Outlook Express, Lost Folder, Please Help.

chrishowe

I have lost a folder from Outlook Express, how it has got deleted I really dont know.
The title was 'stuff to keep' and it had a number of items in it that I did not wish to lose.
I have tried searching using *.dbx but no joy
Of course it was not backed up, (lesson learned now).
Please can anyone suggest a way of recovering it or is it lost for ever?

LincsLad_3

It might be possible to recover the file, but it depends on a lot of factors.... largely how long ago it was deleted and what you have done on the PC since. ANY activity that accesses the hard drive could lessen the chances of finding a file - use another PC to download the recovery tools if possible.

There are a couple of programs around that claim to do the job (at a price) and one freeware one that I know of. I haven't used any of them, so cannot recommend one over the others.

Restorationv2.5(Free)
UnEraser(US$50)
Recover My Files(US$67)

(with the ones that cost, you can download a free demo version that should find the missing file, but only the paid-for version will recover it. payment can be made online.

scheming_gypsy

i have this one all the time at work.. If you can't remember deleting it and it isn't in the deleted folder then it's still there.

In another folder. It's probably been dragged and dropped into another folder to make a sub folder so check all your folders with the + next to them.

because you've merged it with another folder it loses it's .dbx extension.

chrishowe

Firstly many thanks LincsLad for your advice and assistance, I understand that you have not tried out any of the programmes that you have indicated.

I have done little work on the computer since losing the file about 4 or 5 days ago other than checking mail and writing 2 or 3 letters.

Is it really necessary to download the repair programmes to another computer? If so, I assume that I would have to save to a cd and then load onto my own computer, I was going to go for one of the paid versions as I really would like the missing folder back. Do you know of any potential problems if I purchase the repair programme and download to my own PC?

Please advise if you are able to enlighten me further.

Once again Many Thanks.

chrishowe

Many thanks scheming_gypsy for your advice and assistance. I have tried what you suggest and unfortunately, no joy.

What puzzles me is how it got deleted, I can remember emptying the deleted items folder and when I looked again, my 'stuff to keep folder' had gone. This has happened a couple of times before when folders have just vanished and I now fully realise just how important back up is.

Please, if you have any more suggestions I would be grateful.

Again, many thanks.

LincsLad_3

When files are deleted, they are not actually "deleted" from your hard drive, but the disk space that they occupy is 'freed up' so that other files can be written there. If you don't write anything to the drive, then the file should still be there, in perfect condition. If any of the files you write to the drive overwrite the disk area where the "deleted" files were, then obviously parts of the data from the "deleted" files will be over-written and hence no longer available to recovery programs.

My comment about downloading to another PC was merely trying to minimise any further disk writes, and so lessen the chances of overwriting the stuff you want. You CAN download the recovery programs to the same PC, but there is a risk that you start to overwrite the very data you want to recover! :-/

Let us know how you get on.

chrishowe

Again, my thanks LincsLad, will let you know what happens.