We took off Office 2000.

And with it likely went the file containing the address book. You're looking for a file with a .pst extension.

If Office deleted the file when you removed it...you may be able to recover it. Ontrack allows you to recover one file with their demo. I would also urge you to use the computer as little as possible as you attempt to recover the file.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ontrack

I would not think AVAST renewal had anything to do with it at all. I think as stated you removed the program that it was associated with is more likely. I have not had any dealings with OE or Outlook in many years so will be of no help on this one.

It was not AVAST, but something came up that there was a missing file or? so being me, I decided to fix it. Yep I did. I am going ask a friend of mine who owns a computer shop to help me out. Before I attempt what Mike suggested. I do have a back up of the who computer on a hard drive, so that may help, but will ask someone else before I really do something interesting.
Thanks
Marie

Let me try to come up with a useful analogy to describe how a hard drive works. Imagine a very large filing cabinet but it differs from a traditional filing cabinet in three very important ways. First there are an finite number of folders for storing your records and each folder has a unique number. Second, instead of being organized in a traditional fashion (like alphabetically) there is an index and the ONLY way to find, say, your electric bill from November 2004, is look at the index and then go to the folder. Got it so far?

So when you put away November 2011 electric bill, you first look at the index for an available spot and then put the bill in that folder. When you want to look at the bill, you go to the index and then to the folder.

Now let's say you want to toss (or to use the computer term "delete") that electric bill from 2004. Instead of going to the index, finding the appropriate folder, and pulling out the old electric bill, your computer just erases the entry from the index. The bill is still in it's folder but you just can't find it. (Third difference, if you were counting.)

But, you say, what happens when I need to reuse the folder that old electric bill is? Well, that's when the computer actually deletes the file. The problem is that there's no way to accurately predict when that is going to happen. It might happen in 5 seconds, 5 minutes, 5 hours, 5 days, or 5 years.

So what recovery software does is instead of looking through the index first, it goes through every folder looking at what's in the folder and comparing it to the index. When it finds a mismatch, it goes "ah-hah" and starts making a list of the mismatches, which you can look at a decide if the information appears useful. If you want to keep it, the recovery software just adds that folder back to the index.

This is why it is SO important not to just toss a computer hard drive, even if you format it first. Because formatting just erases the index, all the stuff in your folders is still here!

Make sense?

I don't really think it will help with a Microsoft application, but you could give RECUVA a try.

DA

Mike: Thanks for taking the time to explain, in terms we can understand, of how the hard drive works. I learn so much from reading these threads, even if I'm not having the problem (thank goodness) of the original poster. - June

My reply to the post you have about this on KT

it makes it very difficult when you post on other places beside computer help, then those of us on computer help are giving you suggestions not knowing that other sources are also making suggestions that you may be trying. It really confuses the issue. Please always let us on computer help know the things you are trying so we know what has been done and what has not been tried.

using any windows restore disc is not going to fix this problem it will not bring it back if it was removed. If you meant you might try some type of file recovery you may be able to do that.
Have you tried a system restore? That is always my first course of action to try it is fast easy and if it does not work you can always reverse it.

In the post you started about this over there you mention doing a few other things please tell us everything you can any bit may be helpful to determine what happened.

and now I lost all my emails address book etc from my outlook express.

I might search advanced/hidden for username.wab Windows Address Book. or just *.wab
probably here.....
C:\Documents and Settings\user\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book\user.wab

and for *.dbx for the email database

Marie, this has been mentioned before to others...I am not trying to be nasty, only helpful...when choosing a subject for a post, you should give some hint as to what the problem is. In your case maybe "Lost Outlook email addresses". So, if others maybe having similar problems, they would be able to search and it would come up with your post....Using a subject like " OK, I really need help" really does not benefit others when trying to solve a similar problem through this site's search function..
I am not on a patrol picking on people just trying to help them in the future should the never ever arise...thanks

Gene

I believe Windows Address Book (*.wab) is for Outlook Express not Outlook.

Yeah, it wasnt mentioned which one, so took a stab...any mention of either one in the subject line would have been helpful

I saw Office 2000 and assumed Outlook. Of course, she could have been using Outlook Express instead but I don't think removing Office 2000 would do anything to the WAB.

She did mention it was outlook express in the OP

"I lost all my emails address book etc from my outlook express"

Well, it seems that I didn't read the original message carefully enough. Although I don't think that removing Office should effect Outlook Express. Maybe we should wait for the OP to clarify whether she was using Outlook that's part of Office or Outlook Express.