Inbox.dbx Unviewable after HDD Reformat- HELP!!

Hi everyone,

I guess like everyone who posts a request for help like this, I'm really in a bad way- I just had to re-format my HDD and now that XP is back on, my backup of the OE Inbox.dbx file isn't being read and I have no idea why.

I always simply copied the files directly onto a data DVD, I was and am now running OE6, backups of Inbox.dbx from '06 work, but none from '07 (for whatever reason) do. Nothing weird happens in OE, it just reads the Inbox as empty- or with just a few messages that I receive after I try putting the old one in, and it's over 300MB.

I've searched around for possibilities to try for about 6 hours now, but unfortunately most issues are not quite like mine, and none of the measures suggested have worked. I've tried a bunch of programs that claim to fix or rescue data from corrupted .dbx files but most find no messages at all, just like OE does. I've tried Importing it, but OE says there are no message files present, I've tried compacting, creating alternatives like 'Inbox Old' and copying the backup as that, and nothing. This wouldn't be quite so weird if all the other files from the same backup didn't work- but Sent Items, Drafts, etc. are all just fine.

So 11 months'-worth of important email is on the line, and I could really use some advice. I just don't understand how a program can be reading a file just fine, but the copies are all bad...

Thanks in advance.

Matt

 

So, you have .dbx files on the DVD or is it in some other format, such as a backup file format? If .dbx, which is my impression, how did you try to restore them on the re-formatted hard drive? Did you copy the .dbx files to a certain directory or what?

 

Yup, I just copied them onto DVDs and then back into the proper directory on the hard drive, replacing the newly-created ones. Sent Items, Drafts, etc. all work just fine, but the Inbox file is not being read at all...

 

What directory is that? If you go to Tools, Options, Maintenance, and click on the Store Folder button, is the Store Location shown there the directory you put the .dbx files in?

 

Yup, it was back to the correct 'Store Location' directory that I moved the files- as I said, the Sent Items, etc. all work, so the issue is not the location, it's something specific to the Inbox.dbx file itself...

 

What do you mean by "work just fine"? Do those folders contain old messages or only new ones?

In your previous installation of Windows, did you have only the standard folders in OE or had you created additional folders?

 

I don't wanna sound like I'm teaching anyone to suck eggs here, but have you tried going right-click, open with, Notepad? Notepad is quite incredible and will open most files into code or similar.
Either that or renaming the extension to another format, e.g .xls, or .txt. I have recovered data from an addressbook file that way before.

HTH

 

Are The Files Read Only?

You must drag the files to your desktop and then check if the files maybe "Read Only" [You cannot modify the files on the CD to "Read" as they are automatically protected]
If so you will have to make same "read" {Right Click = Properties = uncheck "Read Only"

Other Alternative is to try the "Free Outlook Express Extractor 1.0"

Hope may help
Regards