Finding email files

batrot · May 13, 2006

Chalk it up as a lesson learned. If you want to keep emails, back 'em up.

I had a downloader installed, (DAP), which integrated itself into Netscape. When I decided to stop using the downloader, it apparently removed my NS 7.3 version and replaced it with 7.2. But it also removed all my emails from the past year or so, including all folders and the address book and the bookmarks.

I think most of the information is still on the HD, and I think I could recover it, if I could find it. Is there a good tool for this? I have done some hex editing, including removing EOF markers, and if I could find the EOF for the current Mail folder, I hope I could get the files, even if some are corrupted. Is this possible?

I have run several programs finding lost directories and files, but I'm guessing since the new (old NS) version started a new mail folder, the beginning covers up the old directory markers and put new EOF markers in, too. But I have seen an indication that some of the text strings are on the HD. Most of them, however, seem to be in machine language.

Can anyone guide me to a program that can help?

Thanks for whatever you can do.

TimW · May 13, 2006

Go to find files and search for *.dbx There should be a dbx file for every folder you had in outlook express. ie inbox.dbx, sent.dbx. Once you have found the directory those files are stored in then you can open up outlook express and go to File -> Import -> Messages -> Outlook Express (pick the right version number). The next screen should have a couple of options and one is ' import from a stored directory select this then choose next. Then point the browse box to the directory where the DBX files are. Follow the onscreen instructions from there. One thing to note though...depending on how you installed XP you may of lost your old emails since Windows 98 stored the files under C:\windows\application data\(can't remember exact structure.) Windows XP stores that info under Documents and settings. If you upgraded then the messages should of been transferred over already.....but if you tried to clean install into the windows directory it will delete everything in the windows directory first.... Hope this helps.

batrot · May 13, 2006

All right. I have not used Outlook, but NS's mail program instead. I do have dbx files, but since I've not used Outlook, I don't know what they are. In any event, they're all small, except for a 137K inbox. I have MB's worth of email, I'm sure.

What I would like to be able to do is at least find some addressess and a few file fragments, and I think I'll have to go into the hex mode and do a search.

I used to use ZipZap, which allowed that kind of search and recovery. But it's an old program that I don't believe will work with file names longer than eight letters. Remember them?

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Finding email files

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TimW MajorGeeks Administrator - Jedi Malware Expert Staff Member

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