Inbox contents simply vanished

Hi, sorry I didn't get back sooner.

I downloaded OE Reader as recommended, browsed to the Inbox.dbx file (which
I had renamed XXX.dbx and placed on the Desktop), and opened it. Message
said:

"File does not contain any message."

Yet the file's size is 1.24 MB.

Go figure.

Larry




"bobster" wrote in message
...
Try this. It's the successor to MiTec OE view. I use it and it works
fine
for me.

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/dbxviewer.html

"Larry" wrote in message
...
I haven't been following this thread but this confuses me. How did you
determine the size of it when it was 400KB? And when it was 1.24 MB?

By seeing the size of the Inbox.dbx file in Windows Explorer.

2. Get any of the many programs to extract messages from .dbx files
and
run
it

I did try OE Extract and it doesn't do anything and provides no
instructions, so I guess one of the nonfreeware apps is next.


"dadiOH" wrote in message
...
Larry wrote:
Strange things going on (see below), but I think the problem may be
solvable.

1. The Inbox, prior to the problem, would have been around 80 or 90
MB. As I said, my procedure is to let it build up for a few weeks
and then move a lot of it into a custom folder. But after the
problem occurred, the Inbox was 130 KB. After I received e-mails
since this morning, it went up to about 400 KB.

2. But here's the strange thing: just now I looked again, and the
only Inbox.dbx in the OE folder has 1.24 MB!!! So somehow it's
returned.

I haven't been following this thread but this confuses me. How did you
determine the size of it when it was 400KB? And when it was 1.24 MB?
________________

3. Yet the Inbox in the OE application is still just the e-mails
received since this morning.

Because it is screwed up. That is, whatever methodology used to
determine
messages start/end and/or count is wrong. Like a file that has its EOF
in
the wrong place/
__________________

This is what I'd do...

1. Save a copy of Inbox.dbx somewhere

2. Get any of the many programs to extract messages from .dbx files and
run
it

3. If it is successful in getting your messages, save them as MAIL (
i.e.,
*.eml - separate, discrete messages) in a folder on your desktop.

If not successful, forget what follows.

4. Delete Inbox.dbx using Explorer

5. Open OE and display its Inbox - which should now be empty

6. Select all the recovered email messages in your temporary desktop
folder
and drag them to the OE pane where they would normally be displayed.

7. Close OE

dadiOH

"Larry" wrote in message
...
| Hi, sorry I didn't get back sooner.
|
| I downloaded OE Reader as recommended, browsed to the Inbox.dbx file
(which
| I had renamed XXX.dbx and placed on the Desktop), and opened it. Message
| said:
|
| "File does not contain any message."
|
| Yet the file's size is 1.24 MB.
|
| Go figure.
|
| Larry
|

Sounds like you got major corruption during the lockup/bad shutdown.

Did you check for *.chk files as Franc suggested?

You can try to open that file [or others you might find] with a code
capable editor or hex editor and maybe recover some of the text {a tedious
task}.

Of course, from now on, follow the normal procedure of moving from the
inbox to some other folder, and exporting the most important to text or eml
files.

BTW: 98SE doesn't crash all that often if everything is setup properly, so
you might want to diagnose WHY your system seems to crash alot.

