Outlook 2003 Inbox Files

[Ed Wood]

Where does Outlook 2003 store the contents of the Inbox folder? I was trying
to clean up some problems with my Contacts folder, and all of my email in the
inbox from 11/2006 to the present are gone.

All of my contacts are still current, so I thought the inbox files would be
in a different location than the outlook.pst file.

Would it be possible to do a system restore choosing the previous days date,
and recover the missing inbox files?

Something I have just discovered: If I open my contacts folder by clicking
the contacts button on the lower left side of Outlook screen, there are only
a few contacts listed there. However, if I click on the "new" button on the
mail screen, then in the "untitled" new email window I click on the "To", it
opens up a different contact list that has all of my contacts there. Much
more than under the "Contacts" button described above.

Also, in the compose email window, I noticed that the "Select Names" dialog
box that opens shows two files named "contacts" under the pulldown window
that is labeled "Show names from the:". The information found in these two
contact lists is different. One has the contacts of the "Contact" button, and
the other has the one opened by clicking on the "To" button in the email
compose screen.

I don't understand why the difference in these two, and how you can combine
them, or eliminate one of them. Also, does the one that has my complete
contact list also contain the "inbox" files?

If I haven't totally confused you, I would appreciate any suggestions anyone
might have.

Thanks,

 

[DL]

All data is stored in the pst file

You could check your archive pst - simply open it within OL
And check your View settings
System restore does not work on data, only settings
You 'may' have created a new Contacts folder

 

[Ed Wood]

Thanks, DL, for the response.

I haven't tried what you suggested yet, but it looks like somehow I did
create a new contact database that deleted all of my inbox files. When I went
to the recycle bin, and undeleted an outlook.pst file that I had deleted, it
contained the old files from last year, but nothing from 2007!

I don't know what it did with the current inbox files other than deleting
them. If so, they were not put in the recycle bin. Also, I do not know how to
remove one of the two contact lists that shows up in the "select names from:"
pull down window in the compose a new message screen.

Any suggestions?