Help!

Microsoft Outlook (not Outlook Express, this is the office version of Outlook I have) just took a major dump, and died? on me today. I was composing an email when the keyboard crashed. I saved my work to a file, and then tried to reload it into Outlook after I rebooted. I tried to open the save-file via the menu where I choose which program I want to open the file, thinking that would start Outlook with the compose window open. That did not work, and as far as I could tell, nothing happened. So I opened Outlook, created a new message, and cut and pasted my composition in and sent it off. Everything was working normally at this point, it seemed.

A few hours later I went to check for a reply to my email, but when I started Outlook I got a "configure the program" wizard, as if it was a fresh install of the program. I cancelled that, and then found that all of my old emails in my inbox were gone. Everything is gone, in all of the other folders too. The emails I've received, the emails I've sent over the last couple of years, heck even the stuff in the trashcan that I hadn't deleted yet, is gone. All of it. WTF???

-I used the system restore utility, and found that yesterday had an automatic restore point. I used that, but it did not help.
-I scanned for viruses with the latest definitions, but found none.
-I looked at "add/remove programs" to see if there was now a double entry for Outlook, but there was not.

That stuff that is "lost" must be on my computer somewhere. Any suggestions on where to look, or how to configure a search?

As it stands now, I am going to have to go to my ISP's website, and follow their instructions on configuring an email account again, if I cannot get this stuff back, because Outlook is not tied to my account any more.

Try searching for the .DBX files that OutLook uses to store everything. If you find them ( and we'll hope that you do ), then open OutLook and open the Tools menu and select Options. Click the Maintanence tab and find the button marked Store Folder. Click the button and point OutLook at the directory where you found the .DBX files ( even if it's already pointing there ! ). If it is already pointing there you will probably need to change it to something else first then back ( or the Apply button won't be highlighted ).
Click Apply. Close then restart Outlook. The first sign that it worked will be your folders being correct.

Good Luck! Hope this works for you!

This is why I use OE instead. Less to go wrong with it, and FAR more secure since it's not ported to all the other Office apps. Just OE and IE.

Nice try but don't do that nameless. Good offer Mickey. Nameless, please do a search for *.pst on your whole computer. Everythgihng that outlook keeps is in your .pst file. It is in a hidden location so make sure to put a check in the search engine for look in system and hidden folders. Al l you will need to do is point your Outlook program back to that file location and all will be restored provided it isn't damaged. PST files should not be bigger than 1gb or they start to get stupid. I will write more on this later. Just find the .pst file and tell me how many you find and how big they are. Note the search syntax: search for Asteric.PST that will look like search for *.pst . Search the whole computer and in system and hidden directories. Let us buddy.

Plus, under Add and Remove Programs, you can repair Outlook and Office.
Find Microsoft Office in Add/Remove Programs.
Select it. There should be an option to repair.
Use it. It re installs all of the dll files and such.

Try opening Outlook again. It should work like normal, and all of your work should still be there.

Run a THOROUGH virus scan of your computer, just in case.
Hope this helps.

Ok, I did a repair on Microsoft Small Business, and on Small Business Media Content, just to thorough. (I don't actually see Outlook separately in the add/remove programs list. It's contained in Small Business along with a lot of other Office XP crap that I don't use.) However, the program is now "repaired" but all of my old emails sent and received, are still not put back in.

A search for *.pst found four files:

archive
Outlook
Outlook1
Outlook2

All in the same place. I want the file called "archive" don't I?

There is no "maintenance" tab. How do I get the stuff in archive back into Outlook?

No, you want to point to one and then open Outlook and see if your stuff is there, if not, point to the next one and so on until you find the one you want. I forget what the archive one is or does. Sorry. Good luck.

But how do I "point" Outlook at one of these files???

Never mind. I found "Import and Export" under the File menu. I chose to import stuff from my personal folder after searching for .pst files. The first try didn't work, (I assume it looked at "archive") but then the window with those four files in it opened up and I chose the next one in the list: "Outlook", and that put all the stuff back where it belonged.

I'd still like to know how it all disappeared in the first place though. Now I just need to figure out how to get the program not to use the preview pane, and I'm all set.

-And now I've been to Microsoft's update page, and found six updates for Office. I have things up so that I am now informed of all updates that are available for my PC, instead of just updates for XP.

-And I've scanned for viruses again, this time by going into my computer, and scanning drive C. I sometimes suspect this is more thorough than just doing a so called "full system scan", because it always seems to take a while longer to complete.

Well the fun just never ends!

I have my old email back in the program now, BUT the program seems to have eaten the send/receive button. And it will not let me compose new email at all. AND it is no longer hooked up to its account at my ISP. AND when I tried to fix that at my ISP, I cannot log-in. Even on my primary account. I can still email on that one, BUT I can't get in to service my own accounts. My pw's don't work any more. AND my ISP is swamped with other calls, so there's obviously a problem at their end.

Maybe this is all their fault! Yeah, that's it! It makes perfect sense to me!

Well... I guess i have to be like Brother FAH on this one

http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/

If you do not use Outlook for scheduling meetings and such, use this. It is every bit as good as Outlook. As a matter of fact. I have Outlook 2003 and STILL use Thunderbird as my email client.

I use Thunderbird already, for my primary account. I want a different program for my secondary account. I know you can have more than one account in T-bird, but I like keeping stuff separate.

*edit* I needed to change the pw's at my ISP for some reason, so that's done. And I found the option I needed to check to reset the toolbar. I thought the program was no longer tied to my account at my ISP, but it apparently still is, as I just received 5 emails, 3 of them the test emails that I thought weren't getting through.

I guess I should be happy now, but having your own ignorance rubbed in your face ain't much fun. This was every bit as frustrating as working with a Windoze 95 funkup used to be.