Comments for I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Comment from Rakesh on 2008-11-13

2008-11-13T09:34:23Z

mu outlook expres6 sent items e-mails was harddeleted (shift+del) before 10days how to recover sentitems e-mails

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Sultan Hyder on 2008-10-05

2008-10-05T16:46:58Z

In my outlook express inbox, some of my mails get Vanished/evaporated.

It has happened twice, during past 10 days. First it happened, I did not have a very clear recollection of what all mails I had lost. I checked in the deleted items folder,
then other folders, retrieved few, and thought I may have accidentally deleted the others. Still, I knew that atleast 3 mails had vanished.

Then yesterday, right all mails received between 1st October to 4th October vanished from Inbox. This time I had not deleted any, and had not emptied the deleted items folder even once in the past 7 days.

Any suggestions/ solutions on how do I retrieve 'evaporated' mails from the Inbox?

Best Regards

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Joseph on 2008-06-27

2008-06-27T23:13:38Z

Hi, Leo
Thank you so much for answering my questions in advance. I just upgraded my Windows 2000pro. to Windows XP and lost all emails in outlook express. Can you give me a help? Thanks again!
Joseph

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from walt on 2008-03-04

2008-03-05T06:09:40Z

My system crashed after trying to install an old version of Alien Vs Predator. It would not boot into XP pro at all. I tried everything recomended by HP but to no avail. I reinstalled (flashed) the operating system from the backup partition over the existing one but this deleted my username Walt account and renamed it HP_Administrator. All three of my other username accounts were ok but my personal one walt with the email was renamed. this account had my outlook files about 4 years worth. overlaying the OS let me back into the system, but When I scan for any outlook files it gives me only the other accounts but not my Walt usesrname account which is the one I need. Has XP, Outlook, or Inboxer renamed the outlook files to something else or is it possible it is encripted somewhere on the system? Is my walt account gone for ever now? I cant find any reference to it and my system is too buggy now and I must wipe the drive but not before i know there is no hope. We are building a house and all our contact info was in there also much over seas family stuff. Is it too late for my outlook 10 or 11 files. has my walt account been renamed and squished somewere. The new HP_Admin account had all the desktop Items downloaded and my pictures from my Walt account in it. Its really weird. there is just no walt Account in Documents and settings.

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Lori on 2008-01-22

2008-01-22T19:37:04Z

Leo - Employee has a pc running winxp pro and oe6 already collecting emails and an old pc running win98 and oe6 emails. Can I combine the two inbox and sent items emails on the xp pro pc and how?
Thanks in advance,
Lori

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from larry on 2007-10-02

2007-10-03T02:05:35Z

thank for your help, save my rear side..

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Roland Grupp on 2007-09-28

2007-09-28T09:02:47Z

the outlook express inbox email address i cannot find it thanks

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Santosh Srivastava on 2007-06-19

2007-06-19T12:20:10Z

Sir,
I have installed WinXp on my laptop and import outlook 6 data from PC ( OS-Win98 ).
In Win98 outlook data are saved
"c:\windows\Application Data\Microsoft\OutlookExpress".
But I can't findout in where are saved outlook data in WinXp. How can backed up my outlook data.
Please Help me.

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from rosansharma on 2007-05-17

2007-05-17T11:23:11Z

hi, brother thank you for hte prior solution
.now i am having a problem in 2000 server
after installing remote desktop in machine ,i cannot connect to that machine through other machines ,
so i want to know that from where to enable
remote desktop in windows 2000 server
help me as soon as u get the mail
and in details

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Rory on 2007-05-15

2007-05-15T09:58:32Z

I have same problem as the subject. I also can't import, same as comment posted by Jan Hendrik Rust at April 4, 2007 04:53 AM. Where do you post your answer?

