This site will have limited functionality while we undergo maintenance to improve your experience. If an article doesn't solve your issue and you want to ask a question, we have our support community waiting to help you at @FirefoxSupport on Twitter and/r/firefox on Reddit.

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

the inbox has disappeared

  • 1 reply
  • 1 has this problem
  • 13 views
  • Last reply by christ1

more options

all of a sudden my inbox is empty, looks like it is deleted. Other folders are not empty. When I look at the directory Users\xxx\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiels\fsdsdfsd.default\Mail\xxx\Inbox than the size is 0 byte. Also the Sent file is in this directort and it is close to 1 GB. The Inbox file should be around this size because it contains 10 years of emails. Inbox.msf is 3 kb, the Sent.msf around 2 MB. So it really is deleted, why I dont know.

Can somebody tell me what has happened, and if I can restore it.

all of a sudden my inbox is empty, looks like it is deleted. Other folders are not empty. When I look at the directory Users\xxx\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiels\fsdsdfsd.default\Mail\xxx\Inbox than the size is 0 byte. Also the Sent file is in this directort and it is close to 1 GB. The Inbox file should be around this size because it contains 10 years of emails. Inbox.msf is 3 kb, the Sent.msf around 2 MB. So it really is deleted, why I dont know. Can somebody tell me what has happened, and if I can restore it.

Chosen solution

Can somebody tell me what has happened, ...

The most common cause for these kind of problems is anti-virus software. These are some generic suggestions to avoid problems with anti-virus software.

Create an exception in your anti-virus software for the Thunderbird profile folder, so that the anti-virus real-time scanner will not scan it. http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Thunderbird

Don't let your anti-virus software scan incoming and outgoing messages.

Don't let your anti-virus software scan attachments.

Don't let your anti-virus software intercept your secure connection to the server.

Remove any add-ons your anti-virus software may have installed in Thunderbird.

Keep it working. http://kb.mozillazine.org/Keep_it_working_-_Thunderbird

And last but not least, backup your Thunderbird profile on a regular basis. https://support.mozilla.org/kb/profiles-where-thunderbird-stores-user-data#w_backing-up-a-profile

... and if I can restore it.

Do you have a recent backup of your Thunderbird profile folder created before the incident?

Read this answer in context 👍 0

All Replies (1)

more options

Chosen Solution

Can somebody tell me what has happened, ...

The most common cause for these kind of problems is anti-virus software. These are some generic suggestions to avoid problems with anti-virus software.

Create an exception in your anti-virus software for the Thunderbird profile folder, so that the anti-virus real-time scanner will not scan it. http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Thunderbird

Don't let your anti-virus software scan incoming and outgoing messages.

Don't let your anti-virus software scan attachments.

Don't let your anti-virus software intercept your secure connection to the server.

Remove any add-ons your anti-virus software may have installed in Thunderbird.

Keep it working. http://kb.mozillazine.org/Keep_it_working_-_Thunderbird

And last but not least, backup your Thunderbird profile on a regular basis. https://support.mozilla.org/kb/profiles-where-thunderbird-stores-user-data#w_backing-up-a-profile

... and if I can restore it.

Do you have a recent backup of your Thunderbird profile folder created before the incident?