Files and Settings Transfer did not restore Outlook Express messag

G

Guest

Hi. I was having problems with my computer and needed to do a complete
"restore".

I saved all of my files with F.A.S.T wizard prior to the restore operation.
I also saved the settings for each user with a separate F.A.S.T file. After
completing the restore, I ran F.A.S.T and received an message saying it
"encountered an unexpected error and had to close". So I rebooted into safe
mode and ran F.A.S.T in safe mode. This process took over 30 hours to restore
my files. Everything seems to be fine except for Outlook Express. I do not
have any messages or addresses. Please help, I have over 3 years of
information that I would like to recover.

I am running XP Home. Restore disk restores to SP1, then I install SP2 from
the SP2 CD.

I would appreciate any help you can offer. Thanks
 
G

Guest

Byte:

Thanks for the reply.

Maybe I provided confusing information. By "restore" I meant the restore
disks provided my eMachines to completely wipe my hard drive clean and
reinstall Windows XP. Therefore, I could not have possibly run "Restore" (the
way I'm using the term) before F.A.S.T. I ran F.A.S.T first an called it "old
computer". Then after restoring my OS I ran F.A.S.T. again and found the file
which I had saved to a different hard drive and called it "new computer".
F.A.S.T. then did restore all of my files except for Outlook Express. So I
apologize if I was not clear in my original post.
 
P

PA Bear

Save for future reference:

Backup & Restore OE Data
http://www.insideoe.com/backup/index.htm
http://www.oehelp.com/backup.aspx

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

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

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 (last paragraph)

Using WinXP's FAST Wizard, by MVP Gary Woodruff
(Please read the caveats about Outlook Express)
http://aumha.org/win5/a/fast.htm
 
G

Guest

Thanks PA Bear:

I realize now that there were alternatives available, but have I lost my
e-mail or is there someway I can recover my Outlook Express files?

Thanks
 
P

PA Bear

If you formatted before performing the "restore" and the only saved data you
have are in the FAST files, I know of no way to recover anything, Unwired.
Sorry.

If you didn't format, can you find any DBX or WAB files on the machine
(other than new ones, dating from after the restore)? In WindowsXP, the OE
user files (DBX and WAB) are by default marked as hidden. To view these
files in Explorer, you must enable Show Hidden Files and Folders under
Start>Control Panel>Folder Options>View.

Did you read the "Important Caveat" about OE under the Custom Transfer
section of Gary's article (http://aumha.org/win5/a/fast.htm)? Did you
backup the OE Identities or the DBX and WAB files?
 
G

Guest

PA Bear:

I did read the "caveat" on the link you provided. Maybe it is my limited
knowledge, but I read it to raise a concern about "duplicating" the entries
in the inbox, etc folders.

The "original" DBX files are no longer present. The restore disks were a
Norton Ghost image of the machine "as purchased". So it was put back to a
state even before the creation of user accounts.

I was under the impression that F.A.S.T backed up the OE data on the "old
computer". (or in this case, same computer.. prior to restore) So I guess I
remain confused about what F.A.S.T. does and doesn't do. If it does not back
up the OE data, then it is understandable that it cannot restore what it does
not back up. But if it does back it up, why can't it restore it?

Thanks again. I hope you can clarify for me.
 
K

Kerry Brown

Unwired said:
PA Bear:

I did read the "caveat" on the link you provided. Maybe it is my
limited knowledge, but I read it to raise a concern about
"duplicating" the entries in the inbox, etc folders.

The "original" DBX files are no longer present. The restore disks
were a Norton Ghost image of the machine "as purchased". So it was
put back to a state even before the creation of user accounts.

I was under the impression that F.A.S.T backed up the OE data on the
"old computer". (or in this case, same computer.. prior to restore)
So I guess I remain confused about what F.A.S.T. does and doesn't do.
If it does not back up the OE data, then it is understandable that it
cannot restore what it does not back up. But if it does back it up,
why can't it restore it?

Thanks again. I hope you can clarify for me.
Click to expand...

FAST transfers the OE message store and address book by default. It is
possible to change the settings so it is not transfered. As with anything
Murphy's law applies. It sounds like Murphy may have played a part.

There is a problem with FAST if the optional Windows Update KB896344 has
been installed on one computer and not the other. If it is on your current
configuration you could try uninstalling it and try the transfer again. If
it is not currently installed you could install it and try again. It doesn't
sound like this is your problem but it's worth a shot.

Kerry
 
P

PA Bear

FAST "harvests" the data you've chosen *from* the old computer and puts it
on, e.g., the CD.

Unwired wrote:
 
G

Guest

Kerry:

Thanks for responding. Being new to this I have a few questions.

I ran FAST in default mode, so I did not tell it to "ignore" Outlook Express.

I do not have KB896344 installed on the computer (at least it doesn't show
up in Add/remove Programs with "show updates" checked.

If I were to re-run the FAST transfer, would I need to wipe out the files
that it did restore? I guess I'm asking if I would end up with duplicates.

Is there any way to tell FAST to only restore Outlook Express on the "new"
computer? The entire transfer file is approximately 70GB. It took almost 30
hours to restore last time under Safe Mode.

Thanks again for your help.

Unwired
 
K

Kerry Brown

Unwired said:
Kerry:

Thanks for responding. Being new to this I have a few questions.

I ran FAST in default mode, so I did not tell it to "ignore" Outlook
Express.

I do not have KB896344 installed on the computer (at least it doesn't
show up in Add/remove Programs with "show updates" checked.

If I were to re-run the FAST transfer, would I need to wipe out the
files that it did restore? I guess I'm asking if I would end up with
duplicates.

Is there any way to tell FAST to only restore Outlook Express on the
"new" computer? The entire transfer file is approximately 70GB. It
took almost 30 hours to restore last time under Safe Mode.

Thanks again for your help.

Unwired
Click to expand...

Just go to the Windows Update site click on the Custom button and see if it
shows up in the Optional updates. If it shows up you don't have it
installed. Alternatively you could see if there is an uninstall folder in
the Windows folder. It will be called $NTUnistallKB896344$. It will be a
hidden folder. I do not know if you will get duplicates. I've never tried
running the wizard twice. The only place I think you may get duplicates is
email messages which didn't transfer the first time anyway. If it is taking
30 hours then something else is probably wrong. Even with a slow computer it
usually only takes at most 10 - 15 minutes. I don't really think the problem
I described is your problem. It may be worth a try if you are desperate but
the chances of it helping are slim. If it takes 30 hours I wouldn't bother.

Kerry
 

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