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Richard Domuah on 2007-04-26

2007-04-26T19:44:17Z

Hi Leo, I was using Outlook Express 2007 and always pressed the send/recive button to update my recieved mails. Unfortunately I did not know that this was permanently cutting all my messages from yahoo into Outlook Express. Now I formatted my pc and installed Windows Vista and I have tried all means to retrieve my old mails but to no avail. I have lost some important files in there which could even send me to jail! I need your advice urgently. Thanks.

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Peter on 2007-04-16

2007-04-16T07:30:10Z

l have upgraded my pc and have lost all my email addys l have tried looking for dbx files, autocad dbx and still nothing can u help pls cheers peter

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Jan Hendrik Rust on 2007-04-04

2007-04-04T11:53:07Z

Good afternoon Leo. I Have recently upgraded my pc from Win 98SE to Win XP Home, but when I tried to import my old Outlook Express files, I got this message; "No messages can be found in this folder or another application is running that has the required files open. Please select another folder or try closing applications that may have files open." I have directed the browser to where I have saved my Outlook files.

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Marisa McNamara on 2007-03-05

2007-03-06T03:55:03Z

Thanks Leo for the information regarding importing old e-mails into Outlook Express. I've been trying to figure out how to do it for days & your advice worked!! Thanks!

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Leo Notenboom on 2006-09-23

2006-09-23T15:48:41Z

That's typically because the wrong information was entered that would tell your mail program the name of your mail server. You'll need to double check the emali account configuration in whatever email program it is you're using and make sure it matches what your ISP has told you to use.

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Cathy on 2006-09-23

2006-09-23T14:17:04Z

Dear Leo:
I am a female senior.
I am with bell sympatico.ca
I am unable to get my e-mail
the error reads 0x800ccc0d

Could you help me?
How can I correct this.
Thank You
Cathy

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Jill on 2006-09-13

2006-09-14T01:41:28Z

Hey. . .just noticed Han's post. . .

My missing OE folders are ALSO listed as Auto CAD files. . .SO strange.

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Leo Notenboom on 2006-09-07

2006-09-07T18:48:10Z

It would appear that OE on her computer is still configured to download emali from your account. She would need to remove your account from her OE config.

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from JeanZ on 2006-09-07

2006-09-07T13:46:17Z

I bought a new computer about a year ago, and gave my old computer to my twin sister. She just informed me yesterday that she often gets my emails. I have Outlook Express 6, XP Home on a HP Pvailion a614n computer. Is there something I can do to make sure that I recieve all of my emails on my new computer? She lives about 120 miles away from me and has a completely different email address than what I have, and a different company for her internet carrier, although she does use Outlook Express for her email. I raise Chihuahuas, and so my emails are pretty important to my business! I have searched high and low for a solution and that's how I came across your site. Thank you!

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from henry on 2006-09-01

2006-09-02T04:58:31Z

I have the same problem with my emails where are they going?
Outlook shows them being download but they do not go to my inbox. I can't find where they are being downloaded to. They just dissappear. I have checked my spam folders, and have turn off Norton anti-virus software, also i have reinstall Microsoft Office. but nothing. I have try to purchase the DBXtract but nothing happend. what do i do?

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Trish on 2006-07-21

2006-07-21T10:47:47Z

My hubbie compacted our O E files and they have been converted to .dbx files which we are not able to open as it says it is not a valid Win32 application (whatever that means!)Please pretty please can u help?

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from bob on 2006-07-08

2006-07-09T05:22:36Z

I reset my comp running WinXP and most of my OE folders were missing .. I found them in my AutoCad program and they are now listed as AutoCad dbx files .. How can I get them into OE again?

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Hans on 2006-07-01

2006-07-01T15:57:07Z

This article should help: http://ask-leo.com/how_do_i_move_my_outlook_express_folders_to_my_new_machine.html

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Mark Willcox on 2006-06-27

2006-06-28T00:04:12Z

I'll look for the .dbx files on my old computer, but seeing that they arene't connected, can I store them on my jump drive and install them on my new computer (xpHOME)How do I "install" the files so my new computer, outlook finds them?

