Losing Outlook - suggestions needed!

Aishah

Yesterday, once again my Outlook completely emptied itself. It is synchronized to my email address. I don't use any addresses in Outlook itself. It seems to do this around every 4 months - this is maybe the 4th time it has emptied and I've had my computer about 16 months. I don't know whether it is related to slow speeds, the problems yesterday with cable cutting in Atlantic Ocean and not being able to work for much of the day, or what.
I am wondering if there is some setting in Outlook that tells it to empty itself after so many days? I've taken a look around but can't seem to see anything like this but maybe, someone with more experience could be able to point me there, if this is the case.
It is extremely frustrating having to synchronize all over again - especially on my slow connections. It took the best part of 2 hours last night to get it back into order.
Any ideas why it is doing this, will be much appreciated.

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shashank.aggarwal

I guess it might be archiving old data..you use Outlook Express or MS Outlook...?

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Aishah

It's Outlook Express - but don't know re archiving because I'm diligent in deleting and only keep what I require.
Like your new Avatar btw Shashank!

shashank.aggarwal

Hmmm...I have not used that one too much...other members might help out...


Thanks !! Changed it because you didn't like the angry young man...

machadinha

You mean all your messages have disappeared Aishah? I've had this happen, I don't know what causes it. I do know it's bloody annoying (look for another mail program?) I also know that in typical fashion OE discovered it could do this after years of me using it, then got the hang of it and made it a regular habit, indeed. I think it typically happens after some more involved crash (which still shouldn't cause it), which er, that operating system of yours may be prone too (although XP doesn't give too much problems with me -- knock on wood, it's a also a much fresher installment).

In your mail program, there should be a button going >Extra >Options or something like that. If you toggle around the various tabs there, there's a setting to control how and when the program will clean up certain messages. My guess is if you've never changed this it should be set correctly though, and so won't be the problem.

If the problem as described is the same I've had, those messages are still on your system, but OE for some mysterious reason has parked them somewhere else. Do you know how to search for files and folders on your machine? (It's in Windows Explorer, then go "find" or "search" or something.) OE's mail files should have the extension .dbx, so search for *.dbx (the asterisk is a so-called wildcard, meaning it will search for anything with this extension). Unless Outlook has changed the extension in the process, you should be able to find them. (It may have added something to the extension. Maybe try searching for *.*dbx and *.*dbx* and *.dbx* as well. Note that you'll find your existing and now empty mail boxes as well this way, those are obviously not what you're looking for.)

You should technically be able to import them back into OE, but I think I gave up struggling with it at some point, after the proverbial much pulling of hair. You'll at least be able to read them still, even if only in a simple text editor, but in OE as well I think. And to copy your mail addresses, which of course is the most bleeding annoying thing of the whole affair (to not have those anymore -- well, those that are not in your address book).

Good luck with it.

ps Many users who've gotten sick and tired of, er, that certain company, swear by Mozilla's Firefox, it's a browser and features a mail program: http://www.mozilla.org/

Nick some time ago kindly passed on this free Office set to me, I've yet to really check it out & can't be sure it actually handles mail, looks promising in every other way though: http://www.openoffice.org/

Finally, most geeks would tell you to switch to Linux altogether, that's a different operating system (Mozilla is based on it). For the less geeky among us (you need to be half a programmer to handle Linux well), there have been many packages created that are more user-friendly and have a Windows-like approach to them, with menus and the whole shebang. Just one example of those is Ubuntu: http://www.ubuntu.com/ It can be installed as an optional operating system (OS), meaning at start-up you'd have the choice to either start in Ubuntu or in what you're used to. (Windows is necessary to run many games, for instance.)

Dynebolic is another such system, http://dynebolic.org/ . This was developed as a portable all-in-one media package actually, but I believe it features a full-blown and nifty browser and mail program as well these days. It can be run from a CD without installing it even, or again, as an optional OS from your harddisk. (To run from cd, your BIOS [Basic Input/Output System] needs to be set to be able to boot from cd's. Let me know if help is required here. I guess DB's documentation may or may not explain this.)

Well, check it out. Let us know if any more help needed.

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Aishah

Thanks very much Machadinha, will do the looking for controlling later. Now my Broadband is finally on (a few minutes back) the re-synchronizing is not such a headache. I have all messages back after last night's efforts and haven't opened any that i don't really need to unless later. I am not a big hoarder of messages - only keep essential stuff there. I think for me to change to another system is just going to be that much harder, having got used to this one. Maybe in hot time when time lies heavy on one's hands here and I have much time to do this sort of thing will give it a go! That is really useful information you have given not only for me but for anyone else who wants to get away from OE. i think it seems to happen when connection almost dies as it does with GPRS or dial-up from time to time. But the funny thing is it goes to a sort of Home Page which I can never find when it opens straight to my Folders Page normally. Very odd.

