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Can't permanently delete a folder

  • 4 replies
  • 0 have this problem
  • 40 views
  • Last reply by coffent

coffent
coffent
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I permanently deleted all messages in a folder (call it "Unwanted"), then moved Unwanted to Trash, then deleted it permanently. It appeared to be gone. However the next time I opened Thunderbird, Unwanted was back. I tried this several times with the same result. I tried renaming it to "DeleteMe" but then I got the message "The folder could not be renamed. Perhaps the folder is being reparsed, or the new name is not a valid folder name."

Once again, I "permanently" deleted Unwanted and closed Thunderbird. Using a file manager, I found and deleted all relevant folders and files matching "Trash.*" and "Unwanted*.*" and rebooted the computer. However when I opened Thunderbird, an empty "Trash" folder was regenerated as expected, but the "Unwanted" folder was back.

How can I get rid of Unwanted? Thanks!

I permanently deleted all messages in a folder (call it "Unwanted"), then moved Unwanted to Trash, then deleted it permanently. It appeared to be gone. However the next time I opened Thunderbird, Unwanted was back. I tried this several times with the same result. I tried renaming it to "DeleteMe" but then I got the message "The folder could not be renamed. Perhaps the folder is being reparsed, or the new name is not a valid folder name." Once again, I "permanently" deleted Unwanted and closed Thunderbird. Using a file manager, I found and deleted all relevant folders and files matching "Trash.*" and "Unwanted*.*" and rebooted the computer. However when I opened Thunderbird, an empty "Trash" folder was regenerated as expected, but the "Unwanted" folder was back. How can I get rid of Unwanted? Thanks!

All Replies (4)

david
david
  • Top 10 Contributor
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Just a suggestion, as I had what may be similar: This might be a folder mandated by your email provider. Try deleting folder within Thunderbird and then log onto online account and see if it appears there. If it cannot be deleted, try unsubscribing from it.

coffent
coffent Question owner
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Thanks David. I just now (I think) solved the problem. With Thunderbird closed, I used a file manager to delete Trash.sbd, and found Unwanted and Unwanted.msf (in the expected location) and deleted them. This time, when I reopened Thunderbird, Trash was regenerated and Unwanted was gone. What is strange is that I'm almost certain that I'd tried this before and it didn't work. At any rate, at least for now, things are good!

Matt
Matt
  • Moderator
  • Top 10 Contributor
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I think they will come back if your account is IMAP. So please check again tomorrow after you restart Thunderbird again and get mail and most importantly select the trash folder (for IMAP account it and the SPAM/Junk folder are not polled for new mail unless you change the defaults or select the folder.

coffent
coffent Question owner
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I'm using POP3. "Unwanted" is still gone, so I think things are good.