Bruce Hagen

[crossposted to OE General group. This is for Windows Live Mail]

If using XP/SP2 or SP3 and have recently compacted, you may have a bak file
in either the Recycle Bin or the OE message store. Read on, but let us know
if that is the case and check the date created to see if it would have all
or most of the messages.

First, make sure it isn't in Deleted Items. If not, see if the dbx file for
the folder still exists in the message store and manually restore it as
follows.

Tools | Options | Maintenance | Store Folder will reveal the location of
your Outlook Express files. Write the location down and navigate to it in
Windows Explorer or, copy and paste it into Start | Run.

In WinXP, Win2K & Win2K3, 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.

In the message store in Windows Explorer, click on the dbx file for the
missing folder and drag it to the Desktop at the top of the folder tree.
Open OE and create a folder with the *exact* same name as the one on your
Desktop. Open the new folder and then close OE. (You must do this). Go back
to Windows Explorer and Click Desktop and drag the file from the Desktop to
the OE store folder that you clicked on to reveal the .dbx files. Prompt -
"Do you want to overwrite......."? Click Yes.

*Note* If you have moved the Outlook Express store folder from it's default
location on drive C to another drive, drag the dbx file to a location on
that drive and not the Desktop.

If you have no dbx or bak file for the missing folder, you can try DBXpress.

DBXpress:
http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/Default.aspx

You may need to run it in the Extract From Disk Mode if its normal recovery
mode fails to find the lost messages.
--

Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP [Mail]
Imperial Beach, CA


"smiles" <smiles@xxxxxx> wrote in message
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