Folder modification time changing

[A2Zog]

It seems that whenever I open OE on my home machine, the modification times
on all my folders is updated even though they are not actually.

This causes somewhat of an issue when I synchronize the folders to my
Briefcase because all the mail folders are copied every time, which takes a
while for a pack rat like me.

Seems to be a new behavior as it didn't happen before and still hasn't
happened on my work machine.

Home machine is running OE 6.00.2900.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Any time an OE folder is "written to" it's corresponding DBX file is
Modified. A folder is "written to" when:

1. the folder is opened;

2. a new message arrives in the folder;

3. a message is deleted from the folder; and

4. the folder is compacted.

This is not new behavior.

> This causes somewhat of an issue when I synchronize the folders to my

> Briefcase...

What do you do with/how do you use the OE-related folders in your Briefcase?
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/

[Steve Cochran]

5. Messages in the folder are marked as read.
6. The folder is imported into OE
7. The user exits the folder.

"PA Bear [MS MVP]" <PABe...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:%23Jro2lh...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

[A2Zog]

None of these events is happening (as far as I can tell,) and yet the
modification time is still being updated.

If I simply start OE and do nothing, the modification time on all the dbx
files is updated even though:
1) no folders are opened (except Inbox)
2) no messages are sent/received
3) no messages are deleted (see 1 above)
4) no compaction is done (not done manually and not done automatically on
exit since I didn't exit)
(and following on a separate reply)
5) no messages are markes as read (see 1 above)
6) no folders are imported
7) no folders are exited (see 1 above)

I will add the following information, that my work machine shows the same
version stamp for OE as my home machine. This would lead me to believe it is
a system setting or image corruption issue. I'll start looking in other
groups too.

Any more thoughts?

Regarding the Briefcase question: I simply copy my message store folder to a
USB drive briefcase, and then sync at work. These issues are happening on the
store folder at home, but not on the store folder at work. Curious.

I've been doing this for years, and this has just started on the one machine.

[A2Zog]

Further (and final) follow-up...

I "uninstalled" the OE component and then reinstalled it and all is now
working again. I cannot begin to fathom the cause of this behavior, but so be
it.

Thanks for listening!

"PA Bear [MS MVP]" wrote:

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Ta.

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

> Regarding the Briefcase question: I simply copy my message store folder to
> a
> USB drive briefcase, and then sync at work. These issues are happening on
> the store folder at home, but not on the store folder at work. Curious.
>
> I've been doing this for years, and this has just started on the one

> [home] machine.

>>> Home machine is running OE 6.00.2900.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)

And the work machine is running...?

Is Windows (Desktop) Search installed on either machine? Is Email Scanning
(by anti-virus app) enabled on either machine? Is an anti-spam application
installed or enabled on either machine?

[Steve might have something to say about syncing the message stores that
way.]

[A2Zog]

I spoke too soon...

While it seemed to work after the install, I discovered that sometime
between Thursday and now, all the Folders have again been updated. (Actually,
I can tell that it was Friday afternoon when I started OE on my home machine
after work. I can also say that none of those files were sync'd from work at
that time.)

The work machine is also running XP, with the same version of OE.

No to Windows Search
Yes to email scanner, but on both machines. Norton. Though the home machine
does run the full NIS, but just Virus at work.

"PA Bear [MS MVP]" wrote:

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Disable email scanning by your anti-virus application. It provides no
additional protection, it may be related to the behavior you're seeing, and
even Symantec says it's not necessary:

<QP>
Disabling Email Scanning does not leave you unprotected against viruses that
are distributed as email attachments. Norton AntiVirus Auto-Protect scans
incoming files as they are saved to your hard drive, including email and
email attachments. Email Scanning is just another layer on top of this. To
make sure that Auto-Protect is providing the maximum protection, keep
Auto-Protect enabled and run LiveUpdate regularly to ensure that you have
the most recent virus definitions.
</QP>
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/nav.nsf/docid/2002111812533106

A2Zog wrote:
> I spoke too soon...
>
> While it seemed to work after the install, I discovered that sometime
> between Thursday and now, all the Folders have again been updated.
> (Actually, I can tell that it was Friday afternoon when I started OE on my
> home machine after work. I can also say that none of those files were
> sync'd from work at that time.)
>
> The work machine is also running XP, with the same version of OE.
>
> No to Windows Search
> Yes to email scanner, but on both machines. Norton. Though the home
> machine
> does run the full NIS, but just Virus at work.

> ...
<snip & paste>

PA Bear [MS MVP] wrote:

>> Regarding the Briefcase question: I simply copy my message store folder
>> to
>> a
>> USB drive briefcase, and then sync at work. These issues are happening on
>> the store folder at home, but not on the store folder at work. Curious.
>>
>> I've been doing this for years, and this has just started on the one

>> [home] machine.

