subfolder WITHIN Deleted folders disappeared

[Dominic]

I have Windows Vista and Windows Mail. When I purchased the computer a little
over a year ago, I imported mail from Outlook Express.

In Windows Mail, I had set up several folders that directly receive incoming
mail: Inbox, Business, Junk Mail, and 3 subfolders (for individual personal
emails) WITHIN Deleted folder.

So mail that goes directly into the 3 subfolders WITHIN the Delete folder
are deleted permanently at will by me with no secondary step as a safeguard
as they are already within the Delete folder.

When I delete mail from Inbox, Business and Junk folders, they move to the
main Delete folder and stay there until I permanently delete. No mail in
Delete folder or subfolders is set to permanently delete automatically.
Further, in Advanced Properties of each folder, no copies were being saved to
Server.

Last night, 1 of the 3 subfolders WITHIN the Delete folder was GONE
COMPLETELY. I did not knowingly delete an entire folder so I cannot
understand what happened. It is not hidden in a drop down and did not get
moved to another folder. I did a search of the entire computer but it is
nowhere to be found. Although I would like to retrieve the folder's contents,
I am pretty much resigned to the fact that I cannot.

Can anyone enlighten me as to what may have happened and if there is some
way to retrieve it? I tried System Restore but I don't think that works for
email and I cannot seem to find a program called Shadow Copies? I joined this
forum today in an effort to at least find out what happened! Thank you.

 

[H Brown]

I have Windows Vista and Windows Mail. When I purchased the computer a
little
over a year ago, I imported mail from Outlook Express.

In Windows Mail, I had set up several folders that directly receive
incoming
mail: Inbox, Business, Junk Mail, and 3 subfolders (for individual
personal
emails) WITHIN Deleted folder.

So mail that goes directly into the 3 subfolders WITHIN the Delete folder
are deleted permanently at will by me with no secondary step as a
safeguard
as they are already within the Delete folder.

When I delete mail from Inbox, Business and Junk folders, they move to the
main Delete folder and stay there until I permanently delete. No mail in
Delete folder or subfolders is set to permanently delete automatically.
Further, in Advanced Properties of each folder, no copies were being saved
to
Server.

Last night, 1 of the 3 subfolders WITHIN the Delete folder was GONE
COMPLETELY. I did not knowingly delete an entire folder so I cannot
understand what happened. It is not hidden in a drop down and did not get
moved to another folder. I did a search of the entire computer but it is
nowhere to be found. Although I would like to retrieve the folder's
contents,
I am pretty much resigned to the fact that I cannot.

Can anyone enlighten me as to what may have happened and if there is some
way to retrieve it? I tried System Restore but I don't think that works
for
email and I cannot seem to find a program called Shadow Copies? I joined
this
forum today in an effort to at least find out what happened! Thank you.

It would be my guess that having subfolders in the deleted items folder is
not a best practice. Vista WM try's to prevent you from creating subfolders
in the deleted items folder. Yes there is a way to do it but for the life
of me I cannot understand what it is your trying to accomplish with this
tactic. Sooner are later your more than likely to delete everything in the
Deleted Items Folder and all subfolders in it. Rethink your stagey for
storing email that you think you may want to delete. Then back it up.

H Brown

 

[Gary VanderMolen]

Navigate to
C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Mail\Local Folders\Deleted Items.
Is your missing folder visible there? The individual .eml files in that folder can
be opened in any text editor such as Notepad.

If you can't see AppData, adjust your Folder Options so you can see hidden files.

I don't quite understand the logic behind having sub-folders under Deleted Items,
but hey, it's your computer.

 

[Steve Cochran]

Who knows how it happened, but in the future you might consider a different
folder hierarchy as it appears dangerous to keep messages in the subfolders
of the Deleted Items folder. And it goes for any program that has data, if
you value the data, then back it up frequently. Not only can glitches
happen, but hard drives fail.

Just to add to the others' comments, there should be a directory under the
Deleted Items directory that is named after the folder that was missing.
You can check in Explorer to see if the directory (and its child eml files)
is still there. Note you will have to enable showing hidden files and
folders under Control Panel | Folder Options | View to locate them. See
www.oehelp.com/backup.aspx for details on the folder / message storage
layout.

steve

 

[Dominic]

Gary,

No defense - I was attempting to delete unwanted emails in one step. It was
stupid and simply playing with fire.
I followed your instructions and it appears that most or all of the emails
are there...so a Big Thank you.
Further, I learned my lesson. I no longer have subfolders in Deleted Items
Folder and will be backing up, too.

 

[Dominic]

Steve,
All of your suggestions and constructive criticism were considered, acted
upon successfully and very much appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Dominic]

I was trying to delete individual emails in one fell swoop vs. moving to
another folder and then deleting permanently. I had not properly considered
the consequences and realize now that there are much better alternatives.

Your comments were all appreciated. I have taken numerous corrective
actions. My sincere thanks for your help and your time.

 

[Gary VanderMolen]

You're very welcome, Dominic. Thanks for reporting back.

 

[MARIAN]

I accidently (I think) must have deleted folders that I had imported when I
got a new computer. It contains all of my email files - aaagh! I tried to
go to C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Mail\Local
Folders\Deleted Items but it cannot find said site. I have read some of your
other helpful comments - can you please help me with this problem? Thanks.

 

[Gary VanderMolen [MVP]]

AppData is a hidden folder. You will have to change the default setting
in Folder Options to be able to see hidden folders. If you don't know
how to get to Folder Options, click the Start orb, type Folder Options,
wait for it to be found, then press enter. Once in Folder Options click
View, and then uncheck the box for hiding hidden folders.