Where does Longhorn 4074 WinFS store Outlook Express emails?

[Emir214]

Because I could not get StoreSpy included with WinFS Beta 1 to import Outlook messages, I decided to import messages in Longhorn build 4074 through Outlook Express, thinking that I would then copy the emails to my XP VM running StoreSpy. I imported the emails successfully, and copied the Inbox folder where these emails were contained according to the Search I made (see image of Search window from 4074). However, when I opened every folder in the Inbox folder, it turned out they were empty. The Inbox folder itself has only folders and no files.

So where does WinFS in Longhorn 4074 store Outlook Express emails?

[ATeamInc]

The default store is just a network share for the

Code: Select all

%systemroot%\system32\WinFS\Data

directory. IIRC you have to stop WinFS to be able to access the data (make sure to stop the WinFS service and the WinFPM service as well). About the emails I am not 100% sure but they seem to be stored in the data store so a good idea is to look there first.

[Emir214]

The default store is just a network share for the

Code: Select all

%systemroot%\system32\WinFS\Data

directory. IIRC you have to stop WinFS to be able to access the data (make sure to stop the WinFS service and the WinFPM service as well). About the emails I am not 100% sure but they seem to be stored in the data store so a good idea is to look there first.

I accessed the

Code: Select all

%systemroot%\system32\WinFS\Data

folder, and it does not look like it is the DefaultStore. The contents are different.



Although I stopped WinFS, I cannot copy the Data folder itself. The disk I'm saving to is not a read-only disk.



I restarted, which reconnected the network adapter, and disabled WinFS services. This time, I was able to copy the files on the Data folder.



And eventually, I was able to copy the entire folder.



In short: A connected network adapter is required to copy the Data folder and its contents.

Thanks again for the reply, ATeamInc. Would you know how to interpret (open and understand the contents of) these files?

[ATeamInc]

*snip*

The mdf and ldf files are SQL server databases, and you can't really open these so don't bother (unless you have a prerelease internal version 580 of SQL Sever 2005 which I doubt). You have to check the \filestream directory if I'm not mistaken. It should have a structure similar to the defaultstore.

EDIT: I'm gonna reinstall 4074 and check for myself just to be sure. WinFS on 4093 worked that way so it might have been different on 4074. Hang on.

[Emir214]

*snip*

The mdf and ldf files are SQL server databases, and you can't really open these so don't bother (unless you have a prerelease internal version 580 of SQL Sever 2005 which I doubt). You have to check the \filestream directory if I'm not mistaken. It should have a structure similar to the defaultstore.

EDIT: I'm gonna reinstall 4074 and check for myself just to be sure. WinFS on 4093 worked that way so it might have been different on 4074. Hang on.

These are the contents of the filestream\ folder



No, I don't have a prerelease internal version 580 of SQL Server 2005. Why do you know the exact version number?

[ATeamInc]

Why do you know the exact version number?

Because I ran into a whole ton of problems to get WinFS to work on 4093 (which has version 581 not 580). Turns out WinFS does not work fine on VMware's SCSI adapter on 4093 and I still do not know why is that.

Until 4074 installs on my end you can try searching for the folders located in the DefaultStore on your PC and most probably they are somewhere in the system's WinFS installation.

[ATeamInc]

Okay my bad, the share related to the Data directory is actually SQL_WinFSCatalog. The DefaultStore is actually a device driver share (see image below).

I'm not sure what this relates to but the used files by WinFS are the filestream and filestream header files. Odd.


I could not get my email to properly work with Outlook Express. You're using Gmail, right? And that's odd because I use Outlook Express 6 on NT4 with the same email without problems. I just got a Google warning that the sign-in was malicious and was blocked this time.

Anyway, I tried creating contacts. They showed up in the DefaultStore as empty folders.



I tried stopping WinFS and now I get a log-in prompt.


