Lost emails in Outlook Express

[terry l]

This seems to be the closest forum as I am using Windows
XP. My OE version is 6.00.2800.1123. I have always
left my email messages in my OE inbox or various folders
for the last two years. I attempted to retrieve one
recently and discovered that I had no messages earlier
than Dec 23, 2003.

Is some kind of auto-archiving going on? Or are the
earlier emails lost forever?

Thanks for your help.

 

[R. McCarty]

I believe there are some internal limits on size/content of a
Outlook Express data store (.dbx). As to auto archiving it
is only in it's big brother application, Outlook.
Check this web-site for some good insight on OE.
http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/files/store.htm

 

[Guest]

No archiving in OE, but check the maintenance tab in Options. There's an auto delete setting you should check.

 

[Bruce Hagen]

If this helps, you're lucky.

Do not archive mail on default OE folders. They will eventually
become corrupted. Create your own user defined folders for storing
mail and move your mail to them. Empty Deleted Items folder
regularly.

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

File>Work Offline (or double click Working Online in the Status Bar).
File>Folder>Compact all folders.

In Tools>Options>Maintenance: Uncheck Compact messages in background
and leave it unchecked.

If this doesn't help, post to the OE specific newsgroup:
news://msnews.microsoft.com/microsoft.public.windows.inetexplorer.ie6_outlookexpress

 

[terry l]

On the Maintenance tab, the box for "compact messages in
background when there is 20% wasted space" is checked.
Could this be what happened? And where is "background"?

Terry

-----Original Message-----
No archiving in OE, but check the maintenance tab in

Options. There's an auto delete setting you should check.

 

[Bruce Hagen]

Uncheck Compact messages in background. And see my reply.
Also see this:

Why compacting in the background is not recommended:
http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/files/maintain.htm#auto

 

[terry l]

Thanks - I've never been too lucky. But these were
really just for fun, so it's not a real disaster.

Will definitely apply your tips in future!

Terry

 

[Guest]

Thanks -this is a great site!

-----Original Message-----
I believe there are some internal limits on size/content of a
Outlook Express data store (.dbx). As to auto archiving it
is only in it's big brother application, Outlook.
Check this web-site for some good insight on OE.
http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/files/store.htm




.

 

[PA Bear]

Start here: http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/problems/bugs.htm#mailgone.
~~~~~~~~~~~
DBXtract
http://www.oehelp.com/DBXtract/Default.aspx

DBXtend (additional functionality)
http://www.oehelp.com/DBXtend/Default.aspx

DBXpress (faster, more powerful, with even greater functionality)
http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/Default.aspx
~~~~~~~~~~~
For lost Inbox messages:
Inbox.dbx is damaged. Close OE and then Move Inbox.dbx from your store
folder (http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/files/store.htm) to another Windows
(not OE) folder and run any of the above applications on the moved file. (A
new, empty Inbox.dbx will be created when you next open OE.)

Other folders:
Close OE. Move the associated DBX file to another Windows folder and run
any of the above applications on the moved file.

If one of the above applications successfully recovers any messages, count
yourself fortunate. Do *not* import the messages from the moved DBX file
back into OE! Recovered messages may be dragged into an open OE folder,
but...

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

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

Your anti-virus application's email scanning feature can also cause such
corruption. Disable it. It provides no additional protection.
--
OE6-specific newsgroup:
news://msnews.microsoft.com/microsoft.public.windows.inetexplorer.ie6_outlookexpress

HTH - Please Reply to This Thread

~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-Windows (IE/OE), AH-VSOP

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