Any hope for saved email files?

[CuRoi]

Some time ago I copied all my Outlook Express email files to a CD and then, back in Outlook Express, deleted everything earlier than 2002. Since then, I've installed Win XP Home in place of Win ME which I was running previously.

Recently for the first time I wanted to access some of those old files, but I found that Outlook Express 6 doesn't recognize them. Whether I try to import them from the CD or first copy them into a backup directory on my HDD, and whether I tell the wizard to import Outlook Express 4 or Outlook Express 6 files (the only OE choices), I get the same error message: "There are no message files in this folder, or another application is using them." (None was.)

I tried importing them into Netscape Messenger to see if OE would then be willing to import them back. But v 4.7, which is on my wife's machine, imported only a few of the oldest files; the rest were apparently from a later version of OE that it couldn't deal with. Then I downloaded v 7.1, but it's way too slick: it automatically finds and imports all the files on my local copy of OE, but it won't let me tell it to look anywhere else.

Is there any way I can get these messages back, or are they gone forever?

Charlie

[andyms18a]

try to open the file you want to look at in notepad

[Force Flow]

Make sure that in the file attributes, read-only is unchecked.

[CuRoi]

GOOD GRIEF!! [Pounds skull repeatedly.] I'd hate to tell you how many times I've opened one of these files with Notepad, looked at the resulting screenful of garbage, and concluded that there was nothing else in the file. This time, however, way deep down, I found the texts of the messages -- a bit garbaged up, but quite recoverable.

I don't know how I was stupid enough to miss that before. Of course, now that I come to think of it, I always left the opera before the fat lady sang, too. I wondered why everybody else was still hanging around, but at least I was the first one out of the parking lot.

Anyway, thanks for your help. I'll try to have something real to bother you all about next time.

Charlie