outlook express quick helpor!!

[TdC]

can someone tell me where the heck OE keeps user's mail?? raah!!!
my mum's broken her pc, and has demanded that I produce her email (that she downloaded off some pop server I guess) "it's all very important Andrew, I thought you'd know better than to give me a product that would break" helloooo microsoft :/

 

[JingleBells]

If you locate the folder for the mail you want in OE, then right click -> properties, it will tell you where that folder is located on your pc, as to extracting the email from the file, that is another question.

 

[JingleBells]

Just found this: http://www.oehelp.com/DBXtract/ will help you get all the individual emails aout of the .dbx outlook express files.

 

[Custodian]

If ya can't get into OE to check properties, then look in places like C:\Documents and Settings\<XP account name>\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\{bunch of numbers and letters in curly brackets}\Microsoft\Outlook Express\<folder>.dbx (for WinXP)

Win98 is similar iirc, summat like C:\Windows\Local Settings\Application Data\..........

 

[MrBlack]

The short answer is: "In a bloody silly place."

One thing to note is that Windows marks the Local Settings folder as hidden, so if it isn't there, then you need to tell it to show you hidden files:

Tools->Folder Options->View tab from an explorer window. There's a checkbox for "show hidden files and folders"

Windows hides this useful stuff by default, because it doesn't want its ickkle users worrying their pretty little heads about things like files and settings. Which makes doing backups of the one thing that's probably most important to a lot of PC users - their mail - very difficult.

MrB.

 

[Custodian]

Good point MrB.
Also means that the deafult XP search won't find them, cos that also is set to not find hidden stuff.
Switching off as many of these hidden things as possible is always my first task when using a new/different PC :/

 

[babs]

Some good advice to set whatever client you use to not delete mail from the server when it's downloaded. Even if you do bollocks it all up on the pc the mail is all still there to download. Granted most will only give you so much storage, I set mine to delete from the server after 2 months for example.

 

[TdC]

thanks people, I've managed to find it I suspected that windows had put it in some hidden folder somewhere, I mean, it's not like anyone would ever want to manipulate mail from outside outlook now would they?

 

[Shovel]

How long until your mum gets a Thunderbird install then TeeDee?

 

[phlash]

Some good advice to set whatever client you use to not delete mail from the server when it's downloaded...

<2p>
If possible, use IMAP rather than POP3, it does a much better job of keeping the mail on the server, and allows remote folders on most ISPs who support it..
</2p>

 

[MrBlack]

How long until your mum gets a Thunderbird install then TeeDee?

MMMmmm. gotta love Thunderbird. I've finally got my parents using it, although it does hide its mail in an even more ridiculously convoluted directory structure than OE. Still, besides that it's great.

 

[TdC]

ehehe caught me there it's really hard to get my mum to accept anything that difffers from "the way it was before(TM)", and she, having been on a wonderful "computers and the internet for those getting on a bit" course demanded a computer exactly like the one she did the course on. she would phone me because an icon would be in a different region of her screen as opposed to her book, and would demand I come fix it. I have all kinds of virus scanners and firewalls and things installed on her ickle poota, and I think things will stay very much the same as they are now

 

[MrBlack]

Fair enough. I know how tricky it is to convert people to different software. Especially to those people to whom you may as well be suggesting a change in pancreas. It's there. It does stuff. The possibility that there may be something else that does it too, but differently is hard to put across

At this point, all you can do is shrug and do what you can to fix what is there. If that doesn't work, pretending that you're not in and changing your phone number also helps...

 

[Xavier]

One thing to note is that Windows marks the Local Settings folder as hidden, so if it isn't there, then you need to tell it to show you hidden files

Not at all true, just type the path into the address bar or the 'run' box and it will open fine, just because it has the hidden attribute doesn't mean you can't reach it, and it's never a good idea to go messing with the attributes of system files and folders, even if you consider yourself a 'power user' . Things such as the SFC and system restore can end up having an utter fit creating new backup data once you've b0rked around with such things.

Xav

 

[MrBlack]

Not at all true, just type the path into the address bar or the 'run' box and it will open fine, just because it has the hidden attribute doesn't mean you can't reach it, and it's never a good idea to go messing with the attributes of system files and folders, even if you consider yourself a 'power user' . Things such as the SFC and system restore can end up having an utter fit creating new backup data once you've b0rked around with such things.

Xav

I would never coutenance changing settings on any system files, but telling explorer to show you where they are isn't going to hurt anything. (and it's a bit easier than typing C:\Documents and Settings\me\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\default\sl5rxkz8.slt\Mail\Local Folders into the run box every time.

The difference between a power user and a user is that the user will ask how something works before they break it; power users do it the other way around.

 

[outlook]

re:

You might go looking for recovery pst and repair outlook express. I have been using it without problem since it came out.