try right clicking the trash folder, selecting properties and then the repair button. Just to be sure the mail is actually gone.

Do you have software that purports to make your system run faster or cleaner, fixing wasted space and messy registries. This that claim his often delete things they should not.

Thanks for advice! Repair had no effect. I run no system tuning tools -- no defrag, no CCleaner, no registry cleaners, no disk cleaners...no nothing. My trash disappears seldom enough that I usually don't catch it until I delete old trash mail at the end of each month. Compacting is set to run if it will save 100 MB. I haven't seen trash vanish when any folder is compacted. I'm trying marking all trash messages as unread, in case the gremlin is afraid to delete unread messages. Is there a way to mark messages read-only or undeletable?

Matt said

try right clicking the trash folder, selecting properties and then the repair button. Just to be sure the mail is actually gone.

OMG Matt! I didn't know about Right Clicking/Properties dialog on ANY account folders ... The Repair button is what I have been needing for a LONG Time! Five Stars for fixing something that had been bugging me awhile. And I will now read every setting on every tab on the properties pop-up to be sure I know what they ARE. Mil Gracias! A Thousand Thanks!

plowmail said

I'm trying marking all trash messages as unread, in case the gremlin is afraid to delete unread messages.

At a fundamental level read and unread is a one bit flag stored locally on the message (or remotely on an IMAP account) it has no intrinsic value any more than the colour of the text in the email. Like colour, getting it wrong can be highly annoying, but it is really nothing but a status flag.

Thunderbird does not differentiate between read or unread in anything as far as I am aware.

Is there a way to mark messages read-only or undeletable?

Normally messages marked with a star are not deleted, but you are talking about mail that is already deleted as it is in the trash folder.

It is possible that your anti virus deletes the file occasionally. They pop up a message about finding something and would you like an automatic fix. You click yes and the entire folder of mail just disappears. Sometimes there is a delay between the deletion and the user interface showing it as the anti virus deletes the mail file, not the index Thunderbird uses to populate the user interface. The damage is only noticed next time the index is rebuilt, usually compact and repair. But there are other occasions the program just decides the index is out of date and rebuilds it.

Thanks very much, Matt.

My current antivirus program (TotalAV) has not reported any interest in Thunderbird files, or in any other files, for that matter. (In 20 years, I've never seen evidence of a virus in four Windows computers.)

I just noticed that all mail files in all folders and accounts were created on or after 10/2/2019. Does Thunderbird create new files during compacting?

plowmail said

Does Thunderbird create new files during compacting?

Yes it does.

First it creates a new file NSTMP(#) and using the MSF file as an index extracts from the original file the mail that is not deleted.

Once the new file is complete the old file is deleted and the new one renamed.

You will see references around the web to nstmp files appearing in the folder list. This is a result of the file being created, but the compact being incomplete when Thunderbird terminates unexpectedly, like the power goes off mid compact.

hello Community - an issue has occurred that is similar to the above in that Thunderbird 'cancelled' itself. Having now re-instated my addresses, there is, understandably, no 'Sent' folder (cause I ain't sent anything yet). All the names addresses messages - gone! Or are they? Is it possible all the IN and SENT emails are 'hiding' ? Suggestions? PS: anyone noticed that when applying bold or italic in this box - quotation marks are inserted in stead (?) - thanks - Jaybird

Matt said

plowmail said

Does Thunderbird create new files during compacting?

Yes it does.

First it creates a new file NSTMP(#) and using the MSF file as an index extracts from the original file the mail that is not deleted.

Once the new file is complete the old file is deleted and the new one renamed.

You will see references around the web to nstmp files appearing in the folder list. This is a result of the file being created, but the compact being incomplete when Thunderbird terminates unexpectedly, like the power goes off mid compact.

Can I delete the NSTMP folders and their files?

Unless your computer has something that is causing the compact to terminate before it ends, Like you shut it down or you have an anti virus that locks the process as it happens, you will never see the NSTMP files. They are creates and renamed at the end to replace the original which is deleted.

Thank you for your prompt reply. Now I understand what causes this problem. But in any case I have several folders of these under my email accounts. Can I delete them?

Beno said

Thank you for your prompt reply. Now I understand what causes this problem. But in any case I have several folders of these under my email accounts. Can I delete them?

Of course you can delete them. They should contain a duplicate copy of what is visible in the original folder, but you probably should check. If they do not it might be symptomatic of a larger issue.

Thank you very much!