--
MEB http://peoplescounsel.orgfree.com
--
_________


|
|
|
| "bobster" wrote in message
| ...
| Try this. It's the successor to MiTec OE view. I use it and it works
| fine
| for me.
|
| http://www.snapfiles.com/get/dbxviewer.html
|
| "Larry" wrote in message
| ...
| I haven't been following this thread but this confuses me. How did
you
| determine the size of it when it was 400KB? And when it was 1.24 MB?
|
| By seeing the size of the Inbox.dbx file in Windows Explorer.
|
| 2. Get any of the many programs to extract messages from .dbx files
| and
| run
| it
|
| I did try OE Extract and it doesn't do anything and provides no
| instructions, so I guess one of the nonfreeware apps is next.
|
|
| "dadiOH" wrote in message
| ...
| Larry wrote:
| Strange things going on (see below), but I think the problem may be
| solvable.
|
| 1. The Inbox, prior to the problem, would have been around 80 or 90
| MB. As I said, my procedure is to let it build up for a few weeks
| and then move a lot of it into a custom folder. But after the
| problem occurred, the Inbox was 130 KB. After I received e-mails
| since this morning, it went up to about 400 KB.
|
| 2. But here's the strange thing: just now I looked again, and the
| only Inbox.dbx in the OE folder has 1.24 MB!!! So somehow it's
| returned.
|
| I haven't been following this thread but this confuses me. How did
you
| determine the size of it when it was 400KB? And when it was 1.24 MB?
| ________________
|
| 3. Yet the Inbox in the OE application is still just the e-mails
| received since this morning.
|
| Because it is screwed up. That is, whatever methodology used to
| determine
| messages start/end and/or count is wrong. Like a file that has its
EOF
| in
| the wrong place/
| __________________
|
| This is what I'd do...
|
| 1. Save a copy of Inbox.dbx somewhere
|
| 2. Get any of the many programs to extract messages from .dbx files
and
| run
| it
|
| 3. If it is successful in getting your messages, save them as MAIL (
| i.e.,
| *.eml - separate, discrete messages) in a folder on your desktop.
|
| If not successful, forget what follows.
|
| 4. Delete Inbox.dbx using Explorer
|
| 5. Open OE and display its Inbox - which should now be empty
|
| 6. Select all the recovered email messages in your temporary desktop
| folder
| and drag them to the OE pane where they would normally be displayed.
|
| 7. Close OE
|
| dadiOH
|
|
|
|

Sounds like you got major corruption during the lockup/bad shutdown.

Yes, the computer froze, I restarted by pressing the external restart button
on the tower, and after that is when the Inbox contents were missing.

Did you check for *.chk files as Franc suggested?

I don't see a Franc in this thread, and don't remember anything about .chk
files.

But from what you say, it sounds as though the e-mails are basically lost.
It's not a terrible disaster.

Larry



"MEB" meb@not wrote in message
...

"Larry" wrote in message
...
| Hi, sorry I didn't get back sooner.
|
| I downloaded OE Reader as recommended, browsed to the Inbox.dbx file
(which
| I had renamed XXX.dbx and placed on the Desktop), and opened it.
Message
| said:
|
| "File does not contain any message."
|
| Yet the file's size is 1.24 MB.
|
| Go figure.
|
| Larry
|

Sounds like you got major corruption during the lockup/bad shutdown.

Did you check for *.chk files as Franc suggested?

You can try to open that file [or others you might find] with a code
capable editor or hex editor and maybe recover some of the text {a tedious
task}.

Of course, from now on, follow the normal procedure of moving from the
inbox to some other folder, and exporting the most important to text or
eml
files.

BTW: 98SE doesn't crash all that often if everything is setup properly, so
you might want to diagnose WHY your system seems to crash alot.

