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Deleted emails not restoring

  • 6 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 8 views
  • Last reply by sfhowes

chrisaux2015
chrisaux2015
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Hello, I have a user with a GMAIL account who accidentally deleted everything in her Archive while on her iPhone. We back up her computer nightly so I just grabbed a backup of her profile and restored it. 29000 emails reappeared like magic, except... as soon as the folders are opened and synced, the deleted emails are deleted again.

I have tried a new profile, a different version of both thunderbird and the import/export tool, export then import, full restore of the profile folder, all to no avail. Is there any way to make this stop?

Thanks!

Hello, I have a user with a GMAIL account who accidentally deleted everything in her Archive while on her iPhone. We back up her computer nightly so I just grabbed a backup of her profile and restored it. 29000 emails reappeared like magic, except... as soon as the folders are opened and synced, the deleted emails are deleted again. I have tried a new profile, a different version of both thunderbird and the import/export tool, export then import, full restore of the profile folder, all to no avail. Is there any way to make this stop? Thanks!

All Replies (6)

sfhowes
sfhowes
  • Top 10 Contributor
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The messages were deleted from the IMAP server when they were deleted on the phone, so when the folder synced with the server in the new profile, it synced with an empty folder. Copy the mbox file from the backup, the file named Archive that has no extension, is large, and is stored with an Archive.msf file, into the Mail/Local Folders location of the new profile, with TB closed, then restart TB and find the Archive folder under Local Folders in the Folder Pane.

There is a way to copy (upload) the messages from Local Folders to the IMAP server, if necessary.

chrisaux2015
chrisaux2015 Question owner
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I will try that. Thank you!

chrisaux2015
chrisaux2015 Question owner
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OK this is weird... there is no Archives.mbox, only the msf. However, instead, I closed Thunderbird, copied the imap folders into the Local Folders and like 70% show up when I reopen Thunderbird. Any idea why? I tried repairing the folder, too.

sfhowes
sfhowes
  • Top 10 Contributor
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The Archives mbox file has no extension, i.e. it's just Archive, not Archive.mbox. Ignore the .msf file when copying into Mail/Local Folders. Look for mbox files also in sbd (subdirectory) folders.

chrisaux2015
chrisaux2015 Question owner
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Right. Ok got it. I only have the Archives.msf. There is no other item called Archives anywhere.

I found other mbox folders in subs but copying them over to the current profiles local folder still isn't making them all show up.

sfhowes
sfhowes
  • Top 10 Contributor
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If you just have the .msf file, it means the folder was set to download headers only, not message bodies. The setting is in Synchronization & Storage in Account Settings.

If an mbox is corrupted to the point where it doesn't appear in TB, you can try one of the repair utilities that are found through a web search.