Resolved Outlook Express Compacting Messages

Hi All,

I use Windows XP Pro.

When Closing Outlook Express, I get the Message ....
" To Free up Space, Outlook Express will now Compact Your Messages , This may take a Few Minutes "

When I Click Yes, everything seems to Run OK, 2 small Windows pop up saying Compacting Etc. and after it has been through a few Folders,....then I get an Error Message that some Program is Using this Folder ( the one being compacted at the Moment )

But there are No other Programs or Outlook Express Running .

Any Suggestion , would greatly appreciated.

Regards... Ron.

 

Thanks Tony I gave it a Try, and it did just about all the Folders except 1 ,
and I got the Same message ... "This Folder is being used by another Program "

It doesn't have any trouble with Folders that have little in them , it's the ones that have more.

I had a problem months ago ...where I couldn't download anything into my "INBOX" I had to Split it up and make 3 new Folders ( Inbox 1, 2, and 3 )

I think this maybe the Problem here to big a Folder for it too handle.

Since I did the Compact earlier, I have had No asking to Compact to save Disk Space,when closing OE, so the ones that it did compact were enough to shut it up.

Thanks for Your Help..... Ron

PS:... If somebody knows of the Cause other than the Large Folder , please let us know. Ron

 

As far as I know only the standard folders are compacted.

The Inbox can sometimes become corrupted and to alleviate this you have done the right thing by creating your own folders to store important email.

 

It is safer to create folders of important mail outside of the OE mail store location. The best way to do this is to create a new folder, say on a memory stick or external hard disk, and name it, say, Inbox2009. Open OE > Inbox > click the entries you want to copy or for all of them click an entry then Ctrl+A (select all) and drag the items to Inbox2009, where they become individual .EML files. Of course, if you no longer need the 2009 emails in OE's mail store simply delete them as the mail is now effectively ‘off site’.

When you want to read an old (2009) email, open the folder and double-click the one you want and OE will open it. In the .EML format they can be read by OE, WM and WLM.

 

Thanks Pete, BurrWallnut, .... I'll give it ago.

Cheers .. Ron

 

Hi All,
Well I haven't had the Pop up to compact the Files since I tried it without the Anti Virus running.

Even though I still received the Error " Program using File" on one of the Folders when I did it.

But as suggested I looked at the Recycle Bin and it seemed to have all the ".BAK" files for all the Folders, giving the impression that it had Compacted them.

Any everything is Cool at the moment, with no request to compact at the closing of OE.

So I would consider this "Resolved" and Thankyou for everybodies Help, Much appreciated .

Cheers.... Ron

 

Thanks Pete,... Learn something new everyday.

" You just get to know everything and then you Die " ... "Life" ..... it should be in reverse

Cheers