--
MEB http://peoplescounsel.orgfree.com
--
_________


|
|
|
| "bobster" wrote in message
| ...
| Try this. It's the successor to MiTec OE view. I use it and it works
| fine
| for me.
|
| http://www.snapfiles.com/get/dbxviewer.html
|
| "Larry" wrote in message
| ...
| I haven't been following this thread but this confuses me. How did
you
| determine the size of it when it was 400KB? And when it was 1.24 MB?
|
| By seeing the size of the Inbox.dbx file in Windows Explorer.
|
| 2. Get any of the many programs to extract messages from .dbx
files
| and
| run
| it
|
| I did try OE Extract and it doesn't do anything and provides no
| instructions, so I guess one of the nonfreeware apps is next.
|
|
| "dadiOH" wrote in message
| ...
| Larry wrote:
| Strange things going on (see below), but I think the problem may
be
| solvable.
|
| 1. The Inbox, prior to the problem, would have been around 80 or
90
| MB. As I said, my procedure is to let it build up for a few weeks
| and then move a lot of it into a custom folder. But after the
| problem occurred, the Inbox was 130 KB. After I received e-mails
| since this morning, it went up to about 400 KB.
|
| 2. But here's the strange thing: just now I looked again, and
the
| only Inbox.dbx in the OE folder has 1.24 MB!!! So somehow it's
| returned.
|
| I haven't been following this thread but this confuses me. How did
you
| determine the size of it when it was 400KB? And when it was 1.24
MB?
| ________________
|
| 3. Yet the Inbox in the OE application is still just the e-mails
| received since this morning.
|
| Because it is screwed up. That is, whatever methodology used to
| determine
| messages start/end and/or count is wrong. Like a file that has its
EOF
| in
| the wrong place/
| __________________
|
| This is what I'd do...
|
| 1. Save a copy of Inbox.dbx somewhere
|
| 2. Get any of the many programs to extract messages from .dbx files
and
| run
| it
|
| 3. If it is successful in getting your messages, save them as MAIL
(
| i.e.,
| *.eml - separate, discrete messages) in a folder on your desktop.
|
| If not successful, forget what follows.
|
| 4. Delete Inbox.dbx using Explorer
|
| 5. Open OE and display its Inbox - which should now be empty
|
| 6. Select all the recovered email messages in your temporary desktop
| folder
| and drag them to the OE pane where they would normally be displayed.
|
| 7. Close OE
|
| dadiOH
|
|
|
|

Have you checked the Recycle Bin for bak files?
--
Ronald Sommer

"Larry" wrote in message
...

Sounds like you got major corruption during the lockup/bad shutdown.

Yes, the computer froze, I restarted by pressing the external restart
button
on the tower, and after that is when the Inbox contents were missing.

Did you check for *.chk files as Franc suggested?

I don't see a Franc in this thread, and don't remember anything about .chk
files.

But from what you say, it sounds as though the e-mails are basically lost.
It's not a terrible disaster.

Larry



"MEB" meb@not wrote in message
...

"Larry" wrote in message
...
| Hi, sorry I didn't get back sooner.
|
| I downloaded OE Reader as recommended, browsed to the Inbox.dbx file
(which
| I had renamed XXX.dbx and placed on the Desktop), and opened it.
Message
| said:
|
| "File does not contain any message."
|
| Yet the file's size is 1.24 MB.
|
| Go figure.
|
| Larry
|

Sounds like you got major corruption during the lockup/bad shutdown.

Did you check for *.chk files as Franc suggested?

You can try to open that file [or others you might find] with a code
capable editor or hex editor and maybe recover some of the text {a
tedious
task}.

Of course, from now on, follow the normal procedure of moving from the
inbox to some other folder, and exporting the most important to text or
eml
files.

BTW: 98SE doesn't crash all that often if everything is setup properly,
so
you might want to diagnose WHY your system seems to crash alot.

--
MEB http://peoplescounsel.orgfree.com
--
_________


|
|
|
| "bobster" wrote in message
| ...
| Try this. It's the successor to MiTec OE view. I use it and it
works
| fine
| for me.
|
| http://www.snapfiles.com/get/dbxviewer.html
|
| "Larry" wrote in message
| ...
| I haven't been following this thread but this confuses me. How
did
you
| determine the size of it when it was 400KB? And when it was 1.24 MB?
|
| By seeing the size of the Inbox.dbx file in Windows Explorer.
|
| 2. Get any of the many programs to extract messages from .dbx
files
| and
| run
| it
|
| I did try OE Extract and it doesn't do anything and provides no
| instructions, so I guess one of the nonfreeware apps is next.
|
|
| "dadiOH" wrote in message
| ...
| Larry wrote:
| Strange things going on (see below), but I think the problem may
be
| solvable.
|
| 1. The Inbox, prior to the problem, would have been around 80 or
90
| MB. As I said, my procedure is to let it build up for a few
weeks
| and then move a lot of it into a custom folder. But after the
| problem occurred, the Inbox was 130 KB. After I received e-mails
| since this morning, it went up to about 400 KB.
|
| 2. But here's the strange thing: just now I looked again, and
the
| only Inbox.dbx in the OE folder has 1.24 MB!!! So somehow it's
| returned.
|
| I haven't been following this thread but this confuses me. How did
you
| determine the size of it when it was 400KB? And when it was 1.24
MB?
| ________________
|
| 3. Yet the Inbox in the OE application is still just the e-mails
| received since this morning.
|
| Because it is screwed up. That is, whatever methodology used to
| determine
| messages start/end and/or count is wrong. Like a file that has its
EOF
| in
| the wrong place/
| __________________
|
| This is what I'd do...
|
| 1. Save a copy of Inbox.dbx somewhere
|
| 2. Get any of the many programs to extract messages from .dbx files
and
| run
| it
|
| 3. If it is successful in getting your messages, save them as MAIL
(
| i.e.,
| *.eml - separate, discrete messages) in a folder on your desktop.
|
| If not successful, forget what follows.
|
| 4. Delete Inbox.dbx using Explorer
|
| 5. Open OE and display its Inbox - which should now be empty
|
| 6. Select all the recovered email messages in your temporary
desktop
| folder
| and drag them to the OE pane where they would normally be
displayed.
|
| 7. Close OE
|
| dadiOH
|
|
|
|

