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Thread ID: 96348 2009-01-07 22:24:00 Outlook Express - lost Inbox Mercury (1316) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
735914 2009-01-07 22:24:00 I have reformatted the computer - and lost Outlook's inbox. All other .dbx folders restored OK, but not that one.

I've tried renaming it then changing the store folder but it remains lost.

Any ideas on how to recover it?

Running Windows XP with Outlook Express ver 6
Mercury (1316)
735915 2009-01-07 22:41:00 A long time ago, when I used OE a bit (now Thunderbird for years - give it a shot), there was a thing about deleting the Folders.dbx file after copying .dbx files over to the new store folder. OE then looks for all the .dbx files in the store folder & recreates Folders.dbx based on what it finds. This will result in a "flat" folder tree in OE, but easy to recreate sub-folders by drag&drop, if that's what you had before.

Oh yeah - only move & delete files while OE isn't running!
MushHead (10626)
735916 2009-01-08 01:55:00 I tried it - didn't work. I've also tried a couple of evaluation programs from the web - but they come up with no results.

Anyone know of a good recovery program?
Mercury (1316)
735917 2009-01-08 02:02:00 I don't know of any free programs, but Recover My Files is good. It may be too late to recover the file, but it can't hurt to try.

When you reformatted, did you do a quick format or a full format? Your chances of recovering the file will be substantially reduced if you did a full format.
Greven (91)
735918 2009-01-08 02:12:00 Used the laptop recovery disk so who knows what type of format it did!

Before reformatting I did a full backup of all files. All the other dbx files restored OK (in a flat tree rather than nested) - just the inbox one didn't and unfortunately there's some useful stuff in it...
Mercury (1316)
735919 2009-01-08 02:18:00 What did you back up to?
How big is the Inbox.dbx file?
If it is bigger than 2GB and your HDD is FAT32 then it won't restore.
CYaBro (73)
735920 2009-01-08 02:27:00 Saved to DVD
File size 134,439KB

Currently trying a program "Recover My Email". It sees the emails in other folders (which I don't need because they restored OK) but draws a complete blank on this one.

And yes, I haven't been as tidy with my emails as I should have been.
Mercury (1316)
735921 2009-01-08 02:44:00 Saved to DVD
File size 134,439KB

Currently trying a program "Recover My Email". It sees the emails in other folders (which I don't need because they restored OK) but draws a complete blank on this one.

And yes, I haven't been as tidy with my emails as I should have been.

Does the Inbox.dbx file copy from the DVD to your desktop OK? ie Can the file be read off the DVD OK?

I have used Repair Tool for Outlook Express (www.nsware.com) in the past and it has worked great.
If it can't read the Inbox then I would say that it did not back up properly.
CYaBro (73)
735922 2009-01-08 04:00:00 No, that one didn't fix it. I've tried this and a couple of other programs. I've tried to restore from the DVD, copying the file to the hard drive and unchecking the archive button, renaming it. Nothing works.

I have a nasty feeling I've lost it completely. Giving up and going to the beach sounds very attractive!
Mercury (1316)
735923 2009-01-08 04:50:00 No, that one didn't fix it. I've tried this and a couple of other programs. I've tried to restore from the DVD, copying the file to the hard drive and unchecking the archive button, renaming it. Nothing works.

I have a nasty feeling I've lost it completely. Giving up and going to the beach sounds very attractive!

You need to uncheck the Read Only box.
But if the other dbx files restored OK then I would prepare the funeral for your Inbox :crying
CYaBro (73)
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