The files will always be in Windows Explorer, somewhere. If you can't find
them in the usual manner, then you would want to do an Advanced search and
include Hidden Files and Folders. You would search for:

*.dbx

I have never used MS Outlook, but I would assume in your friends case, he
would want to search for:

*.pst

--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA


"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
Bruce:
I know how to find the path using the options dialog. I'm wondering what
would happen if, for some reason, I *had* to use a back door method (other
than Explorer) to locate the message store for OE. It's just a matter of
curiosity, really. Apparently, it's not in the registry. It has to be
filed somewhere. Where?

I mentioned Outlook because the other user's problem got me thinking about
this whole thing.


"Bruce Hagen" wrote in message
...
You /are/ asking about the OE message store and not MS Outlook? Even if
you moved it, Tools | Option | Maintenance | Store Folder will reveal the
path. (They are not in the registry). The files may be marked as hidden
though.

Tools | Options | Maintenance | Store Folder will reveal the location of
your Outlook Express files. Write the location down and navigate to it in
Windows Explorer or, copy and paste it into Start | Run.

In WinXP, Win2K & Win2K3, the OE user files (DBX and WAB) are by default
marked as hidden. To view these files in Windows Explorer, you must
enable Show Hidden Files and Folders under Start | Control Panel | Folder
Options Icon | View, or in Windows Explorer | Tools | Folder Options |
View.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA


"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
At my home office, a user's computer began making odd noises which
turned out to be the hard disk in the throes of death. Our tech
consultant managed to salvage quite a bit, but they can't find his pst
files from Outlook (not OE). They're not in the usual place, and it's
suspected they might be on the office server. I don't know what they've
done so far to check this theory, but never mind that.

A couple of years ago, I relocated my OE message store to
c:\oe\messages, which makes it much easier for me to find the files and
do backups. Less cryptic path than the default. Pondering the other
user's predicament, I wondered what would happen if I needed to find my
message store, but I couldn't use Tools, Options, Maintenance for some
reason. Obviously, I could search the disk for all occurrences of
inbox.dbx, and one of the search results would be correct. But, I
wondered about searching the registry. I tried that, using the exact
path to my message store folder, and got no results at all.

Why? Where does OE store that config info, if not in the registry?