Vista - Help please! I've lost all my Personal Folders!

Yesterday I loaded and installed Restrospect Software to back-up my pc to a Maxtor One Touch external hard drive. I then ran a copy of the complete C Drive.
This morning, I thought I'd take a look at the files on the hard drive to check all was OK. All folders seemed to be there and OK. I was curious (unfortunately) to see if my Windows Mail files had copied and tried opening some of the WM files but was unable to do so.

I returned to the pc to check my mail and it started downloading all my mail left on the server; it created a new Recovered Messages folder (with time and date) with a whole string of sub folders which are mostly empty. Each time I open WM it creates another Recovered Messages folder (with a new time and date) with more empty sub folders.

Worst of all, my Personal Folder is missing which contains all my stored (and many important and cherished) emails in sub folders.

My wife's WM account is OK and unchanged.

Pease, please help me recover my Personal Folder and all its emails and tell me how delete and stop the Recovered Messages folder.

I'm not hot on computers, so detailed instructions if possible please!

Regards,

cruisemate.

"cruisemate" <guest@xxxxxx-email.com> wrote in message
news:0184c44088ec080df195230d490d6481@xxxxxx-gateway.com...I don't believe you can delete the Recovered Messages folder. However,
you should be able to delete any items inside it, even subfolders.

Also, note that Windows Mail often has problems reading any files
stored on external drives.

Robert Miles

Wel, I've managed to find where my emails are stored, they are in:-C:\Users\myname\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Mail

However, I can't import them into my WM Folders. Does anyone know how to do this please?

Regards.

cruisemate

Create a new folder in WinMail. Then open that folder so it has an empty
message list. Then drag the eml files from Explorer and drop them overtop
the WinMail message list and it will incorporate them into that folder. See
also the section on WinMail here: www.oehelp.com/backup.aspx

steve

"cruisemate" <guest@xxxxxx-email.com> wrote in message
news:f805b6f67e29bf4f87ec47d914f7cc57@xxxxxx-gateway.com...

Many thanks Steve, your method works (although it will take a long time,I've got loads of folders!)

Now all I need to do is find out how to delete the Recovered Messages Folder that grow each time I open WM!!

Mel.

"cruisemate" <guest@xxxxxx-email.com> wrote in message
news:903c7ded453df85cd8923848800e864a@xxxxxx-gateway.com...
The following method as been reported as being successful, several times.

------

Go to Tools>options>advanced>maintenance>message store.

Select and copy the location.

Cancel your way out of there.

Select the Recovered Message folders and delete them, then empty the deleted
items folder.

Close WM !!!!

Go to Control Panel>classic view (top left)>folder options>view tab>enable
Show hidden Files and Folders>apply/ok your way out.

Now go to the Start Button>Run, and paste the message store location, that
you copied earlier, to the run line>OK

This will open Windows Explorer to your message store find and delete all of
the Recovered Message folders.

Close WExp.

Do not Open WM yet !!!!!

Try using this utility to repair and compact the mail store, with WM closed

WMUtil http://www.oehelp.com/WMUtil/

Please read the instructions.

Hopefully, that should sort you out for now.

--
Regards Steve.
MS-MVP. MAIL. [DTS] UK.
http://www.getsafeonline.org/

Steve,

Many thanks once again, your method worked and the following is my feed back:

I think you assumed I used XP, so with Vista, I had to negotiate to the Message Store by double clicking C drive > Users > (myname) > then typing in the Live Search box AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Mail. Once there I selected and deleted all the Recovered Messages folders to the recycle bin. However, although they did appear in the Recycle Bin (which I then emptied) they still showed in the Message Store (although when I tried to delete them, this time there was a pop up window that said something like (...the folder is no longer in this location...).

I was also able to delete the Recovered Message folder that kept appearing in my WM and a new one no longer appears each time I open WM.

I also used the WMUtil you recommended to compact the mail store and to check for zero byte files (there were none). I didn't try the Repair option.

I now plan to take a look at the WM backup proposal you mentioned in an earlier post ( www.oehelp.com/backup.aspx )

Thanks again.

Mel.