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from siby on 2006-05-08

2006-05-08T15:15:04Z

i hope that i clicked defult setting in microsoft outlook setting. my earlier mails,address are disapperd. can u help me to recover my old mails,address. now i am getting my new mails only.

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from prashanna on 2006-04-03

2006-04-03T18:34:14Z

i was sending mail useing outlook express and suddenly lights gone off and later i found my inbox is empty. so please help me how to get back those mails.

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Unique Squeed on 2006-01-01

2006-01-01T19:34:52Z

I had to back up my files on XP Pro due to a hard drive failure and now that I've used the restore wizard on the newly installed XP Pro, and I launch Outlook Express I don't see my accounts, files and such in their usual places. I thought that since XP Pro had a utility wizard everything would be back in its place as usual. I have only installed the Operating System-XP Pro on the new drive. I have not installed MS Office yet. ( I don't know what difference it would make if I did install Office --would it )?

Please advise.

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Leo on 2005-12-30

2005-12-31T06:22:32Z

Check your spam folders, and turn off any anti-virus or anti-spam software and see if perhaps they are interfering.

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Ricky on 2005-12-29

2005-12-30T03:53:04Z

Where are my emails going?
Outlook shows them being download but they do not go to my inbox. I can't find where they are being downloaded to. They just dissappear.

How can I fix this problem?

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Keshav on 2005-06-20

2005-06-20T17:53:33Z

hi,

i have loaded windowsxp sp2.i have taken mails back configured outlook express imported files every thing ok.suddenly my messages got disappered from all foder in outookexp.this is the second happening.
plz,give me some solution....

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Chris on 2005-05-14

2005-05-14T08:00:31Z

Thanks very much Leo - it worked a charm. I now have emails back that I deleted long ago. Gives me a chance to review them again. Thanks

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from rohan on 2005-04-27

2005-04-28T04:25:31Z

hi ,
i recently switched to win xp pro from win 98...i did back up the program files folder on to another partition ...but now i cannot import my old messages to my outlook express

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Annette Burt on 2005-04-24

2005-04-25T04:11:10Z

I've found my .dbx files under Win 98. I do as you say above, get to next (OE,File,Message,Next) the a blank line comes up and doesn't tell me where they (I know they are in my Win/Sytem file.)

So I click Browse and go thru all the files on C disk until I hit System, and it tells me it's empty.
I've tried System 32 and everything under both of the system file and can't find a thing and yet I can list them under the hidden files.

There's got to be something else. Hopefully, AB

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Cleo on 2005-04-12

2005-04-12T10:27:56Z

OE won't switch identities

There's now a fix available. An Overview of the Cumulative Update for Outlook Express 6.0 SP-1.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q331923
I'm keeping the workarounds (below) published for those of you that do not care to download the fix.

I think you'll find that the problem was caused by installing SP1. The workaround is to uncheck the "use this identity as default" box under "Manage Identities", and get prompted for which identity to use every time you start.
Another workaround is to hit the F1 key before switching identities. This will bring up the Outlook Express' "Help" window. With this window minimized, you can switch identities to your hearts content.

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Leo on 2005-04-04

2005-04-05T02:35:25Z

I've not heard of one, but 4 gigabytes scares me. I most certainly wouldn't put that much in a single folder, and I'd also recommend backing up often.

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from casper on 2005-04-03

2005-04-04T06:42:11Z

is there a limit of stored messages in outlook express, i have a 4GB of stored messages is it ok.

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Shobuz on 2005-03-28

2005-03-28T20:18:57Z

This is a variant question on this topic:
Why would Outlook Express 6 take 3 times as long to start after upgrading from Win98 to XP Pro?
Also, the options 'General' tab is missing the option to turn on MSN messenger or Windows messenger at startup. It used to be there when Win98 was the OS.. What the hell?
Thanks for any hints or brow beatings..
Shobuz

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Neil on 2005-03-15

2005-03-15T20:19:13Z

I upgraded a friends computer from 98 to XP (without backing up his email files first) and the dbx and wab files are not there. Did a search for hidden files with no luck though the old folders are there, the folders are empty. The upgrade was with XP Pro Corp with SP2. There is a knowledge base article http://support.microsoft.com/kb/313055 but it appears the upgrade deleted the files.

