Understanding DBX Files

Let us try and get an overview of Outlook Express user files i.e. dbx files. Each folder that you see in the Outlook Express Folder list is stored on your hard disk as a single file with the same name as the folder but with the extension DBX added at the end, such as “Inbox.dbx” and “Sent Items.dbx”.

All these DBX email archive files are stored in a single Windows folder called Store Folder. The Store Folder is usually located deep inside Documents and Settings folder in Windows 2000 and Windows XP, and is by default marked as a hidden folder. This makes it tricky to find your Store Folder in Windows Explorer, but there is a very good reason for this. One source of DBX corruption is trying to open and edit a DBX file yourself.

It is sufficient to know that a message inside a DBX is not simply a string of text that you can read, but rather is broken up into parts, which are not assembled into a readable message until you access the related folder in Outlook Express. Also, please be aware that changing even a single byte in a DBX file might cause the file completely unusable by Outlook Express.