lost outlook express

ianonline

should be in "documents and settings" (the other folder will probably just contain a shortcut) - have a look in the folders, see what's in them - it should be obvious as the files will be named "inbox.dbx", "drafts.dbx" etc

Mumstheword

1 is docs and settings\desktop
other is d&s\start up menu

both will start up OE, but the inbox in each just has the one email- a welocome one from OE

Mumstheword

I should also point out that the hard drive wasn't working because it had a virus - snitfraud (a trojan)

scotty

Are you sure it is Outlook Express and not Outlook that you use?

ianonline

Looks like they're both just shortcuts and the actual message store is gone for good.

Do the same on your laptop and there should be a folder in local settings > application data or something like that - this should help to show you what you are (or "were") looking for.

I'm signing off for now - I've got an appointment with a pint of Stella down my local.:beer:

Good luck

Mumstheword

Scotty-yes, that's the first thing I said too! they use OE

Ian- oops, does that mean I can't retrieve them? I'll try that on my working laptop too to test it out for comparison. Thanks for your help, and have a good evening.

scotty

Have you found the Inbox file on the laptop?

Mumstheword

Yes, on my working laptop it is there and correct.
On the broken hard drive, it is there but only has one message- the welcome email from OE. The rest of the emails have gone.

scotty

Ah, that does not sound hopeful

Time to reinforce the backup message as you said. I have found the simplest method is to create a batch file to copy certain directories to a rewritable media. I use a DVD-RAM drive and have a batch file like this:

REM Batch file to perform back-up of C:\ drive data
REM Copy Myfiles directory
XCOPY C:\Myfiles\*.* I:\Myfiles\*.* /D /S /F /H /Y
REM COPY OUTLOOK DATA
XCOPY C:\WINDOWS\"Application Data"\IDENTITIES\*.* I:\WINDOWS\"Application Data"\IDENTITIES\*.* /D /S /F /H /Y
REM COPY ADDRESS BOOK
XCOPY C:\WINDOWS\"APPLICATION DATA"\MICROSOFT\"ADDRESS BOOK"\*.WAB I:\WINDOWS\"APPLICATION DATA"\MICROSOFT\"ADDRESS BOOK"\*.WAB /D /S /F /H /Y
REM Copy Photos directory
XCOPY C:\Photos\*.* I:\Photos\*.* /D /S /F /H /Y

The batch file is created in Notepad but saved with a .bat extension and saved to my desktop. All I need to do is insert a disc, double click on the icon and voila, my backup is running. I rotate between 2 or 3 discs. A backup regime has to be simple or it won't be performed.

You can edit the above to select which directories are to be copied.

(I is the letter for my DVD_RAM drive - substitute this letter as appropriate).

ianonline

Hi, I'm back and slightly pished but I thought I'd logon to check what was happening.

Looks like it's bad news for your virus-infected hard drive. I must admit that most of the emails I receive are spam and would be no big loss if they were destroyed, although I do backup my message store folder just in case (you can find it by going to Tools > Options > Maintenance in OE and clicking on "store folder" to find it's location).

It does make it a bit of a pain that Microsoft choose to "hide" the folder away so it's not so easy to find. I tend to save any important messages to somewhere that's easy to remember (eg My Documents) which makes it easier to backup.

I guess it's not until something catestrophic happens that most people appreciate the importance of regular backups.

Oh well, I'm off to backup my files now.................