Lost all the email folders in outlook express. tried to get them back with
the import but was unable to. I found all the folders that I am missing in
the recycle bin marked as a .BAK when I do a restore they move back to the
original folder and stay as a .BAK. I tried renaming them to a .dbx in hopes
that they can be imported - but I get "No messages can be found in this
folder or another application is running that has required files open"

Can anyone help me get thes back?

You have to do this in a particular sequence.

All e-mail items may be missing when you start Outlook Express 6 Service
Pack 1:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918069

To restore a bak folder to the message store folder, first locate the
Message Store in Windows Explorer.

In OE: Tools | Options | Maintenance | Store Folder will reveal the location
of your Outlook Express files. Press the Tab key to highlight the folder
location, then Ctrl+C. Close OE, then Start | Run | Ctrl+V will put the
location in the box - Click OK and you'll see the OE files. Otherwise, write
the location down and navigate to it in Windows Explorer.

In WinXP, the dbx files 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.

In Windows Explorer, click on the dbx file for the missing, or empty, folder
and drag it to the Desktop. It can be deleted later once you have
successfully restored the bak file. Minimize the Message Store.

Open OE and, if the folder is missing, create a folder with the *exact* same
name as the bak file you want to restore but without the .bak. Eg: If the
file is Saved.bak, the new folder should be named Saved. Open the new folder
and then close OE. If the folder is there, but just empty, continue on to
the next step.

Open the Recycle bin and right click on the bak file for the folder in
question and click Restore. Open the Message Store back up and change the
file extension from .bak to .dbx. Close the Message Store and open OE. The
messages should now be back in the folder.

If the messages are successfully restored, you can go ahead and delete the
old dbx file that you moved to the Desktop.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
~IB-CA~

"Loretta" wrote in message
news
Lost all the email folders in outlook express. tried to get them back
with
the import but was unable to. I found all the folders that I am missing
in
the recycle bin marked as a .BAK when I do a restore they move back to
the
original folder and stay as a .BAK. I tried renaming them to a .dbx in
hopes
that they can be imported - but I get "No messages can be found in this
folder or another application is running that has required files open"

Can anyone help me get thes back?

thanks very much. This worked and I have everything back. I noticed that
for some reason even though the deleted items in OE was empty in the store
folder the size was very large. I'll have to make sure that the deleted
stays empty in size. Thanks again

"Loretta" wrote:

Lost all the email folders in outlook express. tried to get them back with
the import but was unable to. I found all the folders that I am missing in
the recycle bin marked as a .BAK when I do a restore they move back to the
original folder and stay as a .BAK. I tried renaming them to a .dbx in hopes
that they can be imported - but I get "No messages can be found in this
folder or another application is running that has required files open"

Can anyone help me get thes back?

You're welcome & I'm glad you got your messages back.

Note that no folder is reduced in size until you compact your folders. Move
a message from the Inbox to another folder, the Inbox is still the same size
until you compact. Same if you empty Deleted items. The dbx file remains the
same size until you compact. Many view it as a PITA, and it is, but it is
necessary.

Why does OE insist on compacting folders when I close it?:
http://www.insideoe.com/faqs/why.htm#compact

Why Mail Disappears:
http://www.insideoe.com/problems/bugs.htm#mailgone

About File Corruption:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/IE/...orruption.mspx

--
Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
~IB-CA~

"Loretta" wrote in message
...
thanks very much. This worked and I have everything back. I noticed that
for some reason even though the deleted items in OE was empty in the store
folder the size was very large. I'll have to make sure that the deleted
stays empty in size. Thanks again

"Loretta" wrote:

Lost all the email folders in outlook express. tried to get them back
with
the import but was unable to. I found all the folders that I am missing
in
the recycle bin marked as a .BAK when I do a restore they move back to
the
original folder and stay as a .BAK. I tried renaming them to a .dbx in
hopes
that they can be imported - but I get "No messages can be found in this
folder or another application is running that has required files open"

Can anyone help me get thes back?