# Outlook Express archived email



## iwynne (Jun 10, 2005)

How do I retrieve archived email in Outlook express? Is it possible? I haven't been able to find it anywhere in my computer or on the internet and need to retrieve some I have sent.  

Thank you for any help.

iwynne


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## sekirt (Mar 28, 2003)

What OS are you using?

I find your question confusing. What do you mean by retrieve? Get back an email you already sent out? Or do you mean to just look at it?

You should have made up custom folders to store your emails. Any large amount should not be stored for any length of time in the standard folders: Inbox/Outbox/Sent Items/Deleted Items/Drafts. OE has been known to make those disappear.

Do you have a left pane and a right pane in your OE? The folders are listed in the left pane. If you haven't moved them, look in your sent folder.

Post back with (lots) more details if that isn't what you meant.

sekirt


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## iwynne (Jun 10, 2005)

I just learned today that you should make up the custom folders. That has been taken care of and this will never happen to me again. I had no idea that it would delete them. If I can't retrieve them then I have learned my lesson.

Windows XP 2002 is what I'm using. I have looked in everyplace I can think of to find the emails. I like to keep copies of the ones I have sent out for proof. Got kind of tired of the guys telling me that I hadn't sent them the report they needed, so I would go back through there, make sure that I had, and then give them the date to look for.

I thought with the old program I used (another job, several years ago) that it would just store the old ones in another place when it said archive. There was a message that popped up a week or so ago that said something about archiving. I just assumed that meant it would save them in another file and I could retrieve them. Shouldn't assume should I? So, when it did that, did it just delete them?

Thanks, iwynne


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## sekirt (Mar 28, 2003)

With the additional information you posted, I have a better grasp of the problem(s). 


> There was a message that popped up a week or so ago that said something about archiving.


 Windows XP with SP2 will *compact * folders automatically. Perhaps that is what you saw?

Compacting is similar to Defragging.
OE is a Database program. When you delete messages from your folders in OE, the actual files that hold the information, only mark that item for removal later. Most databases work that way. Those OE files have the extension .DBX. They will continue to grow in size with wasted space, if not compacted. While compacting saves disk space, the main reason to compact is to help keep OE running smoothly and prevent corruption of the .DBX files. Compacting does nothing to your existing emails. Caution: Improper compacting can destroy your emails. When compacting by any method, leave your computer alone until it finishes. You should always check off, 'work offline' or actually be offline before compacting. Do not use any programs or open or close anything once it starts until it finishes.

Manual compacting is available in all versions of OE. This is the best method to compact OE. Be sure you are offline or that offline is checked in 
File->Work Offline. Then click File->Folder->Compact all folders.

If you have XP SP2, you will get a prompt to compact after 100 OE closings, which you should do. Then you should not be prompted again until OE is used 100 times.

If you don't want to compact for reasons of your own and you are skilled in using the registry, check for the info at this key: 
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Identities\{GUID for Identity}\Software\Microsoft\Outlook Express\5.0

Look in the right hand pane of the registry for "Compact Check Count" and reset its value to zero [0] and you will not be bothered again until the count of opening/closing again approaches 100.

Prior to SP2, automatic background compacting was available.
OE->Tools->Options->Maintenance Tab.
Do not check "Compact messages in the background." This can lead to lost emails. Use the manual method.

Now onto the problem of extracting the old emails. Go here, read about, then download your choice of program. 1 free/1 reasonable.

http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/resources/tools.htm#macallan

With XP, the DBX files are hidden files. So before you can extract any emails, you have to make sure you have hidden files showing in Folder Options. You can access Folder Options in Windows Explorer by clicking on the Tools Menu or View Menu. Here is more information about that:

http://www.insideoutlookexpress.com/files/index.htm

sekirt


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## andre67 (Jun 28, 2005)

*How do I retrieve archived email in Outlook express? Is it possible? I have not been able to find it anywhere on my computer or on the internet and need to retrieve some I have sent and in my other folders too. Let me elaborate: If Outlook Express ask the user to compact messages the result is all old mail for example in Inbox or in the send box would be archived as explained in the documentation in OX. The reason for this would be to free disc space, However messages then are not longer visible in the folders where they originated. To retrieve this archived mail seems to be an imposable task as there is NO mention in manual or menu how to retrieve back compacted mail. I hope I am clear enough.*


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## sekirt (Mar 28, 2003)

andre67
Did you read my previous post carefully? Compacting does nothing to your existing emails...etc;...and continue reading for how to extract emails that may have gotten lost.

If they are not lost, they are somewhere in your OE folders.

sekirt


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