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Swifty on 2005-03-13

2005-03-13T08:15:14Z

I have recently just upgraded from win 98 to XP Pro. I am having trouble finding the files.

I have tried all the steps above and searched in hidden folders and files, but all that comes up are the current .dbx files. I need a solution urgently, as alot of important information is in the old outlook express. please email swiftynz@gmail.com

Swifty

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from gleaner on 2004-12-19

2004-12-19T21:03:22Z

Hi Leo,

Did the search as described by got no hits using "*.dbx". I have lots in my inbox. How can this be?

My problem has been files in my "Inbox" and "Deleted Items" folders keep disappearing yet my options look okay.

On this machine we are sharing three identities on the Microsoft Outlook 6 using Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2.

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Leo on 2004-11-28

2004-11-29T04:20:28Z

Make sure that when you search, you include searching for "hidden" files. That's an advanced option in the search for files dialog, if that's what you're using.

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Andy on 2004-11-28

2004-11-28T22:06:04Z

Hi Leo,
like most people here I upgraded from 'me' to 'xp' and lost my inbox, sent items etc. I have made a search of my pc for .dbx files but cannot find any.
Is there any way of restoring my lost emails?
Thanks,
Andy.

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from kaido on 2004-11-17

2004-11-17T17:22:11Z

was the Microsoft Outlook closed when you tried to copy files to local hard disk under C:/OE ?

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Hazel on 2004-11-16

2004-11-17T00:15:02Z

Dear Leo,

This is pertaining to the issue of importing old emails and address book from Outlook Express 5.0 to Microsoft Outlook 2002. I have tried all the help available on Microsoft Knowledge Base and other places over the internet. It all started after I purchased a new hard disk with 60GB capacity upgrading from my old hard disk of 4GB. I made a clean installation of Win XP on the new HDD.

The problem begun when I tried to import files from D:\Documents and Settings\HAZEL\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\{0887FE5A-C877-4E63-B162-A845F3DB1038}\Microsoft\Outlook Express which have the files with extension as .dbx, which is the old hard disk connected to the system as Slave. Whenever I try to import these files in to the new harddisk which is C Drive and the Master disk on the system it always returns with an error.

What I do: Click File, Select Import and Export -> Import Internet Mail and Addresses -> Outlook Express 4.x, 5 -> Destination selected = Outlook Contacts Folder and Options = Allow duplicates to be created. Selecting the mail folder for Outlook Express 4.x, 5 D:\Documents and Settings\HAZEL\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\{0887FE5A-C877-4E63-B162-A845F3DB1038}\Microsoft\Outlook Express and it returns the error “The mail folder could not be opened. If another application is using this file, please close it and try again”.

I also tried to copy all the files from the above location to local hard disk under C:\OE and despite that it returns the same error. I have also made sure that it does not have the read only attribute.

I would appreciate your help in this regard.

I look forward to an early reply. Thanks in advance.

Hazel Misra

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Kaido on 2004-11-16

2004-11-16T19:57:57Z

I clicked on "include hidden and system files" when I used seach and all old *.dbx files was found. When I searched usual way ("find all documents"), it didn´t find anything.

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Cindy on 2004-11-15

2004-11-15T14:31:41Z

I'm in my Dad's bad books. I upgraded his system to XP and lost all his e-mail messages and his address book. My Dad is 86 and this is his lifeline. Any way of getting that info back? I created a new mail profile for him. The default mail profile shows but says is empty. Any help would be much appreciated!

