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Local Folder empty after TB upgrade to 78.4.0?

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It looks like Thunderbird has automatically "upgraded" to release 78.4.0.

I just went to retrieve an email from one of my "Local Folders" and was alarmed to see it's empty?

I checked in some other folders and they look OK.

This folder is quite old and has quite a few images in it - I just looked at the HDD and the folder is there and huge (355MB). I just checked on a backup drive from a couple of months ago and the file was 350MB then - so TB could handle large Local Folders in previous versions.

I noticed there was a TB upgrade to 78.4.1 available - that's not fixed the problem.

I'll have to work out how to downgrade to a previous version until this problems gets sorted.

It looks like Thunderbird has automatically "upgraded" to release 78.4.0. I just went to retrieve an email from one of my "Local Folders" and was alarmed to see it's empty? I checked in some other folders and they look OK. This folder is quite old and has quite a few images in it - I just looked at the HDD and the folder is there and huge (355MB). I just checked on a backup drive from a couple of months ago and the file was 350MB then - so TB could handle large Local Folders in previous versions. I noticed there was a TB upgrade to 78.4.1 available - that's not fixed the problem. I'll have to work out how to downgrade to a previous version until this problems gets sorted.

All Replies (9)

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I've tried going back through some versions (78.3.3, 78.2.2, 68.12.1), have lost my Profile so had to set up email accounts etc. again, but that Local Folder is empty in all the versions I've tried.

The file itself is readable and I can see the plain text content - but any images that were attached to the emails are now lost if I can't open the file as a Local Folder on TB.

Very annoying!

Any suggestions on how to retrieve a Local Folder file gratefully received.

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Thankfully the "Repair Folder" button in Folder Properties has fixed my problem.

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after upgrade to 78 (in automatic not asked) i lost SOME folders in LOCAL FOLDER... i found that the folders missing are still on my computer. I was looking for that solution but could find that button: "Thankfully the "Repair Folder" button in Folder Properties has fixed my problem."

could you give me a clue or a print scxreen to find this button ? or solution to fix this issue ? Regards

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Make sure you have the Folders panel in view (View > Layout > Folder Pane is ticked).

Right click on the folder that's empty - select Folder Properties.

On the General Information tab, at the bottom is the Repair Folder button - press that.

That's how I fixed an empty folder. If you are missing some folders - try doing that on the parent folder?

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I have experienced the same problem. Thunderbird upgraded automatic to version 78.4.3 and all contents in my 60 folders are lost.

 I am not that keen on computer so I would be happy for a good information how to fix this.
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sorry but we may be both of us in "paralleles universe" i didnt have theses button ... its very annoying because i had some vital informations on theses folder.

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I have that repair button but nothing comes back. Tested on different folders and also on parent folder but NIL. I also have a lot of vital info so I sure would like to have some help to restore this.

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I have this problem as well and am trying to revert to an earlier version that I know works. I have Timemachine, so I can load any files I need. The difficulty is that when I install and run an older TB version, I get the message that there is already a copy of TB running. I've posted a specific question about this.

TB is a great tool. It would be nice to have better quality control on releases and WARNING! when an upgrade might cause existing functionality to break.

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I have had my Local Folders disappear every time I have updated beyond v60.9.0 for more than a year now. Fortunately, every time I have uninstalled the update and reinstalled v60.9.0 and my folders come back. I keep expecting that Thunderbird will solve this problem and correct the updates so this doesn't happen - or at least post a solution someplace prominently on their website. I haven't tried updating in some time but decided I would give it another go yesterday. It seemed to work - until I turned on my computer this morning. Although it did not remove all my email profiles (as it did before) it messed up my email arrangements and my Local Folders were gone again. This time it looked like another email account with an inbox with even some emails in it but certainly not all my emails that I had saved to my Local Folders. I know they are still on my computer because I get them back every time I reinstall the previous version. So, how do I get a solution to this problem? I find it extremely frustrating that there is no one to contact - other than other users - to get a definitive answer. (I know the work is all done by volunteers but this is a major problem for lots of people.) I love Thunderbird and have used it for years. I don't want to go to a different system but I'm starting to think that I might have to. I know the importance of updating systems to keep up with various protections but I get so frustrated every time I try to update. PLEASE I need a solution!!