Missing emails
I have used Thunderbird for a while and had saved emails from a lineone account (I think it is an IMAP account). Until recently I had the regular folders available (inbox, sent, junk etc) for the account available in Thunderbird.
The actual email account itself was opened about 15 years ago and couple of years changed so I could no longer gain access to the email account but the old emails remained in Thunderbird as did the folders.
I now need to access some of the emails from the account that should be on Thunderbird but have found that all folders have disappeared except for the inbox, which is shown as empty.
I have searched for the emails in a global search on Thunderbird and it finds emails from the account but I cannot open the emails. In the global search the heading of the email appears and I can read the first 4 or 5 lines of the email before the next email appears in the box below. Hence, it appears the emails have not be permanently lost. Also, when carrying out the search it details the email account where the emails are found in the column on the left hand side of the screen and the account with the missing emails is shown there with a detail of the number of emails relating to that search in the account so the emails have not been deleted.
Can anybody help me to restore or access the emails from the missing account or to access the emails when carrying out the search.
Please note I only have basic knowledge of Thunderbird so if you could keep any responses in simple terms!!
Many thanks for your anticipated assistance
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re :I have searched for the emails in a global search on Thunderbird and it finds emails from the account but I cannot open the emails.
This means the global database file still has headers in it's database like an index, so it can still display those headers in a search, however, when you select to view, it is blank because the email itself does not exist. It's like you have a filling cabinet with a folder that says XFiles, but when you open that folder there's nothing inside.
If that IMAP account ever connected to an empty server then those folders and files would be deleted automatically. You really should not consider any imap account or folder as an independent storage on your computer because every folder is synchronised to show what is in on server. So ideally, you should have got copies into 'Local Folders' mail account so the emails were independent of server and stored on your computer.
Do you have a backup copy which you may have made even a few years ago?
It's possible some glitch occurred and the account was recreated. You would need to check the Profile folders to see if there is another account of same name, but perhaps with an additional number at the end.
Help > Troubleshooting Information
On left under Application Basics look for 'Profile folders' and click on 'Open folder'
A new window opens showing the contents of your profile name folder.
click on 'ImapMail' folder
it will list the imap mail accounts.
See if there are two of same account, but once with an additional number in name.
Click on each imap maila ccount name folder to see contents.
mbox files have no extension but have same name as folder. They contain emails.
Let me know if you see mbox files with good size in that old imap account.
Thanks for the response. I have 2 accounts with the same name but both are empty but to be honest this second account could have been set up by myself when I tried to get into the email account on lineone when they changed their system. I do have a couple of other accounts on Thunderbird but the missing email are not in there.
I though it may be easier to get to the folder where they are stored rather than access them through Thunderbird after this was done (not with Thunderbird) in a place I previously worked. (My computer knowledge is basic and my Thunderbird knowledge is even more basic).