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Tyre on 2004-11-14

2004-11-14T21:00:59Z

Win 98 died on me. I couldn't find my CD. So, I just upgraded to Win2000. Thanks, Leo. I followed your instructions and reloaded my old data from the windows diretory. All I needed to know was that the extension was .dbx and I was on my way. This also helped me with other program info also..

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from darren on 2004-11-10

2004-11-10T10:40:26Z

i have worn out the google search engine,i am using xp pro sp2 i have just done a clean reinstall and backed up all files needed including all .dbx file for outlook express,my problem starts,every time i have done a clean install i copy and paste all the .dbx files into the correct outlook express folder,this time i did the same thing yet import message does not work it come uo with "the specified message could not be opened,it may be in useby outlook express" i then hit ok and it says"no message can be found in this folder try another folder" this is incorect as the .dbx files are there please help, the only thing i did different this time was i networked the folder from another machine instead of copying to cdr,also i have tried turning read only off and still nothing. Please help as there is over 1.5g of emails i need

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from shane on 2004-11-05

2004-11-05T20:20:46Z

files from the cd are read only try selecting all the files once transfered to the hard drive then right click and turn read only off.

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Bill on 2004-10-23

2004-10-23T12:01:20Z

Hi...
I have exactly the same problems - importing my .DBX files after installing Windows XP. I am really hoping that someone comes up with a solution....pleeeeze !!

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Leo on 2004-10-22

2004-10-22T18:42:52Z

What are the error messages you're getting?

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Richard on 2004-10-22

2004-10-22T17:45:03Z

Hello

I recently upgraded to Windows XP and OE 6.0 from Windows 98 and OE 5.0. Before I did that I backed up all my OE folders and they became *.dbx files. I have these files stored both on a CD and on my harddrive in a special directory.

My problem is that I cannot open these files from either the CD or harddrive directory. And when I try to “import” the *dbx files into my new OE 6.0 I get all sort of errors messages and OE express won’t allow me to import or copy or anything.

What do I do? This just has to be a simple fix but I am unable to determine what to do.

Richard Hardwick

Please respond to RiHardwick@comcast.net

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Leo on 2004-10-15

2004-10-15T23:43:28Z

Have you verified that the dbx files are on the CD? Are they in a subdirectory or in the root of the drive?

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Anonymous on 2004-10-15

2004-10-15T23:36:43Z

After following your instruction on how to backup messages and then I tried to import it from the cd, it tells me that it can't find any files.
What did I do wrong?

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Robert on 2004-10-13

2004-10-13T11:01:25Z

I work for a big company, I work in the IT Department.
I really have a big problem guys.My email just dissapear all of them I treid to import but there is nothing mail to import,I update windows and update my virus programe but it still doesnot work

PLEASE GUYS HELP ME

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Tony on 2004-10-07

2004-10-07T09:45:30Z

After upgrading to XP I have a problem. My Win 98 outlook express dbx files are saved. Windows XP doesn't see them. How can I import them to Win XP outlook( and where do they go?)
Tony

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Brian on 2004-09-28

2004-09-28T23:08:10Z

I'm in a similar boat as Kitty - I installed Windows ME to replace 98 on my wife's computer, her files were gone, but they were in the "c:\documents and settings" folder, but no others. I tried to install the messages from the "c:\documents and settings" folder, but it only duplicated the messages in the Inbox and did not import the other folders. I tried the above technique, and apparently I cannot type anything in the box - I can only browse. I even tried to make a copy of the "c:\documents and settings" folder, and no luck there.

Any suggestions???

(I did successfully get her contacts in her address book back, though.)

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from marky on 2004-09-23

2004-09-23T14:31:22Z

my post above: use back slashes not forward slashes!

