Looking for help from computer gurus...

[greenhorn]

So all the messages from my "inbox" disappeared.

Outlook Express, Windows 98.

This after during a week or so the "inbox" opened only sometimes... most of the times I got a message like "the folder could not be opened / Outlook Express could not open this folder / The possible causes are low free space on the hard disk ort low memory" (the messages were actually in French).

Any idea if I can still find somehow somewhere the vanished messages?

Thanks, people.

 

[Stephonovich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenhorn So all the messages from my "inbox" disappeared. Outlook Express, Windows 98. This after during a week or so the "inbox" opened only sometimes... most of the times I got a message like "the folder could not be opened / Outlook Express could not open this folder / The possible causes are low free space on the hard disk ort low memory" (the messages were actually in French). Any idea if I can still find somehow somewhere the vanished messages? Thanks, people.

Your first problem is you're using Outlook Express. Your second problem is Windows 98. Well, maybe not the second so much. 98SE can be stable. But anyway...

AFAIK, OE will not delete messages to save space. It will yell at you, as you said, but I've never heard of it deleting messages. Are you, perchance, running a French version of Windows?

One thing you might try (if it's not installed already) is OE SP1.

Also of interest, OE Repair, a program that claims to recover damaged message. OE stores all of it's messages in a compressed format called .dbx. I believe on 98 it's stored in the Outlook Express program folder. There should be one for each folder, i.e. Inbox.dbx Outbox.dbx Trash.dbx...

 

[greenhorn]

Thanks, Stephonovitch! I will try to use the links you provided.

 

[rickcr42]

do you have multiple users on the computer with sign in screens ?

sometimes it is the simple and someone once turned on my computer without loggin in and when i went to my links there were NONE !

I was ready kick someones butt until I figured out what had happened (by accident) HOURS LATER and after going friggin bonkers !

Multiple profiles means you will only see your own stuff and not the stuff of others unless you log into their preferences (or cheat like i do to ckeck up on the family

)-email,links,background,searches,etc.

bottom line-make sure it is your mailbox you are checking,just a thought man

 

[Mr.Radar]

Have you run Scandisk (on "thorough") recently?

 

[greenhorn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.Radar Have you run Scandisk (on "thorough") recently?

No. Should I?

 

[greenhorn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickcr42 do you have multiple users on the computer with sign in screens ? sometimes it is the simple and someone once turned on my computer without loggin in and when i went to my links there were NONE ! I was ready kick someones butt until I figured out what had happened (by accident) HOURS LATER and after going friggin bonkers ! Multiple profiles means you will only see your own stuff and not the stuff of others unless you log into their preferences (or cheat like i do to ckeck up on the family )-email,links,background,searches,etc. bottom line-make sure it is your mailbox you are checking,just a thought man

No, I am in my mailbox, in fact I can still see the messages in the "Sent Items" folder, its' just the ones in the "Inbox" folder which vanished!

 

[PinkFloyd]

Have you run a virus checker?

 

[Mr.Radar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenhorn No. Should I?

Yes, it checks your hard drive to ensure there isn't any corruption.

 

[greenhorn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PinkFloyd Have you run a virus checker?

Norton 2002.

Is there a known virus which has this effect?

 

[PinkFloyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenhorn Norton 2002. Is there a known virus which has this effect?

Norton "2002" ?? I trust you've updated it regularly Greenhorn? Well..... I couldn't get into outlook a while back, thanks to a virus, I downloaded the very good AVG free virus program and it found the culprit and killed it instantly....... I have since formatted and use AVG as my number one defence against virus...... it's good

 

[greenhorn]

I just finished scanning the computer with Norton (which I updated regularly) and... no infections found.

I will download one of these days the AVG thing - thanks for the tip, Pink Floyd!

 

[Bill Ward]

Check under View to see how it's set. Look under Views --> Current View. If you set it to "Hide read messages," by accident you're inbox can appear empty.

BW

 

[greenhorn]

No, it was on "display all messages". Moreover, among the vanished messages, there were both read and unread ones. Thanks anyway!

 

[Alexhud]

Check Norton in the quarantine box and make sure your whole inbox is not quarantined. One time I had a virus in an email and Norton quarantined the whole inbox and all the messages disappeared much like what happened to you.
Good luck