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All my sent e-mails have disappeared but when I use the search feature I can find the start of the e-mail but no attachments. How do I recover the lost emails?

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  • Last reply by Toad-Hall

ricktls
ricktls
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I went to look up an previously sent e-mail and only the header information would appear. If I went to the search field and entered parameters the beginning part of the email would appear in the search results but wouldn't open. Tried a right click on the sent folder to repair it and when I did all but the last 7 e-mails disappeared. Can still find the beginning part of the email using the search field.

I went to look up an previously sent e-mail and only the header information would appear. If I went to the search field and entered parameters the beginning part of the email would appear in the search results but wouldn't open. Tried a right click on the sent folder to repair it and when I did all but the last 7 e-mails disappeared. Can still find the beginning part of the email using the search field.

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Toad-Hall
Toad-Hall
  • Top 10 Contributor
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re :Tried a right click on the sent folder to repair it and when I did all but the last 7 e-mails disappeared.

This reindexed the .msf file to show what was actually in the Sent folder.

re : If I went to the search field and entered parameters the beginning part of the email would appear in the search results but wouldn't open.

This is because the global search still has old info, but cannot display the actual email because it is possibly not there.

There are two things you need to do. First, remove the old global-messages-db.sqlite file as it shows old data. Second, try to see if the missing emails have been 'marked as deleted' and hidden from view. If they are in the 'Deleted/Trash' folder, move them back to Sent folder. If not in 'Deleted folder, check the file in your Profile folder.

Make hidden files and folders visible: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Show_hidden_files_and_folders The AppData folder is folder is a hidden folder; to show hidden folders, open a Windows Explorer window and choose "Organize → Folder and Search Options → Folder Options → View (tab) → Show hidden files and folders".

Help > Troubleshooting Information

  • Click on 'Show folder'

A window opens showing Profile folder

  • close Thunderbird now - this is important.
  • scroll down, look for this file and delete it: global-messages-db.sqlite - It will be rebuilt when you restart Thunderbird.
  • click on 'Mail' folder
  • click on 'Mail account name' folder

Look for 'Sent' file (not Sent.msf) and open using Notepad

All emails are listed one after the other. They start with these lines: Example:

  • From - Fri Apr 24 15:49:42 2015
  • X-Mozilla-Status: 0001
  • X-Mozilla-Status2: 00800000

Use the Edit > Find look for lines like the one below which has a 0009 number.

  • X-Mozilla-Status: 0009

If you cannot locate any emails with 0009 status then they are gone.

Otherwise:

  • change the 0009 to 0001
  • Work through the document changing the 0009 to 0001 and save the file.
  • Then delete the 'Sent.msf' file.

Restart Thunderbird