Hi

Im at my wits end! My problem is 2 fold which I will explain to make it clear, but then deal with just one part of the problem, the main one!

Ive just bought a new laptop, but still have the old one for the moment. The new Vista one has Windows Mail (WM from now on) and the old XP one has Outlook Express6 (OE). I decided to transfer my messages to the new laptop. I have done this before and while never easy, I always managed it. I went to tools-options in OE and found the store folder, opened the location and copied it to the desktop. I think I copied it, I may have MOVED it, you'll see why later.
Then I put it on a usb drive and tried to import into WM. WM told me "not all messages vould be imported". In fact none were, just a folder called "Imported Folder". It was empty. I tried to delete it and cant actually delete it. I think WM is a bit dodgy too but forget that for now! So thats part 1 of the problem, Windows Mail.

PART 2

I decided to use my old laptop for email till I decided what to do about the new one. I opened OE and most if not all of the messages were gone. This is why Im wondering if I moved rather than copied them. But I could have deleted them too, thinking I would be selling the laptop. I just done know.

Not to worry, said I smugly! I'll just import them back in from the desktop. This appeared to work but many folders and messages are missing. And in many cases I have folders but they're empty. I examined the Outlook Express folder that I had copied, and viewed in list and noticed weirdly that A to F were empty, but those beginning with G or higher had their messages intact. Whats going on?? Anyway i cant find the messages, and Im without a serious amount of business messages and details as a result. I tried a programme called OE-Mail Recovery but it just wont open the ones that are empty. Would a system restore point be any good? Cany anything be done? Where are they gone!!?? And I wonder at what point did they go awol? Recently I had allowed OE to compact folders.

thanks in advance
h

If you don't have a clean copy on the desktop or laptop of the store folders, I think they're gone. Is it possible you have all or some on another backup, like an external drive perhaps? That would be your best bet, if you could restore from an uncorrupted source, like a dvd or other hard drive.

I'm wondering how big the files were, and did they all fit on your flash drive okay? Could you still have them there?
Johanna

Johanna

OK, I copied them initially to desktop and then to flash drive. So you would think I would have 2 sets of them. however heres the thing, after I imported them back into OE6 from the desktop folder, every folder beginning with A to F is empty! And from G on is OK. I have several different folders of categories, each with sub folders and in every case its the same, A to F empty and G onwards ok!

Now heres another thing, on the flash drive the A to F folders dont appear at all! Only from G on, and theyre all ok. BUT on the desktop folder, A to F DO appear, but theyre only 11kb, ie empty. This is strange.

So if I can get no further, what Im missing is all the messages in folders A to F, not as bad as initially thought. In that event I do happen to have a copy of the store folder taken in October. But how would I import only the folders A to F without making an almighty mess again?

Still puzzled as to how A to F is gone!

h