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Disappearing outlook express folders

1062 Views 11 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  SavvyLady
Disappearing folders in outlook express. These are not deleted by me but somehow ended in the recycle bin. I retrieved them but do not know if and where are the folders. Did a search on find folders with no results. From other posts on this site: I just unchecked in maintenance in outlook; empty messages from the deleted items folder on exit and compact messages in the background. I read here that closing down outlook might hinder retrieval. I also saw a mention of a program written by a (Steve?)to download. How can I stop this from randomly happening and any ideas on where the files went when I retrieved them from the recycle bin?
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hello... since you are using Outlook Express... when is the last time you ran a fully updated virus scan? Do you have one onboard & does it cover Outlook Express?

My advice is go to housecalls & run the free online virus scanner.
Click here to do so!

for a free virus scanner you can add to your system... go get AVG. Click here to download AVG

and to protect yourself from hackers etc... Get Zone Alarm
Click here the free version is fine

then there is spyware ... go get Ad-Aware
Click here to download it

this should keep you in pretty good shape

Savvy :)
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Thanks savveylady. I ran norton antivirus update last time I booted up. This was the same day (a lot later) that my folders just disappeared to the recycle bin. Should I try AVG instead of live update?

I am already using Ad-aware.

Instead of Zone Alarm, I use My Tiny Firewall.

I will go to house calls, also.

Any other ideas?

cherysus
OE can be such a pain in the a** sometimes. Assuming we can find them, we should be able to get them back. First of all, log in to OE and go to Tools>Options, Maintenance tab, click Store Folder and either copy or write down the exact path. Now, browse to that path in My Computer. Do you see the missing folders there? If they were deleted by someone or something, ended up in your Recycle Bin and then Restored from the Recycle Bin, they should be there.

Do you see them? If not, the instructions below do not apply.

If so, here's the easiest way I can think of...
The problem is that OE has lost the link to that file even though it exists in the folder. So...
Open OE, create a new folder named Test. If you need to get 3 folders back, then create 3 folder naming them Test1, Test2, etc - however many you need. Now, close OE, browse to that folder again and delete the Test folders (remembering the exact name) and rename the *missing* folders files to those Test names.

For example, if one of the missing folders was named MyStuff, you should see a file named MyStuff.dbx in the path you browsed to. Open OE, create a folder named Test1. Close OE, delete the Test1.dbx file in My Computer, rename MyStuff.dbx to Test1.dbx and open OE again. You should now see all emails that were in MyStuff.dbx in Test1.dbx. You can rename the folder back from within OE.
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Pamela,

I found the missing folders!!! I created two test folders, but they do not appear in My Computer.
You may need to actually click on them once in OE, then exit and refresh your view of that folder.

-angela
Hi again... good deal.. you are covered then with the downloads etc...

I had Tiny Personel Firewall for a while but it didn't test well at PC Pitstop.


angel thanks for helping him/her... I left for a while . sorry

Savvy :)
Angel,

Thank you so much!! Your solution did the trick. I did have to click on the new test folders once to get them to My Computer.

cherysus
:) Savvy,

Thank you also. I will check out the other programs you suggested.
Just wanted you all to know I linked to you from the screensavers at techtv. I visit there often and look for helpful sites. I am so glad they had your site listed. I visited other sites on their list but none of those helped.

I used to watch the screensavers and call for help on tv, then techtv was changed to digital by my cable company and I miss it a lot.

I will be back to this site often just to read up on the threads.

Thanks again
cherysus
I bacame a member here when I needed help & like you was impressed enough that I stayed... its a good forum w/ people who really try to help.
Because there is also a random discussion forum members are interacting as friends as well.




Savvy :)
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