DD has made my precious E-mail message archive unreachable
My most recent use of Disk Director 11 has had a catastrophic immediate consequence:- my (irreplaceable) personal data has become at least partly inaccessible even though continuing to be visible in exactly the same form and location as before. My personal data resides on my D:\ drive, and I used DD to resize this drive. After first shrinking the G:\ drive so as to create unallocated space on that disk (Disk 2) I then moved it in order to position the new unallocated space next to D:\, and finally resized D:\ to occupy all of that adjoining space.
I attach the relevant log entries.
I also attach System Report, but the following expands on that.
At some stage in the operation sequence (which I can't now recall) there began to be signs that all was not going as planned. Sure enough, since the operation completed I've been unable to restore Outlook Express to its former state. All my .dbx files (and .wab files) are on my D:\ drive and in Outlook Express -> Tools -> Options -> Maintenance tab -> Store Folder still points to that location with the correct file-path. But OE does not see any of the .dbx files in that location nor does it find the .wab files also residing on my D:\ drive (in their own sub-folder within the same folder, "E-mail"); I constantly get error-messages saying Address Book isn't installed, OE is corrupt, etc. Beginning from after the DD operation new E-mails are starting to accumulate, but none previous to it can be accessed nor are any of my own additional folders present.
Btw, System Restore also no longer has any restore points prior to the DD operation.
additional info
Since writing the above I have installed Windows Live Mail and have attempted to import my OE messages (in OE 6 format) into that. Despite my pointing to a folder containing ALL my messages, the only ones imported are those few which post-date the DD operation described above. Evidently everything before that is not being seen.
I'm in desperate need of help and guidance as to how I can retrieve my precious data, visible but unreachable.
EDIT
I'm also attaching the WLM log in case it sheds any further light
According to the system report there are errors on almost every single drive. It is possible these are file system errors or bad sectors.
I would recommend creating a sector-by-sector backup of your system to a new backup location and then run a check disk scan of your original disks using the /r parameter.
I created a new sector-by-sector backup of my system (C:\) drive, which I assume was what you intended.
None of the symptoms listed in the KB article you linked-to have occurred, nor have any other Acronis error-messages. Nevertheless I followed your recommendation to run chkdsk /r.
To nil effect.
The problem is that as a result of using DD to carry-out certain operations my system has become damaged in the way you describe. The absolute top priority for me is to regain access to my personal data
You can also use a third-party data recovery utility to recover your data.
WHAT "third party...utility"? Seeing that it is Acronis's product which has caused the damage it seems to my simple mind that this is just passing the buck. So far as I'm concerned the onus is on Acronis to help me get my data back.
Please let me know if you have additional questions.
Anton
I don't seem to be getting through to you.
In case it's not already clear enough, the situation is that NONE of my "questions" have so far been addressed by you.
Because of the holiday season I've been curbing my impatience, but can I remind you of the salient facts? ON 21 DECEMBER, I used Acronis DD to perform certain routine operations with the result that my computer has EVER SINCE been seriously disabled. Certain tasks I routinely carry-out at the end of each month (most importantly, our household accounts) are suspended - at the moment indefinitely - while I await receiving your help in getting my computer fully functional again.
You have carried-out no diagnosis, have asked me no questions and have done no follow-up. What kind of help do you call that?
If the Outlook email files have been corrupted I doubt there's going to be a way to get them back. This is one of the reasons that I stress making a backup before making partitioning changes. It's too easy for things to go wrong and cause data loss, especially when using "automatic" or "reboot" modes. Additionally, if there are existing file system errors on the partition(s) they can cause further corruption.
It looks like you performed all the operations in one procedure, which is something I don't recommend. It's much safer to resize each partition one at a time and make sure things are right before going to the next step, though if you have a backup of the drive it becomes less risky.
Are the DBX file sizes correct? Do they match what they were before? For example, are they large files or small files (like very new)? Have you verified permissions are correct for accessing the files/folder (may cause issues on some systems)? I've also seen cases where people look in the wrong place for their email files and end up getting older/empty files instead of what they want.
Have you opened the DBX files in a hex editor to look at the contents? Do they look correct (compare how data looks vs. a good DBX file) or does part of it look correct and part looks like random garbage (usually a sign of corruption)? If the data looks okay you might see if you can find a DBX repair tool to check them.
It's normal for System Restore to fail after partitioning changes. Also, I don't think System Restore would have recovered your email files even if it did work.
Acronis does not provide official help on the forum (this is mainly a user-to-user forum). If you want official help you would need to contact Acronis Support directly and there may be a fee for it.
Hi MudCrab
I'm most grateful to you for responding to my cries for help (which it proved as usual to be a complete waste of time to direct at the true culprits - Acronis). Anton's (formulaic) response - written by a computer I presume - conveys only arrogant indifference, as does the fact that Acronis directed their attention only to removing my critical comments (made in an attempt to provoke them into making *some* response) rather than doing anything useful.
If you want official help you would need to contact Acronis Support directly and there may be a fee for it.
says it all. The cold fact is that Acronis is interested solely in extracting as much loot as possible as speedily as possible from the pockets of its unfortunate customers. If I lived in the USA I'd seriously consider suing them for making fraudulent claims in their advertising.
I appreciate that you, on the other hand, are motivated by disinterested professionalism and a desire to help those who (like me) lack expertise.
Have you opened the DBX files in a hex editor to look at the contents? Do they look correct (compare how data looks vs. a good DBX file) or does part of it look correct and part looks like random garbage (usually a sign of corruption)?
I don't know how to open them in a hex editor (not sure that I've got one installed); but following your suggestion to look for a repair tool I did some googling and have downloaded and tried-out DBXtract.
According to Bruce Hagen's guidelines here:-http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_xp-windows_pro…
my DBX files definitely seem to have become corrupted, because I can't restore them by using the method he lays out at the start. But DBXtract is able to recover all 500+ of them as individual .ems files, so that's something.
And BTW it's not only the DBX files I can't access but some among (not, for some reason, all of) my Lotus 'Work' sub-folder files.