Problem accessing Inbox in Outlook Express

twister · Joined: 12 Aug 2007 Posts: 1

When I try to access my inbox within Outlook Express, I could not read any
emails in it. The inbox.dbx file is approximately 399MB in size and
obviously, there are a lot of emails in this file but somehow I still cannot
access it from within Outlook Express. I still have access to emails in the
other folders e.g. Send, etc but not the Inbox. Need your advice on this.
Thanks.

Archived from group: microsoft>public>windows>inetexplorer>ie5>outlookexpress

Jim Pickering · Joined: 12 Aug 2007 Posts: 15

The first thing you need to do is to find Inbox.dbx on your system (if using
Win2K/XP the DBX files are hidden by the operating system) and make a copy
of it in a folder you create on your Desktop. This will enable you to use
an extracting utility if need be since it sounds like it's corrupted. You
can expect corruption in a folder if its size grows to more than 100 MB so
yours certainly qualifies.

If Outlook Express will open, try clicking File/Work Offline and follow that
with File/Folders/Compact All Folders and let it run to completion (which
may take quite some time). If you get an error message, try it again and
see if it succeeds. If it fails, you can find an inexpensive utility called
DBXtract at www.oehelp.com which can extract the files in the copy of the
damaged Inbox.dbx as eml files.

Please post back with your results.
--
Jim Pickering, MVP, Outlook Express
https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile=F9F51EF1-4AE3-4D23-B2D8-1171988A62D6
Please deliver feedback to the newsgroup, so that others can be helped.
Thanks.

"twister" wrote in message @microsoft.com...
>
> When I try to access my inbox within Outlook Express, I could not read any
> emails in it. The inbox.dbx file is approximately 399MB in size and
> obviously, there are a lot of emails in this file but somehow I still
> cannot
> access it from within Outlook Express. I still have access to emails in
> the
> other folders e.g. Send, etc but not the Inbox. Need your advice on this.
> Thanks.

nemo · Joined: 12 Aug 2007 Posts: 1

"twister" wrote in message@microsoft.com...
>
> When I try to access my inbox within Outlook Express, I could not read any
> emails in it. The inbox.dbx file is approximately 399MB in size and
> obviously, there are a lot of emails in this file but somehow I still
cannot
> access it from within Outlook Express. I still have access to emails in
the
> other folders e.g. Send, etc but not the Inbox. Need your advice on this.
> Thanks.

Have you have OE crash recently? If it has it might have corrupted
folders.dbx and this would have made it generate a new inbox file - usually
inbox (1).dbx, and that will be what it's accessing.

If there's a small inbox (1).dbx in the message store, delete in and rename
inbox.dbx to inbox (1).dbx. That'll fix it.

nemo

Raymond Daley · Joined: 12 Aug 2007 Posts: 12

"twister" wrote in message@microsoft.com...
>
> When I try to access my inbox within Outlook Express, I could not read any
> emails in it. The inbox.dbx file is approximately 399MB in size and
> obviously, there are a lot of emails in this file but somehow I still
cannot
> access it from within Outlook Express. I still have access to emails in
the
> other folders e.g. Send, etc but not the Inbox. Need your advice on this.
> Thanks.

sounds like your inbox is corrupted.
either re-install OE or try and compact some space in your inbox
(tools, options, maintenance,click clean up now, click compact)
the 2nd one should work

Kath Adams · Joined: 12 Aug 2007 Posts: 13

Raymond Daley wrote:
> "twister" wrote in message
> @microsoft.com...
>>
>> When I try to access my inbox within Outlook Express, I could not
>> read any emails in it. The inbox.dbx file is approximately 399MB in
>> size and obviously, there are a lot of emails in this file but
>> somehow I still cannot access it from within Outlook Express. I
>> still have access to emails in the other folders e.g. Send, etc but
>> not the Inbox. Need your advice on this. Thanks.
>
> sounds like your inbox is corrupted.
> either re-install OE

ALWAYS a last resort.

or try and compact some space in your inbox
> (tools, options, maintenance,click clean up now, click compact)
> the 2nd one should work

That won't compact anything in the Inbox, only in newsgroups.

Geez...where did this fella come from? Replying to old posts?

--
Kath Adams
MS MVP - Windows (Outlook Express)

June · Joined: 12 Aug 2007 Posts: 2

Kath,

You say that reinstalling is a last resort, what would be a fix for this
type of problem. I have ran into someone who has the same problem and top it
off, he has three inboxes with the same amount of mail in each one. Nothing
shows in the right pane and I tried turning on the preview pane and nothing
shows in there. This poor guy has about 3000 mail messages as it keeps
receiving but he can not see the messages and the delete function will not
work either. I have this person checking their mail using webmail until I can
help them.

Thanks.

