Inbox folder gone
Hallo, as my c-drive was almost full I decided to move my mail folder to the d-drive. All went fine, but then I discovered that all my mails had disappeared. I can find the location where the mails were supposed to be, this not so practical location that ends with \thunderbird\profiles\*****.default\mail. But if I then click on the mailbox name I see an Inbox and an Inbox.msf file, as well as a couple of other files which are very small indeed, just a couple of dozens of kB.
Where have my mails gone and how can I get them back. And if the mails cannot be recovered (I find this hard to believe), why did Thunderbird not warn me that I was about to loose all my mail correspondence?
Looking forward to your reply, best regards, tvanellen
All Replies (7)
as my c-drive was almost full I decided to move my mail folder to the d-drive.
And how exactly did you do that?
Via Account/Account settings. There is a possibility to enter a local folder to store your messages. Instead of the "\thunderbird\profiles\*****.default\mail - location, I entered another directory on another drive. Thunderbird asked me to restart, which I duly did. Not much later I noticed that all my mails had vanished.
The 'Local Directory' setting should only be used by people who know exactly what they are doing. Entering a different path there doesn't move anything. It just tells Thunderbird where to look for the mail files. You'd need to copy the corresponding mail files and directory structure manually to the desired location.
Note, this forum is full of failed attempts to mess with this setting, so be warned.
Regardless of that, it's always recommended to have a current backup of your Thunderbird profile. https://support.mozilla.org/kb/profiles-where-thunderbird-stores-user-data#w_backing-up-a-profile
Thank you Chris. The problem is that I cannnot find the inbox file anymore at its "\thunderbird\profiles\*****.default\mail - location. The strange thing is that Thunderbird can still find the mailmessages when I type a mail address in the search bar, but fails to open them when I click on them.
Could it be that somehow the messages were zapped when I compressed my mails, as Thundebird kept on asking me to do? Would there be any way to recover the messages? Would it be helpful it I posted some screenshots of what there is in the different directories?
Ironically, the fact that Thunderbird kept on asking me to compress my mails was basically the reason for me to try and free some space by moving the directory to another drive.
I'd also like to remark (please note, Thunderbird developpers) that if it is absolutely not recommended to tinker with the local directory, I wonder why the possibility is offered so openly and why there is no warning for an unsuspecting user like myself to be very careful.
The problem is that I cannnot find the inbox file anymore at its "\thunderbird\profiles\*****.default\mail - location.
Can you post a screenshot of the directory where you'd expect Inbox to be in Windows Explorer? https://support.mozilla.org/kb/how-do-i-create-screenshot-my-problem
Thunderbird can still find the mailmessages when I type a mail address in the search bar, but fails to open them when I click on them.
Assuming you're using Global Search, the results are from an index, not the actual data.
Could it be that somehow the messages were zapped when I compressed my mails, as Thundebird kept on asking me to do?
Thunderbird does not ask you to compress anything. It would ask you to compact (or purge) folders. That's not the same thing. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/compacting-folders
Anti-virus software can corrupt Thunderbird mail files (including data loss). But you'll probably notice only when Thunderbird is trying to repair the damage done before. Whether this is the case here, I don't know. And it's not related to the original problem.
Would it be helpful it I posted some screenshots of what there is in the different directories?
Absolutely.
I'd also like to remark (please note, Thunderbird developpers) that if it is absolutely not recommended to tinker with the local directory, I wonder why the possibility is offered so openly and why there is no warning for an unsuspecting user like myself to be very careful.
There is nothing wrong with using the 'Local directory' setting if you know what you're doing. The problem is when people assume how things work, and don't make the effort to verify what a certain setting does, and what not. Then the result is often a mess.
Please find my replies to your questions 4 screenshots are attached:
1) On the Inbox directory - nr 1 shows the ****.default directory. It contains several mailboxes, the one I'm missing is pop.skynet.be - nr 2 lists the contents of the pop.skynet.be - the Inbox is 0 kB, whereas it should contain a lot of messages, going back to at least 2003 - nr 3 lists the different mailboxes connected to the Thunderbird program running on this computer.
If you'd like to see more screenshots, please let me know.
2) As far as the index is concerned, I'm absolutely happy it's still there but it is the messages I'm really looking for.
3) OK, good to know. FYI: Maybe compress is not the correct translation of the Dutch message I'm getting. See sreenshot 4 for the actual message, which according to Google translates into: "Want to compress all local and offline folders to save disk space? This saves you about 1.2 GB." I'm quite sure it is a Thunderbird message.
4) On the last point, I think we have a different opinion ;)
Looking very much forward to yr reply
Looking at your second screenshot, all mail files are from either 2008 or 2015. So I doubt the mail data underneath pop.skynet.be is what you're looking for.
Did you look underneath 'Local Folders'? If your account(s) are POP, do you have Global Inbox turned on? http://kb.mozillazine.org/Global_Inbox