How do I retrieve previously received mail after reinstalling software?
This question is similar to another one but there are vital differences.
I have had to reinstall Windows 7 (32bit) on my laptop due to corruption of several files. In doing so I lost all profile data stored on the computer, and the backup I produced before the reinstallation didn't copy App Data files, even though given the instruction to do so.
I can see the INBOX files for each of the email addresses I monitor, and an examination of the contents of those files shows emails dating back to when I switched to Thunderbird, but those messages are not showing in Thunderbird itself. How can I get Thunderbird to display details of the emails put into those INBOXs before the reinstallation?
Ọ̀nà àbáyọ tí a yàn
based on the last 3 lines. right click the folder, select properties and then the repair button.
Ka ìdáhùn ni ìṣètò kíkà 👍 0All Replies (4)
now with half the information I have no idea.
First. Is the mail in your current profile folder? Do those accounts appear in your current profile?
Thanks for the response, Matt.
When I had reinstalled Windows I had to go through the process of reinstalling most software, including Thunderbird. TB defaults to putting all the mail files under AppData. It was fortunate that I had been keeping all my mail in a different directory because the backup I did before reinstallation failed to copy the AppData, and the reinstallation resulted in no data there. I copied files back to the directory I wanted to use and set up all the mail accounts to use that directory, with each mail account in a separate subdirectory - logical organisation. The old mail didn't show up but new mail did. So, in answer to your questions: Yes all the account files were there and all mail accounts were all set up to point to those files. I double checked that the correct directories were being addressed before I submitted the query. I'm aware of the pedantic nature of computer software, and have been responsible for organising huge amounts of data at work, so I was careful to check everything. Somehow, after another computer restart following the umpteenth Windows update to get me back up-to-date TB was pointing to files in the AppData directories again. I have now been through the process of changing those directories to point to where the files are being kept. While typing this response I've had new mail in. The files which contain mail back to October last year have grown with the new mail, but TB is still only displaying data starting 11th July this year, which is when I started trying to restore corrupted Windows files.
So, a quick answer for you is that new mail is being added to the old files but mail received before 11th July is not being displayed in TB, even though I can confirm the messages are there by opening the INBOX using Notepad++.
Does that help?
Ọ̀nà àbáyọ Tí a Yàn
based on the last 3 lines. right click the folder, select properties and then the repair button.
Thanks Matt. It worked well for most of my email addresses but not for others. I'll investigate further. I was thinking that some messages could have been filtered into local mail boxes, but that's not the case.