Outlook Express - Repair/Recovery of Corrupted DBX files

Question

Hello,

I have recently lost a number of local folders in my Outlook Express (OE) which I found in the DBX store. However OE does not read/open them most probably because they are corrupted. This is apparently a common problem.

I searched and found a few tools which claim to repair/recover corrupted DBX and I tried three demo versions. None of them was able to repair the corrupted DBX files. One of the tools was honest enough to admit that some files can be beyond repair and it provided a complete disk scan which recovered a number of lost/deleted messages, some of which were originally in the OE local folders i had lost. Although no fix so far, no cost in using the demo versions.

A number of experts suggest a tool called DBXPRESS which claims to recover corrupted DBX files. Unfortunately no demo version is offered for proof of effectiveness before purchase.

Are corrupted DBX files repairable as the softwar ecompanies claim and if so how and with what software ?

As this is a common and potentially disastrous problem, should not Microsoft be persuaded to provide a radical fix to avoid a tedious manual backing up process.

Any views/ advice is much appreciated.

Regards

Paul

Answer 1

Outlook Express is an e-mail and news client that is included with Internet Explorer. Outlook Express is a different application from  MS Outlook. The two programs do not share a common codebase, but do share a common architectural philosophy.Outlook Express uses the  Windows Address Book to store contact information and integrates tightly with it. Microsoft Internet Mail and News was a freeware e-mail and  news client and ancestor of Outlook Express.

The executable file for Outlook Express, msimn.exe, is a holdover from the Internet Mail and News era. Internet Mail and News handled only  plain text and rich text ( RTF ) e-mail, lacking  HTML e-mail.

Outlook Express has been prone to a number of problems which can corrupt its files database, especially when the database increases in size due to increasing number of stored emails and during database compaction. 

The Corruption of dbx files can occur due to these reasons:

1.  MSIMN caused an invalid page fault in module Msoe.dll.

2. MSIMN caused an invalid page fault in module Msoe.dll at address.

3. Outlook Express could not be started. It may not be installed correctly. Make sure that your disk is not full or that you are not out of memory.

4.Outlook Express could not be started because Msoe.dll could not be initialized. Outlook Express may not be installed correctly.

Outlook Express stores email messages in databases that have a .dbx file extension. Each Outlook Express folder (even subfolders) has a database associated with it; thus if you have 20 folders you have twenty databases.The databases have the same name as the folders thus the inbox folder has a database called inbox.dbx.

In these above cases the corruption is probably in the file "Folders.dbx".This is the master index of the entire Store Folder and without it, Outlook Express cannot do anything, in this situation, the only solution is to delete the corrupt file from the Store Folder. That will allow Outlook Express to start and to build a new "Folders.dbx" by re-indexing all DBX files it finds in the Store Folder.

Follow these steps to get the information lost:

1. Re-create your mail folder hierarchy by dragging folders into place in the Folder list. Note that any folder you have created to group sub-folders but that     does not itself contain messages will not appear in the Folder list and so must be created again.

2. Re-download the list of newsgroups from each news account.

3. Reset your subscribed newsgroups and download messages again.

4. Reset synchronization options on IMAP and newsgroup folders.

5. Edit any message rule that moves or copies messages to folders other than the Inbox.

These are the steps from which you can get the lost information back. And if your information not recovered again then it might be severe problem.In this case you have to go for recovery software to get your dbx files data back. I can refer you a link which can surely help you to get your lost data back. Try this link:

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bye.

Answer 2

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A new identity gives you all new dbx files and it is free. Do not waste money on this!

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Bruce Hagen

MS-MVP Oct. 1, 2004 ~ Sept. 30, 2010

Imperial Beach, CA

Answer 3

I have recently lost a number of local folders in my Outlook Express (OE) which I found in the DBX store. However OE does not read/open them most probably because they are corrupted. This is apparently a common problem.

Do you know for a fact that they are corrupted? Any inclination why or when they went missing? If they are not in fact corrupt, but just missing, you need to do a little trickery before OE will recognize them. *Close OE*.

The first thing you need to do is drag all the dbx files in question out of the message store to the Desktop. It would not hurt to rename them, if only temporarily. Then do the following one folder at a time.

Open OE and create a folder with the *exact* same name as the one on the Desktop. Open the new folder and then close OE. (You must do this). Go to Windows Explorer and locate the Message Store folder for your OE identity, but don't open it. Click on the Desktop and drag the file from the Desktop in the right hand pane to the OE store folder in the left pane. Prompt - "Do you want to overwrite......."? Click Yes.

*Note* If you have moved the Outlook Express store folder from it's default location on drive C to another drive, drag the dbx file to a location on that drive and not the Desktop.   

If that does not work, then the folders are probably corrupted. Check the Recycle Bin for any bak files of the same name as the missing folders. If you find any, note the date create and post back before you continue.

If you do not find any bak files, then DBXpress is your only hope. While nothing is ever guaranteed, the success rate for DBXpress is very high as it can read directly from the HDD, bypassing the need for a dbx file if needed.

DBXpress:

http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/Default.aspx

You may need to run it in the Extract From Disk Mode if its normal recovery mode fails to find the lost messages.

General precautions for Outlook Express:

Do not archive mail in the Inbox or Sent Items. Create your own user defined folders and move the messages you wish to save to them. Empty Deleted Items folder daily. Although dbx files have a theoretical capacity of 2GB, I recommend about a 300MB max for less chance of corruption.

Information about the maximum file size of the .dbx files that are used by Outlook Express:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=903095

After you are done, follow up by compacting your folders manually while working *offline* and do it often.

Click on Outlook Express at the top of the folder tree so no folders are open. Then: File | Work Offline (or double click Working Online in the Status Bar). File | Folder | Compact all folders. Don't touch anything until the compacting is completed.

Turn off e-mail scanning in your anti-virus program. It is a redundant layer of protection that eats up CPUs and causes a multitude of problems such as time-outs and account setting changes. Your up-to-date A/V program will continue to protect you sufficiently. For more, see:

http://www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#3

In Tools | Options | Maintenance: Uncheck Compact messages in background and leave it unchecked. {N/A if running XP/SP2}.

And backup often.

Outlook Express Quick Backup (OEQB Freeware)

http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx 

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Bruce Hagen MS-MVP [Mail]