How to burn an outlook express folder

Hi!

I have a folder on outlook express with almost 10,000 messages. I want it off my computer, but I don't want to simply delete it. I'd like to burn it so I can access the messages in future if I want to. Can anyone tell me how to do this?

Thanks!

Smile

Try burning the inbox.dbx file and sent items.dbx

I burned the folders I wanted to burn (folders I had created, not inbox....). When I tried to open them, the computer tried to open them with notepad and couldn't. Then I browsed to Outlook Express (msimn) and tried to open with that. I couldn't tell if this worked or not. Basically, it just opened the program. I haven't deleted the folders yet, so they are right there.

Before I delete the folders, I want to be sure I am going to be able to access the emails that I've burned by choosing to open with msimn.

Thanks

The problem is that as far as I'm aware the export functions in Outlook Express are solely to import into another client or back into Outlook express.

By the way to test whether it really is moving them in.. Try checking C:\Documents And Settings\YourUsername\Local Settings\Identities\
There will be a wierdly named folder at this point. something like : {AA005DC7-E8FA-4C50-AA49-42B0BCE35A05}
If you open it you will see there are more subfolders. From there its Microsoft -> Outlook Express
Look for the .dbx files. Those are your folders. Try moving one of them out and open the CD version of it. If it shows the email addresses that should now be gone then it is indeed reading them from your CD for you. If not close Outlook Express and copy the .dbx file back into the folder.

Another possibility is Copernic Desktop Search I remember my father mentioning that it catalogued his emails as well as the normal files.
Not sure how well it would handle a CD but you never know.

Alkatr0z is correct about the import/ export limitations of OE. It's probably due to the fact that OE is deeply embedded in Windows.
I would try to open the emails on another machine running OE as a test before deleting the originals.

Thanks! I'll try the suggestions and let you know.

Don's suggestion of testing is better as whilst I'm sure that there are no possibilities of loss of data there is always a possibility but with Don's its bullet proof

I moved one of the .dbx files (it's e.dbx) to another folder, then reopened outlook express. It was still there, so I deleted it from my list of folders. I closed outlook express.

Next I opened the e.dbx file from the CD with outlook express. It didn't appear in my list of folders.

I then moved the e.dbx file back, and reopened outlook express. It still wasn't there. For lack of something better to do I rebooted. Still not there. Have I now lost those emails?

Can anyone help?

Thanks!

P.S. I don't know why you mentioned email addresses in the quote. I didn't want to burn my address book, I wanted to burn a folder with old email correspondences.

Sorry that was meant to be 'emails' Use the import under File -> Import -> Messages. Select Outlook Express 6(or the latest version listed if you are using a later version). Then just click "Main Identity" and let it do its work. It should find and import the e.dbx file if its back in the correct folder.

I was suggesting that you copy inbox.dbx and sent.dbx to the CD and test them on another machine, not move them and test them on the same machine.
Also, I've never seen e.dbx.

I was following Alkatr0z's suggestion to move the file to test it. I don't want to test it on someone else's machine because these are personal email messages that I don't want to invertantly share with anyone.

e is the name of the folder I created in Outlook Express, therefore the relevant file on my computer is e.dbx.

Maybe AlkatrOz can help me with this one?

Thanks.

I said "another machine", not someone else's but I guess, by your answer, you don't have a second machine.

peasant that I am, I have only one machine. I hang my head in shame!

Okay.
1. Are your emails back after following the above import method?

If so what happens if you have the directory already and import the relevant .dbx file from the CD? can you perhaps set where it imports them to in your Inbox etc? In the end probably the only way to put them onto a CD as .dbx files and then read them back in Outlook Express is to reimport them each time which is a pain of a method. But if you properly index what is in those emails or have a good idea at least of what you will be looking up would not be too bad as you would then only be reimporting them when you know exactly what you are looking for. I think though with the way Outlook Express import works it would more likely just reimport them to the folder e and mix them up with all the rest of your emails in that folder.

I think Copernic Desktop Search is perhaps your best bet in the end.

Quick question. Why is it you want to get them off your computer? is it space? If so have you tried compacting the folder with Outlook Express?

Just found this program that reads .dbx files. Funnily enough saw roughly the same request in a copyof Netguide my father in law bought and this was the suggestion.
http://www.mailnavigator.com/read_outlook_express_dbx_files.html