbox compact database on every ... run make this value 100.

 

[Alicia]

Hi
So in plain english is it a good thing to say yes to compact messages or
not? Will I lose my messages if I compact them or is it just compacting old
ones. I am not great with computers and I don't like saying yes to things I
don't know what they are. So just a simple answer if you please should we do
this and will it create problems with my computer if I do? It sounds like
other people have had problems after they have done this. Thank you in
advance for your help.

I said okay to the message and nothing happened to my old emails. But if you
want to be on the safe side, I'd back up your emails and contacts, just in
case something goes wrong you'll still have all your information. One way I
know of backing up emails and contacts is by exporting. I don't know if that
is the proper way, but that's how I do it. It takes a few minutes depending
on how much you have. Then after, if something happens and your information
and emails are gone, all you have to do is import what you saved and you
should be good. The import and export features are find under "file."

This is a great topic, I had no idea what the message was. I thought it was
something about a message I hadn't sent, or something, but when I looked
there was nothing in the drafts or outgoing part.

But one thing I'd like to know. If its compacting all the information, isn't
that going to make things still slow, why doesn't it just delete them? Or is
it doing that? I'm a little confused on that part