How do I re-index Storage Folders in Windows Live Mail under Win 7?

I solved my problems, with this re-index instructions. I give a very BIG thankyou to FireDog.

(After reading lots of junk about how to delete those undeletable messages, asking to repair, uninstall and reinstall. I didn't repair the app, the problem was in the data).

I had diverse problems...

Problem A:

Some folders just didn't display any content. Not even "this folder is empty" message. But their properties showed they had XX messages. Of course, trying to empty deleted items was unsuccesfull with message telling "Could not delete... to try later."

Every time WLMail started it showed "Recovering message store...".

Problem B:

Delete a message was impossible. Due to the ·deleted items" folder was damaged.

I noted, "Shift-delete" worked fine, but "delete" won't.

Problem C:

Re-indexing as suggested in your post was not running because "the folder is in use".

So I recalled I readed in some other page to set advanced maintenance option "Empty deleted items folder on exit" to be set. So... I unchecked that option, because this one was preventing re-indexation.

My add to SOLUTION :=) wich worked!!!

Add to step 4. above:

Also make sure the "Empy deleted items folder on exit" option is unchecked.

Happy MessageStore re-indexing.

Javier

It seems that with your way, WLM is forced to re-index all the folders, therefore it worked!

most likely that's how it works.

However I believe that WLM on today should not have these problems, I mean, we are in 2015, is already available WIN10 and WLM is not able to make a simple e-mail recovery, that is absurd!

It seems that with your way, WLM is forced to re-index all the folders, therefore it worked!

(I'm sorry for my english, I'm Italian)

I also recently I had the same problem and after several attempts I solved in this way: premise, of course before making the recovery I had made the backup of emails trought WLM in a folder.

Open explorer and go to the folder where you did the mails' backup, take ONLY the final folder and move it somewhere else (I have put on the desktop), then using WLM I always imported ALL folders that I needed at once and it worked! But if I tried importing the same folders leaving the way it was before was not working.

Now I do not know if this worked only for me or if it can work for you, try if you have not yet solved.

Here link of all screen: https://www.dropbox.com/sc/yf2o0o5ov1ybeug/AAA-Ev8UoCavu-ImGCa7qQ4Va

I believe I found a more efficient solution than the last one mentinoned (provided that you have a vaild backup of the .eml files in another folder. If you don't and you are sure that the mails themselves in the bad indexed folder are not corrupted -meaning that when you double click on them they open and they are correct- make a copy of the .eml files to another folder):

in WLM create a new folder, with no messages. Leave the WLM open showing that new empty folder. Then, in Windows Explorer, locate the backup folder with the .eml files and drug'n'drop them into the newly created folder in WLM. After you have double checked that you have transferred all your corrupted emails to the new folder you may safely delete your bad indexed folder. Repeat the process for every problematic folder.

The above was tested in WLM 2012 but I strongly believe it will work on WLM 2011 also (maybe on older versions too).