Logging on as SYSTEM does not help. I can't access the DefaultStore at all. Plus, the system lags like hell and explorer crashes eventually.




I don't think WinFS works that way. What I suspect it does is that it creates folders with the IDs of objects which can be seen in the DefaultStore and the actual data is stored in the SQL database. I don't really know how WinFS actually works (other than that it is built on SQL) so I can't tell.

[Emir214]

ATeamInc, thank you for the explanation how WinFS works in 4074.

I could not get my email to properly work with Outlook Express. You're using Gmail, right? And that's odd because I use Outlook Express 6 on NT4 with the same email without problems. I just got a Google warning that the sign-in was malicious and was blocked this time.

How do you know I used a Gmail account? I checked the thread but I didn't mention it here, nor in the screenshots.

I followed these instructions to allow me to use Gmail on Outlook Express. It worked.

I don't think WinFS works that way. What I suspect it does is that it creates folders with the IDs of objects which can be seen in the DefaultStore and the actual data is stored in the SQL database. I don't really know how WinFS actually works (other than that it is built on SQL) so I can't tell.

This is really a shame, because I really wanted to copy those emails (and now that you mention it, contacts) on my XP SP2 installation running WinFS Beta 1. I wanted to play with that as much as possible as an end user and not as a developer. Oh well. The only option then is to study the Beta 1 SDK to find out how to make contacts from scratch. Nothing about emails sadly. Gave up trying to import them through StoreSpy.

Thanks again for the help and for the documentation.

[ATeamInc]

How do you know I used a Gmail account? I checked the thread but I didn't mention it here, nor in the screenshots.

I followed these instructions to allow me to use Gmail on Outlook Express. It worked.

It makes sense. Some of your emails are from Google.
I tried using IMAP but I actually forgot to give POP a try. Not sure if the Google article mentions it but you also have to enable access for less secure apps, which of course I have.

Offtopic Comment

I forgot to say that you have to use the WinSSL library under NT4 with Outlook, if anyone's reading this thread and is curious on how it's done. The one for Windows 98 works fine but the installer does not; you have to manually extract the files and store them somewhere. The SSL certificate has to be on the root of a drive for some reason due to filename issues as well.

This is really a shame, because I really wanted to copy those emails (and now that you mention it, contacts) on my XP SP2 installation running WinFS Beta 1. I wanted to play with that as much as possible as an end user and not as a developer. Oh well. The only option then is to study the Beta 1 SDK to find out how to make contacts from scratch. Nothing about emails sadly. Gave up trying to import them through StoreSpy.

You were getting an error since there's no GAL right? I sadly can't find how to create a GAL; it seems it has to be downloaded automatically from the server.
I suggest you try to use some other email account that has IMAP capability (you can try hotmail but I'm not sure if these still work) and see if your GAL is automatically synced from the server. Try mailing a few addresses as well.

Thanks again for the help and for the documentation.

No problem, your work is awesome.

[Emir214]

It makes sense. Some of your emails are from Google.
I tried using IMAP but I actually forgot to give POP a try. Not sure if the Google article mentions it but you also have to enable access for less secure apps, which of course I have.

Oh, I see. I didn't censor out "imap.gmail.com" in the first screenshot. My bad.

You were getting an error since there's no GAL right? I sadly can't find how to create a GAL; it seems it has to be downloaded automatically from the server.
I suggest you try to use some other email account that has IMAP capability (you can try hotmail but I'm not sure if these still work) and see if your GAL is automatically synced from the server. Try mailing a few addresses as well.

My outlook.com account was my first choice, but it would not sync, neither with Outlook 2003 nor with Outlook Express in 4074. I think it's because I don't have an Office 365 subscription.

Thanks again for the help and for the documentation.

No problem, your work is awesome.

Thank you for the compliment. Your help has been awesome as well.

Edit (2 April 2021, 18:23): "Oh, I see. I didn't censor out "imap.gmail.com" in the first screenshot. My bad."