pooter help.....

[harriebird]

seems to be a popular topic so here goes...

someone (NOT ME) has managed to compact/archive our Outlook email messages and now we can't find them. we need the password for our broadband account to install another computer for broadband....and this is on one of these emails.....basically it asks you when you close outlook if you want to compact your messages and i've always said no but someone forgot to say no and now they've gone.

any ideas as to how the hell we are meant to find the "saved" messages?

i have managed to find where it thinks the stored messages store is, but when i search for this location in explorer, it draws a blank.

help! please :grin2

[Gramps]

Unless you have specified otherwise in your Outlook Archive settings, the default location is a file called archive.pst

The files are in a hidden folder. To make the hidden folders visible, open a window with My Computer, then click on Tools;
Click on Folder Options;
Click the View tab;
Click in the little circle against "Show hidden files and folders"
Click on the 'Apply' button, then click on the 'OK' button.
You should now be able to see the folder where your mail is stored when you browse to it as follows....

Assuming you are using Windows XP, the default path to that file is:
C:\Documents and Settings\yourusername\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\Archive.pst

The next bit is copied directly from the Outlook help for restoring archived messages...

Restore archived items

Copy all archived items from a .pst file back into their original folders (mk:@MSITStore:D:\Program%20Files\Microsoft%20Offi ce\Office10\1033\olmain10.chm::/html/rehowRetrieveArchivedInformation.htm#)

On the File menu, click Import and Export. Click Import from another program or file. Click Next. Click Personal Folder File (.pst). Click Next. In the File to import box, change the default file name in the path from backup.pst to the name of the archive file you're importing from. Click Next. Click the folder to import from. If you want, click Include subfolders. Specify how you want Outlook to handle duplicate items. Click Import items into the same folder in, and then click the folders with the same name as the folders you're importing from.
Click Finish.Copy all archived items from a .pst file into a new folder (mk:@MSITStore:D:\Program%20Files\Microsoft%20Offi ce\Office10\1033\olmain10.chm::/html/rehowRetrieveArchivedInformation.htm#)

In Outlook, create a new folder to copy the archived items to. Click the new folder in the Folder List.
On the File menu, click Import and Export.
Click Import from another program or file. Click Next.
Click Personal Folder File (.pst). Click Next.
In the File to import box, change the default file name in the path from backup.pst to the name of the archive file you're importing from. Click Next.
Click the folder to import from. If you want, click Include subfolders.
Specify how you want Outlook to handle duplicate items.
Click Import items into the current folder.
Click Finish. Move individual items from a .pst file into their original folder or a new one (mk:@MSITStore:D:\Program%20Files\Microsoft%20Offi ce\Office10\1033\olmain10.chm::/html/rehowRetrieveArchivedInformation.htm#)

In the Folder List, click Archive Folders (or the name you used for the archive location).
Click the folder containing the items you want to move.
Select the items you want to move, and then drag them into their original folders in the Folder List.

Hope that helps you.

Tony

[harriebird]

wow thanks gramps! xxx :cuddle

still no joy....although i have been dumb and said Outlook, it's actually Outlook Express.

we've found the hidden files (good tip!) but the location of the compressed files is down as

C:\Documents and Settings\Philip Russell\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\{1F1220E0-47FA-4CC6-83D2-2BD8799BE867}\Microsoft\Outlook Express

but in this folder there are only dbx files and nothing called anything like Archive.....

anything else that might help?

thanks again xx

[Gramps]

Can't say as I've ever archived anything with Outlook Express. Got that running on my other machine, so will have a looksee when I get home. Just finishing work, so got to get a decent ride in and make the most of the decent weather before it gets dark.

Tony

[two]

you can try importing the dbx file into outlook express..?


or


http://www.mailnavigator.com/open_dbx_file.html

might help...?

[Gramps]

Just got in and had a good look at Outlook Express.
Compacting isn't supposed to remove your mail messages or folders. It's just compacting the space occupied by them, (a bit like defragging your hard disk), that is something you would normally do before backing up your mail files to either floppy disk or onto CD. BUT, that would not remove the original files. If they are gone, it's because someone deleted them.

The default path to your mail files is:
C:\Documents and Settings\your Windows login name\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\{5FBB6DAD-B434-4E1A-B60C-03143B2030D9}\Microsoft\Outlook Express

The bit in curly brackets is the registry link and may be different on your computer.

Like I said in my earlier post, they are hidden folders, so follow those previous instructions to make them visible.

If the dbx files are there, you should be seeing the messages when you open Outlook Express. If you are not seeing them, then it looks as if they have been deleted.
Try looking in the recycle bin, if the dbx files are in there, you can restore them to their original locations by right clicking on each file and clicking on Restore. Then close and re-open Outlook Express and you should see the restored messages.

Good luck

Tony

[Lateshift]

Unfortunately this is just a sad fact of Microsoft and their effort to try and be helpful in saving space, your emails by default when they get deleted dont actually disappear, they get held in the dbx files, that is until they get compacted which is normally after something like 100 uses of Outlook Express, if you arent getting shed loads of emails its much easier to turn it off.

Once an email is deleted and then compacted its gone for good, if its just compacted and then you lose it, it can be restored using 3rd party software such as the program that Two listed, however for big jobs it normally falls to software that you have to pay to register to get to work properly ;)

Microsoft state that they have no options to actually re-extract anything other than current emails and even they suggest 3rd party software for the job :(

The answer to your question about recovering your password to your broadband account Harrie is quite simple (unless there are other emails you need), simply ring the ISP, give them the username, address, name of account holder etc or whatever other information they need to authorise the release over the phone of the password, and then just setup the account on your new PC using the username and password.

Bear in mind though that if you need to use the same account and dont want anyone accessing your emails you will need to setup another mailbox account or your mail will still go to the first PC that accesses the ISP mailbox ;) ;)