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Thunderbird Has Lost my eMail in Ubuntu!
March 5, 2008 | By: UbuntuLinuxHelp | 7 Comments
Posted in Applications, Experiences, How to...
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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A friend just phoned me in a panic as his PC (Ubuntu based) using Thunderbird 2 (2.0.0.12) and all the email in his inbox is missing. I've had this issue myself and a bit of Googling told me others are having this issue too. If you're having this issue, here's how we were able to fix it.
First, BEFORE doing anything, back up the existing email profile. I'm actually writing this blog entry as my friend is backing up his email profile. Seems there are quite a few MB of email stored, which leaves me plenty of time to type, (while he listens to the tapping keys on speakerphone). ;-) I asked if he's made sure to compact his folders from time to time? Answer: "No" - Bingo! That's maybe why the email disappeared.
...And he's finally back! (FYI the backup was over 1GB!). There are a couple ways I know of to complete backups:
1) Save this directory: ... /.mozilla-thunderbird<The Account Profile Name> (Used for Linux distributions - Simple. Ahem... Try doing that with Outlook ;) ).
2) Mozbackup (Used for Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP/2003/Vista - Requires installing this: http://mozbackup.jasnapaka.com/).
From this link: http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=627433&sid=0228c41f9ab66dddcccda22ac69fad76 I learned that Mozilla Thunderbird uses .msf files (.msf in ImapMail, Mail, and News) are "Index files" for mail messages. These files need to be removed (deleted) if email messages disappear in this scenario. To get Thunderbird to rebuild his Inbox (so he can see the messages), delete all the .msf files. Upon reopening Thunderbird, they will be rebuild... and in his case he garnered access to his messages. More info here: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Empty_folders
In order to keep you email safe(er), here are some best practices:
1) Always ensure your folders are compacted. You can set automatic compacting like this: Tools / Options / Advanced / Network & Disk Space / Disk Space / Compact folder when it will save over 50 kb - Change 50kb to something that suits your needs.
2) Regularly backup your profile folder (which includes email messages).
3) Don't leave all your messages in the inbox - Use folders.
4) Don't use Outlook. :) I know, I know... it's a cheap shot - But I'm just being goofy!
In this case he's a happy camper as he retained access to his email.
I hope this post helps someone!
Related posts:
- Easily Use Cron to Backup Thunderbird eMail in Ubuntu Linux
- Create a Linux Antivirus Server to Protect eMail – A Brief How to
- Quick Fix: Black Desktop Background and Lost Icons
- Switching From XP to Linux – Should You?
- My Hard Drive Failed! – Easy, Fast, Simple Ubuntu Package Recovery.
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[...] on from yesterday’s email adventure: Thunderbird Has Lost my eMail in Ubuntu! a prudent preventive measure (I suggested later in the day) is to make sure you always have a [...]
[...] Thunderbird Has Lost my eMail in Ubuntu! Easily Use Cron to Backup Thunderbird eMail in Ubuntu Linux [...]
The same thing just happened to me, using Windows XP Pro.
All I did was access the folder listing, right clicked on the Inbox heading, then Properties. Then I clicked the Rebuild Index box.
The Inbox went totally blank, then the count of unread messages began increasing along with the messages, and in a few minutes all were restored.
I just had “copy” error messages under Vista and after reading on internet that the folders need to be compacted, I compacted my inbox.
After that, all red messages have definitely disappeared. Only latest, unred messages were downloaded at the end of the compacting step.
Deleting the msf index files or reconstructing index option did not help making the disappeared message to appear again.
To me, compacting does not mean purging. What is wrong with that?
Thanks a lot,
Nicolas
@philippulus – Sorry, I’m not too sure how that will work on Windows (this is a Linux blog). But I will try to see if I can find anything out about this for you. If so, you’ll see the response in these comments. Thanks!
I am using thunderbird on Ubuntu 8.04 and ClamAV (my anti-virus) detected my inbox as a threat and deleted it. Is there any way to restore it?
I tried the stuff mentioned above but it only brought back my arhieved mails.
@nesh – You have to backup the thunderbird profile BEFORE doing anything else (including running any software that might delete your inbox). In Ubuntu Linux, the backup is secured by:
Copying this directory to some backup location: …/home/ /.mozilla-thunderbird
If software such as ClamAV delete your inbox before the backup, I don’t think there is much one can do.
Just a side note – You don’t necessarily need to run AV software on Linux. See here: http://ubuntulinuxhelp.com/doe.....-software/ and especially read the comments from “yochai”.