Outlook Express - Searching Recovered Folders/Files

[Clellopman]

Thu Sept 15
Hi I have used RCM with great success to get back most of my O/E email .dbx files, many of which I inadvertantly deleted during a Windows XP re-installation. The program is certainly great.
However I still have some "stragglers" to hunt for.
What has happened is that I have several "backed-up" copies of my Emails in various folders from the recent and distant past.
When I recover these - I get a large number of repeated emails - I cannot easly identify the individual files - from within those found - which I am now missing except by looking at the dates.
I can of course import them back into my Outlook Express fine by pointing O/E via. Tools - Options - Maintenance - Change Store to look at the various different folders I have created but am very wary of seemingly removing my hard won and rebuilt currrent Outlook Express email filing system each time I do this operation!
Can you please advise me of some possibly simpler way to view the indvidual .dbx emails (or maybe as batches in their date related folders) other than re-creating Outlook Express from a different Store File each time I want to view some emails?
Can I create and run several Out/Ex. "folders" - one for each batch of recovered emails?

Thanks in advance for any help here.
Clellopman

[GDH]

The first thing you should do is look at your current path were your DBX files are stored, then go there in Windows Explorer and take a copy of the folder as a backup. That way if you mess anything up, you can always open your old email structure from the backup.

You have a number of different options in terms of reading recovered DBX files:

1. You can create separate folders for the DBX files you have recovered and change the Store folder to point to them (run Outlook Express, TOOLS/OPTIONS/MAINTENANCE/STORE FOLDER).

2. You can experiment with creating different Outlook Express "Identities" (run Outlook Exrpess, FILE/IDENTITIES/CREATE NEW IDENTITY). Look at the store folder for the new identity created, and put your recovered DBX files in this store folder. The advantage of this is that you can "switch identities".

3. Try using a tool like Mailbag assistant, http://www.fookes.com/mailbag/.

[Clellopman]

Fri Sept. 16 2005
Thanks for the advice Graham,
I can usually preview contents of my DBX files from within RMF using the preview window OK.

On the RMF "SAVED" stuff - mostly various Recovered "Lost" or "Deleted" files that I have now got saved in the various folders.

These are from back-ups held at different places which have mostly got different creation dates, but are also a bit muddled up due to my inexperience with what I was doing when first recovering and saving files!

I will certainly take your advice and make a Back-up of my current Out. Exp. structure.
Definitely got to be a sensible suggestion.
Then:
Seems to me that using your Option 1:

To identify them from the saved recovery results by importing into my Outlook Express each time (by pointing to the particular Folder as a different "Store").

I am still concerned that I have to risk losing - or corrupting - my current working "Store" of Out. Exp. files when I perform this operation:

So likely best to go for
Option 2:
Creating different identities for the various recovered file folders may well be my best option, so this I will likely do.

Is the only other way other way to get a bit of an initial "preview" of the recovered and saved DBX email files that will not involve my current re-built Outlook Express structure to use such an email viewing program such as "Mail Assistant" ?
Is there no way that I can convert the DBX files to "readable text" independant of Outlook Express?
Perhaps by changing the .DBX ext to something readable by a word processor?
Note that I do not need to read the complete emails, basic To, From, Subject, and Creation Date inf. would be fine.

I am only looking for a few lost or deleted emails now which which I have not yet identified and may well be totally gone, but I feel these are worth a bit more effort before I finally give up the search.

Finally anybody out there who is wondering if Recover My Files is worthwile, believe me it does find what you may think is totally lost, try it and buy it!

Regards
Clellopman

[admin]

I think Option 1 is the easiest as you can create your own folders to put DBX files in and then just point the Outlook Express store locate to the relevant folder.

Option 2, Switch Identities, is basically doing the same thing, but creating the folders for you.

Option 3, http://www.fookes.com/mailbag/, is a program that is independant of Outlook Express. Give this a try first.

[Clellopman]

Thu. 21st Sept.
Have had a go with MailBag Assistant, much success with getting the Recovered .DBX files into a readable form .eml extension - (which can then be simply dragged and dropped into my current Outlook Express filing system as required).
So far so good.
I am finding the MailBag assistant program OK but it was a little complicated to use initially.
Now another question :
I had already had a go at the setting up new identities in Outlook and saving folder files as a new "Store" and this worked well to generate a complete "spare" filing system with all the associated emails found and put into the relevant store folder associated with the recovery. However if I go to look at a couple of other stores, one is shown as typically C:\Documents and Settings\"My Name"\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\{8*E8D0**-**AA-44C6-AFF*-*D1***08A**B}\Microsoft\Outlook Express
(*inserted in place of the actual numbers)
And another as
C:\Documents and Settings\Brian Macdonald\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\{0C***BC4-4F*1-4B54-A**-3E4D6BAAC**1} These ones (unlike my Main Identity Store) have no "Microsoft\Outlook Express" at the end and I cannot seem to import them into my new identity.
Any suggestions as to how I can look at it or reasons why I cannot?
CLELLOPMAN