That reinforces what I thought. That is the file is empty, and the size
would not reflect that there is mail in it as the size is not reduced until
you compact.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA


"Larry" wrote in message
...
Hi, sorry I didn't get back sooner.

I downloaded OE Reader as recommended, browsed to the Inbox.dbx file
(which
I had renamed XXX.dbx and placed on the Desktop), and opened it. Message
said:

"File does not contain any message."

Yet the file's size is 1.24 MB.

Go figure.

Larry




"bobster" wrote in message
...
Try this. It's the successor to MiTec OE view. I use it and it works
fine
for me.

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/dbxviewer.html

"Larry" wrote in message
...
I haven't been following this thread but this confuses me. How did
you
determine the size of it when it was 400KB? And when it was 1.24 MB?

By seeing the size of the Inbox.dbx file in Windows Explorer.

2. Get any of the many programs to extract messages from .dbx files
and
run
it

I did try OE Extract and it doesn't do anything and provides no
instructions, so I guess one of the nonfreeware apps is next.


"dadiOH" wrote in message
...
Larry wrote:
Strange things going on (see below), but I think the problem may be
solvable.

1. The Inbox, prior to the problem, would have been around 80 or 90
MB. As I said, my procedure is to let it build up for a few weeks
and then move a lot of it into a custom folder. But after the
problem occurred, the Inbox was 130 KB. After I received e-mails
since this morning, it went up to about 400 KB.

2. But here's the strange thing: just now I looked again, and the
only Inbox.dbx in the OE folder has 1.24 MB!!! So somehow it's
returned.

I haven't been following this thread but this confuses me. How did you
determine the size of it when it was 400KB? And when it was 1.24 MB?
________________

3. Yet the Inbox in the OE application is still just the e-mails
received since this morning.

Because it is screwed up. That is, whatever methodology used to
determine
messages start/end and/or count is wrong. Like a file that has its EOF
in
the wrong place/
__________________

This is what I'd do...

1. Save a copy of Inbox.dbx somewhere

2. Get any of the many programs to extract messages from .dbx files and
run
it

3. If it is successful in getting your messages, save them as MAIL (
i.e.,
*.eml - separate, discrete messages) in a folder on your desktop.

If not successful, forget what follows.

4. Delete Inbox.dbx using Explorer

5. Open OE and display its Inbox - which should now be empty

6. Select all the recovered email messages in your temporary desktop
folder
and drag them to the OE pane where they would normally be displayed.

7. Close OE

dadiOH

Windows 98.
--
~Bruce

"Ron Sommer" wrote in message
...
Have you checked the Recycle Bin for bak files?
--
Ronald Sommer

"Larry" wrote in message
...

Sounds like you got major corruption during the lockup/bad shutdown.

Yes, the computer froze, I restarted by pressing the external restart
button
on the tower, and after that is when the Inbox contents were missing.

Did you check for *.chk files as Franc suggested?

