I used detect and repair and lost all my emails - where are they?

[Antony Waltho]

I used "Detect and Repair" to fix up my MS Outlook but when I went back to
use it I found all my previous emails and settings were gone. Where did they
go and can I get them back. Detect and Repair did not warn me it was about to
delete anything so I had no idea it was going to happen.

 

[neo [mvp outlook]]

Microsoft Outlook stores data at one of the following places (your after
*.PST for POP3/IMAP mailboxes).

\documents and settings\<userid>\application data\microsoft\outlook

\documents and settings\<userid>\local settings\application
data\microsoft\outlook

application data and local settings are hidden/system folders, therefore you
will need change windows explorer configuration to show them.

 

[K. Orland]

What version of Outlook are you using? Do you use a PST? Is this a POP3 or
Exchange account?
I'm going to assume you're a home user with a POP3 account and a PST.
You may simply have to find and open the PST using file, open. However the
PST is normally not visible so you will have to unhide files and folders
first. You can do this in Windows Explorer.
In Outlook 2003, if you click on File, Open, Outlook data file, it should
take you directly to where the file is kept. It's usually called Outlook.pst.
You may also want to ensure that you back up your PST file. You'll find
excellent instructions here on how to back up and restore this important file:

http://www.howto-outlook.com/howto/backupandrestore.htm