OLEXP: Restoring Outlook Express Folders After Re-Installing Windows The information in this article applies to: • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional • Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5 for Windows 98 Second Edition • Microsoft Outlook Express 5.0 for Windows 98 Second Edition • Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5 for Windows 98 • Microsoft Outlook Express 5.0 for Windows 98 • Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5 for Windows 95 • Microsoft Outlook Express 5.0 for Windows 95 This article was previously published under Q283205 SYMPTOMS When you re-install Microsoft Windows 95 or Microsoft Windows 98 over itself (for example, if you do not use the format or parallel installation methods), Outlook Express may append new configurations and mail to the end of existing .dbx files. However, when you run Outlook Express, it only displays the mail that you received after you re-installed Windows; it appears as if all of the older mail is lost. MORE INFORMATION Outlook Express stores mail in several .dbx files that are located in the Windows\Application Data\Identities\hexadecimal_string\Microsoft\Outlook Express folder. The Inbox.dbx file contains mail that is displayed in the Inbox folder in Outlook Express, the Outbox.dbx file contains mail that is displayed in the Outbox folder, the Drafts.dbx file contains mail that is displayed in the Drafts folder, and so on. If you re-install Windows by running Setup from the Windows installation media and you have not previously renamed the Windows folder or formatted the disk, the original Outlook Express .dbx files are retained. However, when you subsequently restart the new Windows installation and run Outlook Express, Outlook Express does not display the mail in the appropriate folders. Instead, Outlook Express only displays the mail that is dated later than the most recent Windows installation. To restore mail that you received before you re-installed Windows: 1. Copy the .dbx files from the Windows\Application Data\Identities\hexadecimal_string\Microsoft\Outlook Express folder to another temporary location. 2. Start Outlook Express, click Import on the File menu, and then click Messages to start the Import Wizard. 3. In the Select Program dialog box, click Outlook Express as the e-mail program to import from, and then click Next. 4. In the next dialog box, click Import mail from an OE store directory, and then click OK. 5. Locate the temporary location of the .dbx files, and then select the files that you want to import. Outlook Express should begin to import the old mail and create or populate folders. In some situations, you may be able to import directly from the default location into Outlook Express. OLEXP: Cannot Access a Store Folder in Outlook Express When Importing The information in this article applies to: • Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5 for Windows NT 4.0 • Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5 for Windows Millennium Edition • Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5 for Windows 98 Second Edition • Microsoft Outlook Express 5.01 for Windows 98 Second Edition • Microsoft Outlook Express 5.0 for Windows 98 Second Edition This article was previously published under Q296953 For information about the differences between Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Outlook Express e-mail clients, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 257824 OL2000: Differences Between Outlook and Outlook Express SYMPTOMS When you try to open or import messages in Outlook Express, you may not be able to gain access to one of your store folders (.dbx files). Neither renaming the Folders.dbx nor trying to copy this file and then import it has any effect. CAUSE This behavior can occur if the folder file (.dbx file) is damaged. WORKAROUND To work around this behavior, rename the Folders.dbx and Inbox.dbx files: 1. Quit Outlook Express. 2. In Windows Explorer, locate and rename the Folders.dbx file to OldFolders.dbx and the Inbox.dbx file to OldInbox.dbx. 3. Move the OldInbox.dbx file to a different folder, and then start Outlook Express to generate new Inbox.dbx and Folders.dbx files. (The new Inbox.dbx file contains no messages.) MORE INFORMATION You can use a third-party utility called Dbxtract.exe to recover lost messages. This utility extracts individual emaai messages from Outlook Express 5.x and stores the files in a specified folder as individual .msg files. You can then drag the messages to a specific Outlook Express folder, such as Inbox.dbx. The Dbxtract.exe utility and instructions for using it are available at the following Web site: http://www.oehelp.com/DBXtract/Default.aspx The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.