>
>>>> Home machine is running OE 6.00.2900.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
>

[A2Zog]

To: microsoft.public.windows.
Done. No change in behavior.

One other observation: When I start OE the first time after sync-ing the
briefcase, it touches all the files. If I then exit and start again, it does
not. i.e. once it gets in sync, it is OK.

After starting it a couple of times, and having it not update the
modification time, I then restored the Folders.dbx file from my USB drive and
lo and behold, all the files got updated.

Sounds like there is something amiss with its folder inventory!?

I'm going to re-create the Folders.dbx file and then see what happens
tomorrow.

Any other ideas?

---
* Synchronet * The Whitehouse BBS --- whitehouse.hulds.com --- check it out free usenet!
--- Synchronet 3.15a-Win32 NewsLink 1.92
Time Warp of the Future BBS - telnet://time.synchro.net:24

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Does this behavior persist if you do NOT use Briefcase to sync OE on both
machines (i.e., if you temporily forego this syncing for a day or more)?

[A2Zog]

Update:

In response to your question, the behavior does not persist if I do not
update the files over a period of time.

Additionally, if I copy the modified files one at a time to the home system,
and start OE between each file, the problem does not surface until I copy the
Folders.dbx file.

Somehow the Folders.dbx file is updated on the work machine, and then when
it is copied home, OE finds some sort of mis-match and opens (and therefore
changes the modification time of) all the files in the local Folder Store
directory.

I don't know if it is a file/folder name mismatch, a timestamp mismatch, a
versioning mismatch, or what, but something is amiss.

Anyond know of a utility to dump the contents of Folders.dbx?

"PA Bear [MS MVP]" wrote:

> Does this behavior persist if you do NOT use Briefcase to sync OE on both
> machines (i.e., if you temporily forego this syncing for a day or more)?

[much historical trash deleted in the interest of space... see previous
posts for details as needed]

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Thread history:
http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windows.inetexplorer.ie6_outlookexpress/browse_frm/thread/885dd1dde7c04ae9/8961cb130348a5a0?#8961cb130348a5a0

If you know what's good for you (i.e., if you value your messages, your
folder hierarchy, your Message Rules, and your newsgroups), don't mess with
Folders.dbx!

I would also recommend not using My Briefcase to sync OE data between 2
machines. OEX is a much better and more reliable way to do this (via Export
Messages and Import Messages): http://www.oehelp.com/OEX/Default.aspx
($24.99 USD)

--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/

[A2Zog]

Sorry, but not an acceptable solution. This has been working for years... now
it isn't. Something has changed.

Either there is something changed in the folder structure on one (or both)
of the machines, or something has changed in OE. Don't know which, but I want
to find out what. This isn't rocket science, it is software. Deterministic
and controlled by programmers/users.

There's a reason and a cure. If I (or my IT guy) changed something, I'd like
to fix it. If MS changed something, I'd like them to (at least have the
opportunity to) fix it. Barring that, I'll have at least one more reason to
grumble about being a "valued" MS customer. For instance, why do IE bookmarks
now get "modified" when they are only "read"? Don't know, but that is a new
MS IE behavior that bugs me too. Didn't know that happens? You wouldn't
unless you tried to use Briefcase to sync favorites between machines too.

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

I'm not going to argue with you and I can assure you that MS doesn't want to
hear about it.

I can assure you that you wouldn't see this behavior if you used OEX to sync
your folders at home and at work. Likewise if you manually exported each
folder's DBX file and then manually imported the files separately into OE on
the target machine. Neither method would involve FOLDERS.DBX.

Nothing has changed in OE for many, many years: All development was
officially stopped in June 2006 but in practice, it happened earlier than
that.

I'm fully aware of the "last modified" behavior in IE Favorites. (See my
sig.) It's similar to the behavior you're seeing in OE6 and has been that
way for many years now.

Earlier in this thread (30 October), you told us:

<QP>

I "uninstalled" the OE component and then reinstalled it and all is now
working again.

</QP>

You can disable and then re-enable access to OE but you can't
uninstall/reinstall it.

Open OE Help | About | Look in the Files section and tell us what versions
of MSOE.DLL and INETCOMM.DLL are displayed here.

Are you running IE6 or IE7 on the machine at home currently? How about the
machine at work?

IIRC you're running WinXP SP3 on the machine at home: What WinXP version are
you running at work?

Have you recently had occasion to reinstall WinXP on the machine at home?

[James]

hoow are you!
"A2Zog" <A2...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
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