Nick-H

I'm happy to say that I know nothing whatsoever about either version of MS's Outlook

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Aishah

I found it really handy for when I only had the single phone line connection - you download your email inbox rapidly then disconnect so as not to tie up the line. Answer letters etc. offline then re-connect only to send. Then I got GPRS - this was slower than dial-up so I continued with it. Now Broadband, but really I already think Fraudband, because the darn thing is not working this morning!! And currently I'm on dial-up again about to log out because enough time used. GPRS also not good this morning..

Khandoma

Aishah, I sympathize with what's happening to you, sooo frustrating.

Normally this should work :
Open Outlook Express.
Open the File menu
Click on Import / Export (or just Import if you see a separate entry)
In the list of what can be imported, chose : ".pst"
This is your old mail files that you are about to retrieve.
The .pst files will be listed by date of creation, that should help you find out which ones you want.

I do hope this works, let me know if it doesn't.

I'm sorry I don't know what settings to change to prevent the machine from gorging on your mail, but this will restore the ancient order.

Also, while we're at it, let me share a tip. If you have got anything to save data on, such as a USB key or a CD burner, then you can back up your mail before the machine eats it. Just make frequent copies of a folder called "Identities".

It should be under :
C:\Administrator [or your name or however you are called on your computer]\My Documents\Application Data\Identities
(if this is Chinese, tell me and I'll explain)

Open the Identities folder. Now you are looking at a folder with a very strange name with a lot of numbers. This is your mail. Not the software, but the messages.

Save this many-number-named folder to a saving device (do not open it, no need). Then, when the machine eats your mail, just copy the numbered file back to the Identities folder.

And if you don't want to be bothered about it, you can tell the machine to do it for you on a regular basis, on the frequency you like. In the Start menu of your computer, chose "All Programs" (if on Windows XP, otherwise go to next step), then Accessories, then Scheduled Tasks. Just tell the machine which frequency you want - and don't forget to connect your back-up drive / USB key to your computer on the chosen date !

Let me know if you need more.
Take care.

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Aishah

Khandoma - very useful stuff here thank you! I don't worry about actually losing files because it is only my email on a very popular outside service and I synchronize this into Outlook. But what I am thinking is maybe inside the computer are these other lost files from previous times just cluttering it all up. Still they may be 'cleaned up' when the cleaning up stuff is done every 2 months or so..(Have Systems Mechanic for this plus 'expert') On Outlook itself I don't have an email address so it isn't a huge drama, just a nuisance and time-consuming retrieving them all again. I really have nothing on my computer that if the whole thing 'crashed' I would be utterly devestated. All retrievable from outside email providers via internet. Anything really important I keep a written record. I don't use the computer as a business tool really, in a minor way only.
Stilll need to check that Extra - Options thing...

brownboy66

Hi Aishah

as shashank and Machadinha have said - sounds like some sort of auto archive function going on. Probably set to happen every few days from the time of your last sync, but given that you check mail on a daily basis it then restarts the clock so to speak, and starts counting down again. It isn't until you don't check, or can't connect that it actually manages to carry out the function.

As you have said - no biggie. You obviously have your mail set up to retain a copy on the mail server of the provider you use (so that when you sync you in effect, have two copies of every email - one on your laptop and the other still held by your mail provider). Very handy from those times when you accidentally delete an email off your laptop that you wanted to keep.

May pay to check how long the mail provider keeps a copy. Its been ages since I used OE (I'm one of the firefox/ thunderbird crowd) - but I seem to remember that under the account options you could select whether or not a copy of the mail message was kept on the mail server - and if you did you could specify how long it was kept there (I think the default was 30 or 60 days - something like that).

There are all sorts of different ways to manage mail. When I was doing the corporate thing I would regularly get 250-300 emails a day. If I didn't archive them my mailbox would fill up and the mail administrator would stop all email traffic once the volume hit 80 gigs. So every month - I would clean up the mail box, stick all sent mails into an archive folder labelled by month/year , and all inbox emails would be divided into corresponding subject folders (by month/year). Mail programmes are actually lousy file storage programmes as they don't allow for easy storage or retrieval - but you make do.

good luck anyway.

Aishah

I clean up and delete out of Outlook very regularly. I took a look around Options but just couldn't see a place for no. of days yet it seems to occur around about every 120 days as i think I've had to re-sync. about 4 times now. I'll take another look later.

Zoeperman

Hi there,

The mailserver that you connect to, is that POP3 or IMAP?
If it is IMAP, and you also have the option to use webmail, I suggest you log on to webmail, since it is possible that this "command" to clean out your messages is being parsed from the server.

Aishah

I think IMAP, I'll take a look around. Does it mean I can change that 'command' or is it out of my control i.e. does the server do it?

brownboy66

are you still having a problem with the mail?