How do I cleanup old Outlook express identities

I have tried a search and did not find what I was looking for. Sorry if this has already been ask.

Here is the situation, for several years I had about 8 identities in outlook express, then I cut it down to 3, now I have quit using Outlook express and have gone to Thunderbird . What I need to do is to keep 2 of the 3 identities and trash the rest. I have gone into outlook express and deleted the extra identity and in looking on the computer there seems to be all the identities still in the file structure and they take up a ton of space. Seems as though all the old identities from the past are still there.

1. How can I determine which of these identities on the file structure are the ones I want to keep?

2. Once that done can I just delete the directories of the others to get the space back?

I am attaching 2 screen shots that show what is in the directories, hope that this helps.

Please excuse if I am not clear, English is hard for me.

Have a good day,
BeenThereDoneThat

 

Hmmm, let's see, "for several years I had about 8 identities in outlook express, then I cut it down to 3". But now, "all the old identities from the past are still there" and "and they take up a ton of space". Looks like you really didn't "cut" them, doesn't it? And, if they're still taking "up a ton of space", then you obviously must have lots of messages still in them. A mere Identity, one that's empty, takes very little disk space. What, exactly, was your "cutting" technique?

Removing identities is a simple procedure. With OE open, go to File, Identities, Manage Identities, select the Identity you want to remove, and click on Remove.

This can also be done via the Registry Editor, as explained at How do I remove Outlook Express identities?, but I suggest doing it through OE unless there's some specific need to use Registry Editor for this.

 

usafveteran,

Yes I deleted the identities through outlook express, but when I look in the directory structure that I showed in the 1st post the old ones are still there, but there is no way to identify which ones are current and which ones are old, they of course are not listed by identity name, just a long number. I think when you delete an identity through OE it deletes it from OE and even the registry, but not the place where all the emails are stored.

I went into the registry with regedit and there were only 2 listed, I copied the numbers and found them in the above mentioned directory structure. The others are not listed. I just don't know whether it is safe to delete the old direcotries from the structure or not.

Thanks and hope that we can find an answer,
BeenThereDoneThat

 

I see no reason not to delete them, but send them to the Recycle Bin as a temporary precautionary measure, if Windows allows them to sent to the bin. Then, they could be restored if necessary.

By the way, backing up OE messages is a good practice to safeguard your messages against loss. In Tools, Options, Maintenance, clicking on the Store Folder button reveals where your messages are stored. A search for .dbx files will also reveal their location.

 

usafveteran,

Yes, I back up OE regularly, but now that I am not using it much, just for mail from forums & the rest. I use ThunderBird for everything important, that is why I want to get rid of all the extra junk that has been left behind. I will try it and get back to you.

Thanks,
BeenThereDoneThat

 

usafveteran,

Deleted the said directories and got back more than 105 meg. Shut down the computer and restarted and all seems to be fine. The 2 identities that I wanted to keep in OE are still there and all the emails and folders. Seems as though it worked. I can now confirm that OE deletes the identities, but not the file structure where the folders & emails are kept.

Thanks again,
BeenThereDoneThat