Twist on compacting message

  • Thread starter Thread starter Wingnut66
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Wingnut66

Something was done with my system while I was away from the office and now I
get the compacting messages message randomly (not just when I close email).
Any ideas on what is going on and how to stop it before it drives me nuts?
Thanks....
 
Does it stop for a while if you manually compact?

Have you tried manually compacting Outlook Express before you are
prompted to allow automatic compaction? Manual compaction gives you more
control over the process and defers automatic compaction for another 100
openings of Outlook Express.

In Outlook Express place the cursor on Local Folders and select File,
Work Offline followed by File, Folder, Compact All. Do not attempt to
interupt or stop the process until it has completed. Close Outlook
Express when it has completed.

After compacting check your Outlook Express folders are as they should
be. Then select Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk
CleanUp to Empty your Recycle Bin and Remove Temporary Internet Files.
Also select Start, All Programs, accessories, System Tools, Disk
CleanUp, More Options, System Restore and remove all but the latest
System Restore point. Run Disk Defragmenter.

--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
How do you propose we find out what exactly the "compacting messages
message" says, what email program you have, and what version of Windows
you have?
 
This is going to sound really 'newbie' but does the compacting delete
messages that I have stored in my various folders? I have never actually used
the compact option before so I am a bit nervous to use it if I am going to
lose any of my stored messages....
 
It does not delete message but take care not to interupt the process
before it finishes. You can lose message if you interupt the process.

--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
If you are running XP/SP2 or SP3, read the following. If you are getting the
compact prompt more often than you should, and are running XP/SP3, you may
have a different problem.

Why does OE insist on compacting folders when I close it?:
http://www.insideoe.com/faqs/why.htm#compact

About File Corruption:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/IE/community/columns/filecorruption.mspx

Compacting your folders periodically is a must to keep OE functioning well
and at some point, you may lose all your saved messages if you don't. When
you delete, or move messages, the space they had used remains until you
compact.

***Never touch anything until the compacting is finished.***

See:
www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#2

With SP2, automatic background compacting was removed due to problems it
caused. Now you will get a prompt to compact after 100 OE closings, which
you should do, and don't touch anything until it has finished. If you
compact manually, at your convenience, this will also set the counter back
to zero. See this for more information:
http://www.insideoe.com/files/maintain.htm#compact

If you are fully patched, you will also now see a copy of your dbx files
being copied to the Recycle Bin as BAK files. Should something go awry when
compacting, the messages can easily be restored from this backup. A manual
compact will also reset the counter in the registry back to zero now.

For more info, see the information outlined in red here:
www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#2

To keep things running smooth, and for faster compacting:

Do not archive mail in default OE folders. They will eventually become
corrupt and you may lose mail. Create your own user defined folders for
storing mail and move your mail to them. Empty Deleted Items folder
regularly. Keep user created folders under 100MB, and Default folders as
empty as is feasible.

And backup often.

Backup and Restore:

http://www.insideoutlookexpress.com/backup/

http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx
 
This is going to sound really 'newbie' but does the compacting delete
messages that I have stored in my various folders? I have never
actually used the compact option before so I am a bit nervous to use
it if I am going to lose any of my stored messages....
Click to expand...

As long as you are up to SP2, if any messages should get deleted they
should be in the Recycle Bin for recovery.

NEVER having compacted before is a dangerous thing so it could result
in message loss. It's a premanent bug MS does not intend to fix. Like
I said, check the recycle bin afterwards for lost mails.
 
Thanks very much Gerry (and everyone else). I went through with your
suggestions and it appears to have worked (the message hasn't popped up again
so far).
Cheers!
 
You need to repeat the process after you have opened Outlook Express 99
times and after every subsequent 99 times. This may be a bind but after
every compacting you will get a bonus. Improved system performance.


--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
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