Oh dear :o(

espresso

derrick wrote:

Sorry for sounding stupid, but what does it do? I have read the link and it says deleted messages are not deleted, and compacting will recover disc space? What will happen to the e-mails I keep in folders that I need to refer back to ? Is there a way to remove the previously deleted e-mails? without losing the one I need to keep, i.e the one I always have in folders, inbox etc

All it does is to tidy up the database files that your e-mails are stored in. When you delete, move or copy files, they are still there in the *.dbx files until they get compacted.

Just like when you delete a file on your hard disk, it does not actually get deleted, only the pointer or index to that file gets deleted. Eventually because the space used for the file is shown as available it will get overwritten by other files etc.

I have never had any problems using compacting but if you are worried about mail going missing, just back up your files first.

Little_John

ok so all the replies so far have been regarding backing up and telling you where your mailbox files are stored and the compresion of the mailbox files.

I dont think this is the problem that the OP was having, I have had a problem before in OE that everything just disapears from the mail folders, I havnt been able to find a reason it has happened to a few customers as well. The only thing I have found is other people loosing their email in the same way. sugestions are corupt mailbox files, user error moving or deleting the messages, if you did the compress then the files could have become corupt, hard drive failure, antivirus software it could have been anything. I never found a solution or got my email back.

just check that you havnt turned on any filters to hide any emails after they have been read. maybe that could be why but I doubt it.

espresso

I have read about problems with lost OE e-mails when they have been in sub-folders i.e. not filed in folders directly under Local Folders. I have never done this or had any problems but if you refuse to compact eventually the database may become corrupt and you could lose files anyway as the files will just grow and grow!