We use Outlook Express 6 in our office to download Email. As messages are received in our Inbox they are moved to folders according to subject or sender.
We keep the default folders such as Inbox, Sent, Deleted Items, etc. empty. The total disk usage for all the folders we have created in OE 6 is over 8 GB with some of the individual foders at more than 500 MB in size.
The folders are compacted periodically, but on a couple of occasions some messages have been lost after compacting. I have read conflicting statements about the maximum space OE 6 messages can occupy - 200 MB max to 2 GB max.
What are the true limits of the disk space allowed for Email in OE 6? Is the maximum space allowed the total of all the foldes or are there limits for the folders we create? If there are limits, and one needs to keep Email messages indefinitely, how can one maintain access through OE 6 to old messages?
Hope this makes sense. Your comments would be appreciated.
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Islip,
Even though OE fix size limit is 2 GB, it should never approach that size. You will start having trouble with the file once over 500 MB.
Compacting is can corrupt the files, so I suggest never compact unless you have a backup of the file.
Once over 500 MB, you should start archiving the emails to other folders.
War1,
I know.. .I was just mentioning it in case he had thoughts of using Outlook instead of OE.
Maybe Thunderbird would be a good alternative in this situation:
"Folders and messages
Outlook 2002 (and earlier versions) has a 2GB limit for the maximum size of a .PST file. It stores all of the folders in a central file. Outlook Express stores each folder in a seperate .DBX file, which has a 2GB maximum size. Thunderbird stores each folder in a separate text file, using the mbox format.
There is no known limit on the number of folders. The maximum size of a folder is 4GB unless the file system limits the maximum file size to a lower value. This shouldn't be an issue unless you're using OS/2. The mbox files (your folders) are stored in a profile folder on your boot disk by default. This would normally limit how much mail you can store to the free space on your boot disk. However, you can use the Profile Manager to create a profile wherever you want (including file shares). It's also possible to configure the mail directories and/or the Local Folders directory to be stored outside of the profile, on any drive or directory. This means the effective limit is how much free disk space you have. "
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by: jared_lukerPosted on 2007-02-27 at 14:43:49ID: 18621222
outlook express folders are limited to 2GB per folder (per .dbx file), the number of messages you can store will vary depending upon the size of the messages and attachments.