Lost emails

[tim]

I use outlook express and somehow my inbox seems to have been corrupted. Now bear in mind here my computer knowledge is slim. I got a box up asking if I wanted to compact my inbox emails. It seemed like a good idea, so I ticked "yes". All my inbox messages disappeared. My son-in-law, Stefan came and had a look and tried to recover them. We downloaded a program called dbx0722501x to extract the messages, but it wouldn't do the job. It seemed to copy them to a temporary file, but it couldn't get them back into outlook express.
Any ideas?

 

[Soapy Sam]

I use outlook express and somehow my inbox seems to have been corrupted. Now bear in mind here my computer knowledge is slim. I got a box up asking if I wanted to compact my inbox emails. It seemed like a good idea, so I ticked "yes". All my inbox messages disappeared. My son-in-law, Stefan came and had a look and tried to recover them. We downloaded a program called dbx0722501x to extract the messages, but it wouldn't do the job. It seemed to copy them to a temporary file, but it couldn't get them back into outlook express.
Any ideas?

Was this box actually in OE itself or were you running the dbx backup at the time?

Was the program you used the OPUS one? http://www.iopus.com/guides/oe-backup.htm

Do an F3 search of your entire hard drive for *.DBX files. The backup might have put it somewhere wierd.

Is it possible there is still an online store of the messages somewhere- or did they only exist on your hard drive?

I have not used OE in years. I seem to recall there are several different DBX file versions. If you can find that temporary file, it may be openable using a later version of OE.

Not much help I fear, Tim. All I can think of on a Sunday morning.

ETA- Can I suggest this would be a good time to switch to GMAIL?

 

[tim]

Thanks folks. Darat had a look (yes, I trusted him enough to let him poke through my computer remotely - weird, watching him do stuff from 50-odd miles away and hear him talking on the phone at the same time) but we fear the messages are lost.................. dammit!

 

[Soapy Sam]

Call GCHQ and ask for a copy of your backup file.

 

[tim]

OK!
In a previous life I visited GCHQ several times. It's a very spooky place (sorry). Before you go you have to give them at least a week's notice so they can check you out.
I was there one time talking about a housing for an electronics package when the guys I was talking to suddenly realised I had seen the initials of the project on the drawings. iI was shuffled off into a room where I sat for half an hour with a very untalkative bloke while they had a meeting to discuss what to do. They decided I could be allowed off the premises providing I undertook to never mention the initials, upon pain of prison. OK, that was over twenty years ago, so I should be safe now, so the initials are ...........
'scuse me, there's someone at the door.................