Outlook-Express Folder empty files missing Problem & Solution

Note: IE = Internet Explorer; OE = Outlook Express; Chrome = Google Chrome; PC = personal computer.

I attempted to work with IE, Chrome, and OE draft .eml format emails all at same time. My PC suddenly turned off. I restarted. On restart, the OE drafts folder I had been working with, containing 50 draft .eml files in OE was empty! The drafts folder or its contents were not in the recycle bin. I right-clicked on the drafts folder in OE, found it was now stored in C:\Documents and Settings\account 2\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\...\Microsoft\Outlook Express\Drafts (1).dbx.

OE had shifted to storing the draft emails, in \Outlook Express\Drafts (1).dbx, a new empty .dbx file it created; it no longer stored draft emails in \Outlook Express\Drafts.dbx, the file it stores draft emails in by default. This due to confusion created by my attempt to use OE, IE, & Chrome simult. But the old \Outlook Express\Drafts.dbx still existed.

My successful solution (learned knowledge used when investigating how to re-introduce or restore backed up .dbx files into Outlook Express):

1) in OE create new folder, named olddrafts;

2) in OE, highlight this new folder;

Note: 1) & 2) result in creation of new olddrafts.dbx file in C:\Documents and Settings\account 2\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\...\Microsoft\Outlook Express\;

3) close OE;

4) remove the drafts.dbx file containing the 50 missing emls from C:\Documents and Settings\account 2\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\{8D34CE3B-CD23-43FC-98BF-8C48CF87B754}\Microsoft\Outlook Express\;

5) change name of removed drafts.dbx file to olddrafts.dbx;

6) replace empty olddrafts.dbx in C:\Documents and Settings\account 2\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\...\Microsoft\Outlook Express\, with olddrafts.dbx file containing original missing 50 draft emails.

Now in OE, I can access all the draft emails that had become lost, via the olddrafts folder.

Outlook Express - Restoring backed up Folders

I was thinking, of the importance of being able to restore backed up .dbx files containing the .eml files in the folders in the superior, classic, famous, once-cutting-edge excellent free desktop email client 'Outlook Express'. If backed-up emails cannot be read: the originals have to be kept on disk, resulting in clutter, space-problems, navigation problems, and program dysfunction problems; if they cannot be read, one can never be certain that the backup-process has indeed succeeded.

I was shocked at the level of confusion and turmoil regarding this simple process. The mere fact that one can find many softwares available whose purpose is to read the .dbx files generated by Outlook Express, indicated that incredibly, huge numbers of persons do not know how to restore the files they have backed up from Outlook Express.

Several of the webpages I visited pretended to divulge how to backup and restore Outlook Express emails, whereas in reality all they did was explain the simple process of backing-up Outlook Express .dbx files -- another sign of trouble.

Finally I found the best solution in result 4 of of "outlook express" "application data" restore dbx - Google Search, at Backup/Restore Outlook Express (subsection entitled 'Restoring Outlook Express Folders when Import doesn't work or is not available').

(Hackish finger-painting type but superior) solution example: 

1) In OE, create new folder, 'backedupstuff'.

2) Highlight this folder in the OE folder list.

3) Right-click, properties, copy address of folder storing .dbx file containing backedupstuff' folder.

4) Open folder containing backedupstuff .dbx file.

5) Close OE.

6) replace backedupstuff.dbx file with another second .dbx file also namedbackedupstuff, which is the .dbx file that you had backed up. You should now bed able to read the files in the second .dbx files named 'backedupstuff', in OE. Using this method corresponds with general Windows methods involving copy and paste into folders.

If you simply add the .dbx file to the Windows folder (outside of OE) that contains the .dbx files that contain the folder contents, OE fails to recognize the newly added folder and continues as if the newly added folder does not exist. The necessary elaboration is that the folder has to be first created within OE using the OE controls, and then after OE is closed, replaced with another folder of the same name containing the .dbx file whose .eml email contents are to be viewed.

Microsoft-authored method (Restoring Outlook Express folders after reinstalling Window, How to back up and to restore Outlook Express data): 1 & 2) copy 'Folders.dbx' (which was current in OE when .dbx you wish to view was current in OE) and .dbx you wish to view in OE, into a folder; 3) click file-import-messages; 4) choose OE version you used to create the .dbx; 5) click 'import mail from an oe6 store directory' radio-button; 6) browse to folder containing the folders.dbx and the .dbx you wish to view; 7) open folder; 8) click subfolder you wish to import; 9) 'click finish!'.

The Microsoft method involves disadvantages: you have to keep a specific Folders.dbx file together with the.dbx file containing the folder the .Folder.dbx file refers to; renaming of the Folders.dbx file or the .dbx file containing the emails, which is summoned by the Folders.dbx file, leads to failure.    

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'Outlook Express' in 2002, was estimated to be the email-client used by 200 million+ of the 400+ million then estimated to use the internet. This year, 2014, out of 2.5 billion email users, apparently only approx 75 million use it.

I remember when back in the days, 'Outlook' was the new better thing compared to 'Outlook Express'; 'Outlook' came with 'Office' which cost money whereas 'Outlook Express' was free; yet inexplicably, with 'Outlook Express' you could code the CSS/html for the email sourece code directly, and even in 'edit' mode use it as (the best free) WYSWYG HTML editor around,  whereas with 'Outlook' you could not even see the code of the 'html emails' you created but had to rely instead on the GUI buttons to add anything beyond typewriter-type effects to your email. I took a sip of 'Outlook', and hustled on back to 'Outlook Express' as fast as I could.

Yet, when the market researchers compile stats re Email-client useage, they always lump 'Outlook Express' with 'Outlook', as if 'Outlook Express' was merely an 'express' or primitive form of 'Outlook', which it is not.

Sapiens (29%) uses Desktop email clients, Neanderthalensis (20%) uses Webmail email clients, and Troglodytus (51%) uses mobile email clients. It's not just the numbers that make an email client important.

Yea, so in 2007 Microsoft switched over to using the 'Word' rendering engine for 'Outlook' instead of the HTML rendering engine for 'Outlook', as a result of which, not only did 'Outlook' become incapable of producing true HTML email, it became incapable of correctly reading true HTML email. Yea, well, that's your problem, if you want to use 'Outlook', which does not read HTML emails correctly, that's your problem. A great artist is not going to change his paintings because some insist on looking at them through sunglasses.

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See:

How Many Email Users Are There? - About Email

Google Answers: Market data - Outlook Express users

Email Client Market Share: Where People Opened in 2013 | Litmus

Email Client Popularity | Campaign Monitor

Microsoft takes email design back 5 years - Campaign Monitor (2007)

dbx reader - Google Search

"outlook express" "application data" dbx - Google Search

"outlook express" "application data" restore dbx - Google Search

"OE 6 store directory" - Google Search

dbx to eml converter - Google Search