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Local folders mostly gone replaced by empty .mozmsgs folders!!! HELP!!!

  • 2 replies
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  • Last reply by gsgmusicman

gsgmusicman
gsgmusicman
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I've been using TBird for years. I backup my local folders every night using Microsofts robocopy program using it's mirroring option. Last night the logs showed most of my local folders were deleted in the backup drive, which indicates they no longer exist in the source location.

Checked it out and found many of them are gone along with their index ( .msf ) files!!!

They now appear as folders with the same base name but ending with .mozmsgs extensions. They are empty.

they still appear under local folders in TBird ( latest version ) and when I click on them the messages appear to be there.

After I click on a message, the empty folder as seen in file explorer suddenly becomes populated with files ending with the extension .wdseml Appears one file is created for each message, where before ALL the messages in the folder were stored in a file with NO EXTENSION that was viewable with notepad.

What has happened??? What caused it? How can I prevent this from happening again??

Is there anyway to recover the former file structure? ( I do have a backup, but it's from 3 days ago, so I'd loose any changes I've made ).

I've been using TBird for years. I backup my local folders every night using Microsofts robocopy program using it's mirroring option. Last night the logs showed most of my local folders were deleted in the backup drive, which indicates they no longer exist in the source location. Checked it out and found many of them are gone along with their index ( .msf ) files!!! They now appear as folders with the same base name but ending with .mozmsgs extensions. They are empty. they still appear under local folders in TBird ( latest version ) and when I click on them the messages appear to be there. After I click on a message, the empty folder as seen in file explorer suddenly becomes populated with files ending with the extension .wdseml Appears one file is created for each message, where before ALL the messages in the folder were stored in a file with NO EXTENSION that was viewable with notepad. What has happened??? What caused it? How can I prevent this from happening again?? Is there anyway to recover the former file structure? ( I do have a backup, but it's from 3 days ago, so I'd loose any changes I've made ).
Attached screenshots

Modified by gsgmusicman

All Replies (2)

Matt
Matt
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You have the allow windows search to search email turned on. This is what creates the mozmsg folders and the WDSEML files. So now we have establishged they have nothing to do with it, but apparently clicking on a folder creates them it may be the folders index is corrupt. Try right clicking the folder and select properties and then repair.

Not I do not play in the file system unless is is truly desperate, so really I am not going to suggest much in that location at all. More issues are created by meddling in the profile folders using file managers than are ever solved.

gsgmusicman
gsgmusicman Question owner
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Allow windows search is NOT on and never has been in the Thunderbird application. Is there some other place in Windows itself this is set. Where is the registry entry?

By the way, I worked as a systems admin at a major university, job is imaging windows and pushing to lab workstations, so I am not an amateur hacking away...

That said: FOUND IT: In Options the checkbox for "Allow Windows Search to search messages" is UNCHECKED

BUT... If you click the 'Check Now' button which is along side the "Always check to see if Thunderbird is the default mail client on startup" .... the "Allow Windows Search to search messages" IS CHECKED in there.

Unchecking there and then clicking Set as Default seems to have fixed the issue.

And < red faced > I misread my logs, only some .msf index files were deleted. Not sure why, but as we know they re-create ( or you can repair them ). Not sure why however.

Will keep an eye on things...