I don't see a Franc in this thread, and don't remember anything about
.chk
files.

But from what you say, it sounds as though the e-mails are basically
lost.
It's not a terrible disaster.

Larry



"MEB" meb@not wrote in message
...

"Larry" wrote in message
...
| Hi, sorry I didn't get back sooner.
|
| I downloaded OE Reader as recommended, browsed to the Inbox.dbx file
(which
| I had renamed XXX.dbx and placed on the Desktop), and opened it.
Message
| said:
|
| "File does not contain any message."
|
| Yet the file's size is 1.24 MB.
|
| Go figure.
|
| Larry
|

Sounds like you got major corruption during the lockup/bad shutdown.

Did you check for *.chk files as Franc suggested?

You can try to open that file [or others you might find] with a code
capable editor or hex editor and maybe recover some of the text {a
tedious
task}.

Of course, from now on, follow the normal procedure of moving from the
inbox to some other folder, and exporting the most important to text or
eml
files.

BTW: 98SE doesn't crash all that often if everything is setup properly,
so
you might want to diagnose WHY your system seems to crash alot.

--
MEB http://peoplescounsel.orgfree.com
--
_________


|
|
|
| "bobster" wrote in message
| ...
| Try this. It's the successor to MiTec OE view. I use it and it
works
| fine
| for me.
|
| http://www.snapfiles.com/get/dbxviewer.html
|
| "Larry" wrote in message
| ...
| I haven't been following this thread but this confuses me. How
did
you
| determine the size of it when it was 400KB? And when it was 1.24
MB?
|
| By seeing the size of the Inbox.dbx file in Windows Explorer.
|
| 2. Get any of the many programs to extract messages from .dbx
files
| and
| run
| it
|
| I did try OE Extract and it doesn't do anything and provides no
| instructions, so I guess one of the nonfreeware apps is next.
|
|
| "dadiOH" wrote in message
| ...
| Larry wrote:
| Strange things going on (see below), but I think the problem may
be
| solvable.
|
| 1. The Inbox, prior to the problem, would have been around 80 or
90
| MB. As I said, my procedure is to let it build up for a few
weeks
| and then move a lot of it into a custom folder. But after the
| problem occurred, the Inbox was 130 KB. After I received
e-mails
| since this morning, it went up to about 400 KB.
|
| 2. But here's the strange thing: just now I looked again, and
the
| only Inbox.dbx in the OE folder has 1.24 MB!!! So somehow it's
| returned.
|
| I haven't been following this thread but this confuses me. How
did
you
| determine the size of it when it was 400KB? And when it was 1.24
MB?
| ________________
|
| 3. Yet the Inbox in the OE application is still just the
e-mails
| received since this morning.
|
| Because it is screwed up. That is, whatever methodology used to
| determine
| messages start/end and/or count is wrong. Like a file that has
its
EOF
| in
| the wrong place/
| __________________
|
| This is what I'd do...
|
| 1. Save a copy of Inbox.dbx somewhere
|
| 2. Get any of the many programs to extract messages from .dbx
files
and
| run
| it
|
| 3. If it is successful in getting your messages, save them as
MAIL
(
| i.e.,
| *.eml - separate, discrete messages) in a folder on your desktop.
|
| If not successful, forget what follows.
|
| 4. Delete Inbox.dbx using Explorer
|
| 5. Open OE and display its Inbox - which should now be empty
|
| 6. Select all the recovered email messages in your temporary
desktop
| folder
| and drag them to the OE pane where they would normally be
displayed.
|
| 7. Close OE
|
| dadiOH
|
|
|
|

The file is probably bloated due to (1) archiving messages in Inbox folder
and/or (2) not manually compacting all OE folders on a regular basis.

If DBXtract, DBXpress or another extraction utility cannot recover any
messages, there's no point in trying anything else.

Win9x-specific General OE Caveats:

- Don't use Inbox or Sent Items to archive messages. Move them to local
folders created for this purpose.

- Empty Deleted Items folder daily.