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from marky on 2004-09-23

2004-09-23T14:07:38Z

This might help: the entry "/Local Settings/" needs to be inserted between user name and Application Data - then Windows should find the dbx files - then make sure you copy over the "folders.dbx" file as well
I had no luck using Import but cut and paste is fine

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Kitty on 2004-09-19

2004-09-20T02:35:40Z

Hello Guys,
I need some help here. Before i upgraded form my window 98 to window xp. I backup all of my outlook express 6.0 messages and address book, which all saved in .dbx format. Once, I got my windo xp installed, I can successfully import my old address book from my backup file to either Outlook or Outlook express. However, I am unable to import my messages. I pointed it to where my .dbx files stored, but it keeps complaning that no message found.
Can some body please give me some good advice.
I would really appriciate your help!!!

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from mary on 2004-09-06

2004-09-06T21:31:45Z

Hi,

I just used your procedure to recover my messages after I updated Win XP to Service Pack 2, and it worked perfectly!!!

Thx so much!

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Leo on 2004-09-02

2004-09-03T02:36:58Z

In Windows Explorer: Tools, Folder Options, View tab - make sure "show hidden files and folders" is selected.

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Lily on 2004-09-01

2004-09-02T06:12:13Z

When I go to import my old Inbox items, I can't find the location of the files. I ran the search as indicated and discovered that my Inbox items were stored at "C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\Identities\ ..." plus a bunch of numbers. When I browse for this location, I can only get as far as my username. There isn't a folder called Application Data\Identities\etc. Any ideas? Thanks a lot.

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Leo on 2004-08-03

2004-08-03T15:00:06Z

Hard to say why it disappearred. You can import the DBX's you find, though. Each subfolder will be in it's own DBX.

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Jaci on 2004-08-03

2004-08-03T14:17:21Z

Hi Leo
I upgraded from win to xp many months ago. No problems. Yesterday a folder in my email with many sub folders of clients, disappeared. I tried a system rollback but didn't get those files back. I do a search for .dbx files and yes I have alot of them under c:\docs&settings, and a few under program files\common files, which looking at properties are files from years ago.
How can I get that 1 folder with numerous sub folders back? And why did it disappear?
Confused...!

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Leo on 2004-07-26

2004-07-27T04:19:53Z

Did the steps in the article not help?

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Don Bott on 2004-07-26

2004-07-26T21:47:18Z

Lost emails after doing upgrade (vs. format and a clean install) from Windows ME to Windows 2000 Professional. Also did Windows update, which upgraded OE from 5.0 to 6.0.

Anyone have suggestions to import or recover messages and address book?

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Linda Scates on 2004-07-25

2004-07-25T18:45:08Z

This has happened to me also, and I can't find any .dbx files. Help! I want me e-mails. I don't have Outlook Express running and I've tried to find .dbx files several times...no luck.

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Leo on 2004-07-11

2004-07-11T17:41:37Z

Sounds like you did it correctly. Make sure Outlook Express isn't running at the time - it may have the files locked.

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Joseph on 2004-07-11

2004-07-11T15:03:13Z

Hello, I did Import, selected OE4 as the type, browsed to the folder where my dbx folders where, and got the response that there are no mail files there. How can I make my OE recognize and access my old dbx folders? I got many of these.
Joseph

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Alla on 2004-06-30

2004-06-30T20:08:10Z

I had the same problem, so
Thank You very mach!!!
It was so helpfull! Thank you, again!!!

Alla

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Dave on 2004-06-05

2004-06-06T01:21:58Z

Wow ... I looked too long for help from MS's site, got a headache, nearly cursed ... Then 3 minutes with Leo, and the problem's solved. THANKS! Rock on, Leo.

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Tom Graham on 2004-05-13

2004-05-13T13:39:11Z

Ref: where XP stores Outlook Express's data files.
I tried both of the suggestions without success.

This method showed the files to be located under my user name/local settings......etc.
The name local settings may not be appropriate to an English system as I use a German OS but either way, the directory "Local Settings" is not to be found using Explorer. I assume the directory is atrribute "Hidden" but find no way to change the attribute.

Method 2:

My search found Zero *dbx files on the drive.

Anybody know any more ?

Tom

]]>

A comment on: I upgraded to WinXP and my Outlook Express Inbox items disappeared ... are they lost?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.