When DBX Repair Isn't Enough

Sometimes the best way to repair OE is to create a New Identity.

Doing so will not only replace ALL DBX files with fresh ones, but also generates new Registry keys that may have become corrupted.

If the current Identity does not have a problem with the Account
(it can send and receive mail), the Account should be Exported for later Import into the New Identity.

Account Export

Open OE.

Click Tools-Accounts.


Click Mail tab.

Click the Account name and then click the Export button.

Export the file as an IAF file.

Create New Identity

Click File-Identities-Add New Identity.

Type a name for the Identity.

Switch to the New Identity.

Click Cancel on the Internet Connection Wizard.

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To set up your Account into the New Identity, click Tools-Accounts-Mail tab-Import button.
Browse to the IAF file you Exported from the old Identity and click OK.

Test the Account to be sure it sends and receives mail.

If it works properly, Import your messages and contacts from the old Identity

To set the New Identity as the default Identity, click File-Identities-Manage Identities.

Place a check in the box next to "Use this identity when starting a program" and select the New Identity from the drop down.

Set the drop down under "Use this Identity when a program cannot ask you to choose an identity" to the New Identity and click "Close".

Use the New Identity for a while, and once sure you don't need anything from the Old Identity you can Remove it in the Identity Manager.

OE’s Most Common Problem

The one thing that OE suffers from more than anything else is the failure of the DBX files.

The most common symptoms include:

Loss of mail
Inability to delete or move messages
Messages remaining in the Outbox

Loss of mail is usually the result of a total failure of the DBX file and a recovery program will need to be run on the file to extract any messages. Click HERE for more info on that.

The other 2 symptoms are usually caused by mild corruption of the DBX files or simple overloading of the files (DBX’s have a size limit). Both situations can be remedied by selective deletion of the file(s) in question.

In the case of inability to delete or move messages (usually the Inbox), create a new folder in OE. Move all the messages from the Inbox (or the folder with the problem) into the new folder. Open the OE Message Store folder. See HERE for a script to do that. Be sure to close OE before proceeding. In the Message Store folder, find and delete the Inbox.dbx (or the DBX of the problem folder). At this time, I also usually delete the Deleted Items.dbx. If there are messages in the Deleted folder you wish to keep (of course if you wanted them, you probably wouldn’t have deleted them), move them to a new folder before deleting the Deleted Items.dbx.

In the case of messages remaining in the Outbox, often the cause is a full or corrupt Sent Items.dbx. In OE, move all messages from the Sent Items folder to a new folder. Open the OE Message Store folder and delete the Sent Items.dbx. While in the Store folder, you should delete the Outbox.dbx as well.

When OE is reopened, the deleted DBX files will automatically be replaced with fresh files and hopefully your problem will be solved.