- Disable Background Compacting and frequently perform a manual compact of
all OE folders while "working offline". More at
http://www.insideoe.com/files/maintain.htm

- Disable email scanning by your anti-virus application. It can cause
corruption (i.e., loss of messages), it provides no additional protection,
and even Symantec says it's not necessary:

QP
Disabling Email Scanning does not leave you unprotected against viruses that
are distributed as email attachments. Norton AntiVirus Auto-Protect scans
incoming files as they are saved to your hard drive, including email and
email attachments. Email Scanning is just another layer on top of this. To
make sure that Auto-Protect is providing the maximum protection, keep
Auto-Protect enabled and run LiveUpdate regularly to ensure that you have
the most recent virus definitions.
/QP
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT...02111812533106
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/


Larry wrote:
Hi, sorry I didn't get back sooner.

I downloaded OE Reader as recommended, browsed to the Inbox.dbx file
(which
I had renamed XXX.dbx and placed on the Desktop), and opened it. Message
said:

"File does not contain any message."

Yet the file's size is 1.24 MB.
snip

Thank you everyone.

I just dragged the file, XXX.dbx, back into the OE folder, launched OE, did
a file compact on the folder XXX, and it went down from 1.24 MB to 58 KB.
So that settles that.

As far as OE's vulnerabilty to this kind of disaster is concerned, I've been
using the same OE program for over nine years and never lost the contents of
a folder and never heard of that happening. About a year ago, I began to
have computer freeze-ups when doing send-receive, and that's when PA Baer (I
think it was) gave me the instructions of OE maintenance, which I've
followed pretty regularly since then. But not 100 percent! Not keeping the
Inbox completely empty! I have an extremely active e-mail correspondence,
and that's just not realistic for me.

Thanks again all.
Larry




"Bruce Hagen" wrote in message
...
That reinforces what I thought. That is the file is empty, and the size
would not reflect that there is mail in it as the size is not reduced
until
you compact.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA


"Larry" wrote in message
...
Hi, sorry I didn't get back sooner.

I downloaded OE Reader as recommended, browsed to the Inbox.dbx file
(which
I had renamed XXX.dbx and placed on the Desktop), and opened it.
Message
said:

"File does not contain any message."

Yet the file's size is 1.24 MB.

Go figure.

Larry




"bobster" wrote in message
...
Try this. It's the successor to MiTec OE view. I use it and it works
fine
for me.

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/dbxviewer.html

"Larry" wrote in message
...
I haven't been following this thread but this confuses me. How did
you
determine the size of it when it was 400KB? And when it was 1.24 MB?

By seeing the size of the Inbox.dbx file in Windows Explorer.

2. Get any of the many programs to extract messages from .dbx
files
and
run
it

I did try OE Extract and it doesn't do anything and provides no
instructions, so I guess one of the nonfreeware apps is next.


"dadiOH" wrote in message
...
Larry wrote:
Strange things going on (see below), but I think the problem may be
solvable.

1. The Inbox, prior to the problem, would have been around 80 or 90
MB. As I said, my procedure is to let it build up for a few weeks
and then move a lot of it into a custom folder. But after the
problem occurred, the Inbox was 130 KB. After I received e-mails
since this morning, it went up to about 400 KB.

2. But here's the strange thing: just now I looked again, and the
only Inbox.dbx in the OE folder has 1.24 MB!!! So somehow it's
returned.

I haven't been following this thread but this confuses me. How did
you
determine the size of it when it was 400KB? And when it was 1.24 MB?
________________

3. Yet the Inbox in the OE application is still just the e-mails
received since this morning.

Because it is screwed up. That is, whatever methodology used to
determine
messages start/end and/or count is wrong. Like a file that has its
EOF
in
the wrong place/
__________________

This is what I'd do...

1. Save a copy of Inbox.dbx somewhere

2. Get any of the many programs to extract messages from .dbx files
and
run
it

3. If it is successful in getting your messages, save them as MAIL (
i.e.,
*.eml - separate, discrete messages) in a folder on your desktop.

If not successful, forget what follows.

