When Outlook Express compacts a .dbx file, it will create a temporary .dbt file under the same folder as the .dbx file. For example, if you are compact Inbox.dbx file, then the temporary file will be Inbox.dbt.
When error occurs during the compact operation and you cannot access your mail folder any more, neither can you recover wanted data from the .dbx file, then it is still possible to recover your data from the temporary .dbt file, as follows:
- Locate the folder where the .dbx file is stored.
- Check if there is a temporary .dbt file under the same folder.
- If yes, then rename it to another file with .dbx file extension, for example, if the .dbt file is called Inbox.dbt, then you can rename it to InboxTemp.dbx.
- Use DataNumen Outlook Express Repair to scan the InboxTemp.dbx file and recover emails from it.