Thunderbird is downloading old emails
My server is BT. Everything was working fine until when I clicked Get Messages in order to download one I was expecting urgently a box came up saying it couldn't download messages because something (some code I can't remember, sorry) couldn't support Leave on Server, Maximum Message Size and Headers Only and instructing me to go into my Account Settings and detick those. I deticked Leave on Server, couldn't find the others. Thunderbird then downloaded some outstanding messages. However next time it was scheduled to download messages, it went mad and started downloading all the ones that were still on the server - all 3,700 of them! It pauses every so often, then downloads more. Presumably it will go on until it gets to today. I have gone back into Account Settings and reticked Leave on Server, closed Thunderbird down and restarted it but it still carries on downloading the old messages as soon as it's opened. Once it's downloaded them all will the retick I have done do the trick and stop this or is there anything else I should do? I wil of course have to re-delete all these messages. The ones I need to keep I will have already filed in sub folders to keep the Inbox light! Any suggestions would be most gratefully received please.
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Thunderbird has now downloaded duplicate copies of all those emails from the last two months up to when this bizarre happening started and now touch wood is only downloading one copy as normal of subsequent emails. So I think the crisis is over bar me going through the duplicate download and deleting what I have already filed or deleted. It was like seeing my life for the last two months flashing in front of me! However if anyone has any thoughts on why it happened and how I can prevent it happening again, I would be most interested and grateful please. Have a good weekend everyone.
when leave on server is selected Thunderbird must maintain a database of mail on the server. You changed that and in the process Thunderbird deleted it's database as no longer required. Unfortunately that resulted on all the mail being downloaded again so it could be deleted on the server.
That those options were suddenly reported as not available would suggest BT changed something about how the administer their email servers.
Thank you Matt. I think you're right about BT fiddling about again! They did something a couple of weeks ago which stopped emails in and out. By digging into their website, I discovered that Thunderbird and mobile users had to make some important changes to their account settings - would have been nice if they had told their clients! All my messages are still on the server - I think that must be because I reversed the ticked boxes as soon as the re-download started. I'm now deleting all those duplicate emails which go back to mid April.. Thanks again for explaining.