June

"Kath Adams" wrote:

> Raymond Daley wrote:
> > "twister" wrote in message
> > @microsoft.com...
> >>
> >> When I try to access my inbox within Outlook Express, I could not
> >> read any emails in it. The inbox.dbx file is approximately 399MB in
> >> size and obviously, there are a lot of emails in this file but
> >> somehow I still cannot access it from within Outlook Express. I
> >> still have access to emails in the other folders e.g. Send, etc but
> >> not the Inbox. Need your advice on this. Thanks.
> >
> > sounds like your inbox is corrupted.
> > either re-install OE
>
> ALWAYS a last resort.
>
> or try and compact some space in your inbox
> > (tools, options, maintenance,click clean up now, click compact)
> > the 2nd one should work
>
> That won't compact anything in the Inbox, only in newsgroups.
>
> Geez...where did this fella come from? Replying to old posts?
>
> --
> Kath Adams
> MS MVP - Windows (Outlook Express)
>

Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE · Joined: 12 Aug 2007 Posts: 347

"June" wrote in message @microsoft.com...
> Kath,
>
> You say that reinstalling is a last resort, what would be a fix for this
> type of problem. I have ran into someone who has the same problem and top
> it
> off, he has three inboxes with the same amount of mail in each one.
> Nothing
> shows in the right pane and I tried turning on the preview pane and
> nothing
> shows in there. This poor guy has about 3000 mail messages as it keeps
> receiving but he can not see the messages and the delete function will not
> work either. I have this person checking their mail using webmail until I
> can
> help them.

View | Current View
Make sure Show all Messages is selected and nothing else.

--
Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE/WM
http://www.fjsmjs.com
Answer in newsgroup. Don't send mail.

June · Joined: 12 Aug 2007 Posts: 2

Frank

Did that and nothing shows. I think he also has a virus.

June

"Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE/WM" wrote:

> "June" wrote in message
> @microsoft.com...
> > Kath,
> >
> > You say that reinstalling is a last resort, what would be a fix for this
> > type of problem. I have ran into someone who has the same problem and top
> > it
> > off, he has three inboxes with the same amount of mail in each one.
> > Nothing
> > shows in the right pane and I tried turning on the preview pane and
> > nothing
> > shows in there. This poor guy has about 3000 mail messages as it keeps
> > receiving but he can not see the messages and the delete function will not
> > work either. I have this person checking their mail using webmail until I
> > can
> > help them.
>
>
> View | Current View
> Make sure Show all Messages is selected and nothing else.
>
> --
> Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE/WM
> http://www.fjsmjs.com
> Answer in newsgroup. Don't send mail.
>
>

Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE · Joined: 12 Aug 2007 Posts: 347

"June" wrote in message @microsoft.com...
> Frank
>
> Did that and nothing shows. I think he also has a virus.
>>

Don't store messages in the Inbox. It is the folder most apt to be
corrupted. As soon as you read them move them to user created folders.
Then compact the Inbox regularly.

Go to Tools | Options | Maintenance | Store Folder and write down where OE
is storing its data.
Close OE.
Go there with Windows Explorer and move (not copy) Inbox.dbx to an empty
Windows
folder. With Win2K, WinXP and Win2K3 it will be a hidden file.

You can use either of these tools to extract the messages from the old DBX
file:

DBXtract ($5): http://www.oehelp.com/DBXtract/ although this tool is faster
and better:
DBXpress: ($25) http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/Default.aspx
Do NOT extract to the desktop!
With a large file this can take a long time, so let it keep running.

The messages can be dragged from a Windows folder back into an OE folder in
OE's Folder List.

--
Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE/WM
http://www.fjsmjs.com
Answer in newsgroup. Don't send mail.

Kath Adams · Joined: 12 Aug 2007 Posts: 13

June wrote:
> Kath,
>
> You say that reinstalling is a last resort, what would be a fix for
> this type of problem. I have ran into someone who has the same
> problem and top it off, he has three inboxes with the same amount of
> mail in each one. Nothing shows in the right pane and I tried turning
> on the preview pane and nothing shows in there. This poor guy has
> about 3000 mail messages as it keeps receiving but he can not see the
> messages and the delete function will not work either. I have this
> person checking their mail using webmail until I can help them.
>
> Thanks.

June,

Always difficult to advise via a 3rd party.

You say he has 3 inboxes? There should only be one Inbox under Local
Folders. Unless he has Hotmail accounts. Does he receive his Hotmail via OE?

I suggest that he goes offline and compacts all his folders. DO NOT touch
anything until it has finished.

If he can then see his messages, he needs to create more folders for his own
use, under Local Folders, and move his mail to them. (One for Friends, one
for Family, one for Joe Bloggs etc.)

If the Inbox is corrupt, because of the amount of mail in there, then you
will have to use Frank's suggestion.

--
Kath Adams
MS MVP - Windows (Outlook Express)

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