Inbox subfolders didn't get backed up in .pst export

H

HeislerKurt

I just spent the day doing a clean install of the OS on my dad's
computer.

Despite my careful efforts to back up his Outlook 2003 emails, using
two different methods to be in the safe side, all of them vanished,
right along with his faith in humanity, and my reputation as a decent
son.

"Um ... Dad ... how many emails did you have? Like, 50? 100?"

"Several thousand. At least."

"*!@$*!"

Before wiping things clean, I backed up his emails two ways. He had
about 10 emails in his Inbox (those were restored) and, according to
him, several thousand emails perfectly organized in a long series of
Inbox subfolders. Ah yes ... all those subfolders, containing all the
wonderful memories he has preserved since becoming a member of the
digital community 7 years ago ... all gone. Or are they?

I had backed up his emails two different ways:

1. Using The Files and Settings Transfer Wizard (which worked when it
came time to restore all his personal settings and My Documents
files). The wizard created three files:

- IMG00001.DAT (2,097,129 KB)
- IMG00002.DAT (88,714 KB)
- status (1 KB)

Shouldn't his Outlook emails be in one of these?

2. Exporting a backup of his .pst file to my thumb drive via Outlook's
Export option. When I got to the step to "Click the folder that
contains the messages you want to back up," I chose the Inbox folder
and *** distinctly remember checking the box next to *** "If the
folder contains a subfolder that you want to include, select the
"Include Subfolders" check box, and then click Next."

But after everything was partitioned, wiped cleaned, and reinstalled,
when I ran The Files and Settings Transfer Wizard, his My Doc files
and personal settings were restored but not his emails. "Ah! Good
thing I backed up his .pst file another way. I'll use that!" But when
I imported the backup .pst file I created (in Outlook, File > Import &
Export ...) the only thing that came back was the 10 measly emails in
his main Inbox. There is no sign of his many subfolders and all those
millions of emails. Could they be locked somewhere in the .DAT files
created with the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard?

Any other way to recover his emails?

Should I go shopping for a new dad? Because I'm pretty sure my current
one has forsaken me. And rightly so.

Help?
 
R

Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]

I would expect neither of those methods to work and would never try them.
The way you create a backup is to make a copy of the PST file while Outlook
is closed.
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Top