4. Delete Inbox.dbx using Explorer

5. Open OE and display its Inbox - which should now be empty

6. Select all the recovered email messages in your temporary desktop
folder
and drag them to the OE pane where they would normally be displayed.

7. Close OE

dadiOH

Sooner or later, file corruption will hit every OE user. It only makes
sense to do what you can to avoid it.

The Other E-Mail Threat: File Corruption in Outlook Express:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/IE/...orruption.mspx

...I have an extremely active e-mail correspondence,
and that's just not realistic for me.

I send well over 100 messages a day using OE, just about every day of the
week. If I can remember to take 2 minutes at the end of every day to empty
Sent Items & Deleted Items folders and then compact all folders (ALT+F+F+F),
you can, too.

If you don't value your message store, keep doing what you've been
doing...and don't bother backing-up your message store either. wink
--
~PA Bear

Larry wrote:
Thank you everyone.

I just dragged the file, XXX.dbx, back into the OE folder, launched OE,
did
a file compact on the folder XXX, and it went down from 1.24 MB to 58 KB.
So that settles that.

As far as OE's vulnerabilty to this kind of disaster is concerned, I've
been
using the same OE program for over nine years and never lost the contents
of
a folder and never heard of that happening. About a year ago, I began to
have computer freeze-ups when doing send-receive, and that's when PA Baer
(I
think it was) gave me the instructions of OE maintenance, which I've
followed pretty regularly since then. But not 100 percent! Not keeping
the
Inbox completely empty! I have an extremely active e-mail correspondence,
and that's just not realistic for me.

"Bruce Hagen" wrote in message
...
That reinforces what I thought. That is the file is empty, and the size
would not reflect that there is mail in it as the size is not reduced
until
you compact.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA


"Larry" wrote in message
...
Hi, sorry I didn't get back sooner.

I downloaded OE Reader as recommended, browsed to the Inbox.dbx file
(which
I had renamed XXX.dbx and placed on the Desktop), and opened it.
Message
said:

"File does not contain any message."

Yet the file's size is 1.24 MB.

Go figure.

Larry




"bobster" wrote in message
...
Try this. It's the successor to MiTec OE view. I use it and it works
fine for me.

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/dbxviewer.html

"Larry" wrote in message
...
I haven't been following this thread but this confuses me. How did
you
determine the size of it when it was 400KB? And when it was 1.24 MB?

By seeing the size of the Inbox.dbx file in Windows Explorer.

2. Get any of the many programs to extract messages from .dbx
files
and
run
it

I did try OE Extract and it doesn't do anything and provides no
instructions, so I guess one of the nonfreeware apps is next.


"dadiOH" wrote in message
...
Larry wrote:
Strange things going on (see below), but I think the problem may be
solvable.

1. The Inbox, prior to the problem, would have been around 80 or 90
MB. As I said, my procedure is to let it build up for a few weeks
and then move a lot of it into a custom folder. But after the
problem occurred, the Inbox was 130 KB. After I received e-mails
since this morning, it went up to about 400 KB.

2. But here's the strange thing: just now I looked again, and the
only Inbox.dbx in the OE folder has 1.24 MB!!! So somehow it's
returned.

I haven't been following this thread but this confuses me. How did
you
determine the size of it when it was 400KB? And when it was 1.24 MB?
________________

3. Yet the Inbox in the OE application is still just the e-mails
received since this morning.

Because it is screwed up. That is, whatever methodology used to
determine messages start/end and/or count is wrong. Like a file that
has its EOF in the wrong place/
__________________

This is what I'd do...

1. Save a copy of Inbox.dbx somewhere

2. Get any of the many programs to extract messages from .dbx files
and
run it

3. If it is successful in getting your messages, save them as MAIL (
i.e., *.eml - separate, discrete messages) in a folder on your
desktop.

If not successful, forget what follows.

4. Delete Inbox.dbx using Explorer

5. Open OE and display its Inbox - which should now be empty

6. Select all the recovered email messages in your temporary desktop
folder and drag them to the OE pane where they would normally be
displayed.

