outlook express problem [emails lost after compression]

Hello , me name is Christian , i am new here . I have a problem with my outlook express. I run win. xp. , with service pack 2 installed . Recently on my screen keep apoearing a mesage and told me that i have to compress the e-mails to make space on my hard drive . When finally i clicked yes to compress the e-mails something wierd happend . In my inbox and sent items apear now nothing . Not even one email from the old e-mails i had received or sent apear any more . I tryed to search for the compress e-mails but i cant find them . Can someone please help me and tell me where are those compressed e-mails saved , as default?

Best Regards !

 

zeus1981--Do a Start|Run|Search for
inbox.dbx and
sent items.dbx
If you find them, in what folder are they? The normal place is what is called your Store Folder. That is where OE expects to find them. If they are elsewhere, that could be your problem.
You can learn the location of the Store Folder from OE Tools|Options|Maintenance tab|Store Folder. If the .dbx files are in a different location, move them to the Store Folder. However, you also want Folders.dbx to be in that same Store Folder. So, if you found the .dbx files mentioned but Folders.dbx is not in the Store Folder, do a Search on folders.dbx and move it to the Store Folder as well.
If you cannot find the .dbx files mentioned, you may be out of luck.
However, you still could try
1) OE Mail Recovery program at bottom of this page
http://www.belchfire.net/downloads-cat-4-10_dateD-10.html
2) DBXtract
http://www.oehelp.com/DBXtract/Default.aspx (unfortunately it will cost $5)
P.S. These .dbx files are recreated upon reboot, so you may find two copies of each--one set in the Store Folder and one set somewhere else. If the ones somewhere else are much larger than those in the StoreFolder, they are the ones with your messages and you can follow the above suggestions and replace those in the Store Folder.

 

Same problem--found the emails, how do I open or restore them?

How handy, I found someone who had the exact same problem. I was hoodwinked into compressing my emails, and while I have found them where they should be, I can't figure out how to open them.