7. Close OE

dadiOH

And you pretty much HAVE to remember to do it, if you don't have that
background compacting option turned on (and ever since the autocompacting
feature was removed - at least in WinXP SP2).

I just do it daily.

PA Bear [MS MVP] wrote:
Sooner or later, file corruption will hit every OE user. It only makes
sense to do what you can to avoid it.

The Other E-Mail Threat: File Corruption in Outlook Express:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/IE/...orruption.mspx

...I have an extremely active e-mail correspondence,
and that's just not realistic for me.

I send well over 100 messages a day using OE, just about every day of the
week. If I can remember to take 2 minutes at the end of every day to
empty
Sent Items & Deleted Items folders and then compact all folders
(ALT+F+F+F),
you can, too.

If you don't value your message store, keep doing what you've been
doing...and don't bother backing-up your message store either. wink
--
~PA Bear

Larry wrote:
Thank you everyone.

I just dragged the file, XXX.dbx, back into the OE folder, launched OE,
did
a file compact on the folder XXX, and it went down from 1.24 MB to 58 KB.
So that settles that.

As far as OE's vulnerabilty to this kind of disaster is concerned, I've
been
using the same OE program for over nine years and never lost the contents
of
a folder and never heard of that happening. About a year ago, I began to
have computer freeze-ups when doing send-receive, and that's when PA Baer
(I
think it was) gave me the instructions of OE maintenance, which I've
followed pretty regularly since then. But not 100 percent! Not keeping
the
Inbox completely empty! I have an extremely active e-mail
correspondence,
and that's just not realistic for me.

"Bruce Hagen" wrote in message
...
That reinforces what I thought. That is the file is empty, and the size
would not reflect that there is mail in it as the size is not reduced
until
you compact.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA


"Larry" wrote in message
...
Hi, sorry I didn't get back sooner.

I downloaded OE Reader as recommended, browsed to the Inbox.dbx file
(which
I had renamed XXX.dbx and placed on the Desktop), and opened it.
Message
said:

"File does not contain any message."

Yet the file's size is 1.24 MB.

Go figure.

Larry




"bobster" wrote in message
...
Try this. It's the successor to MiTec OE view. I use it and it works
fine for me.

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/dbxviewer.html

"Larry" wrote in message
...
I haven't been following this thread but this confuses me. How did
you
determine the size of it when it was 400KB? And when it was 1.24 MB?

By seeing the size of the Inbox.dbx file in Windows Explorer.

2. Get any of the many programs to extract messages from .dbx
files
and
run
it

I did try OE Extract and it doesn't do anything and provides no
instructions, so I guess one of the nonfreeware apps is next.


"dadiOH" wrote in message
...
Larry wrote:
Strange things going on (see below), but I think the problem may be
solvable.

1. The Inbox, prior to the problem, would have been around 80 or 90
MB. As I said, my procedure is to let it build up for a few weeks
and then move a lot of it into a custom folder. But after the
problem occurred, the Inbox was 130 KB. After I received e-mails
since this morning, it went up to about 400 KB.

2. But here's the strange thing: just now I looked again, and the
only Inbox.dbx in the OE folder has 1.24 MB!!! So somehow it's
returned.

I haven't been following this thread but this confuses me. How did
you
determine the size of it when it was 400KB? And when it was 1.24 MB?
________________

3. Yet the Inbox in the OE application is still just the e-mails
received since this morning.

Because it is screwed up. That is, whatever methodology used to
determine messages start/end and/or count is wrong. Like a file that
has its EOF in the wrong place/
__________________

This is what I'd do...

1. Save a copy of Inbox.dbx somewhere

2. Get any of the many programs to extract messages from .dbx files
and
run it

3. If it is successful in getting your messages, save them as MAIL (
i.e., *.eml - separate, discrete messages) in a folder on your
desktop.

If not successful, forget what follows.

4. Delete Inbox.dbx using Explorer

5. Open OE and display its Inbox - which should now be empty

6. Select all the recovered email messages in your temporary desktop
folder and drag them to the OE pane where they would normally be
displayed.

7. Close OE

dadiOH