Local Directory Path Is Not Suitable For Message Storage

[Banditz71]

OK, just for the heck of it, I made a folder on my desktop and called it Local Mail......I then copied over the contents of Local Folders.......made the change in Account Settings to point to the new folder........and, NO error message. Hmmmmmmmm

[Banditz71]

I then tried to see "where" in the Local Directory Path it could be placed and still work.......that resulted in: C:\Users\****\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles . Once it got "into" the actual profile folder, the error came back.

[Banditz71]

Meanwhile, the Message Storage for my main email address (as oppose to Account Settings for Local Folders) has no problem being located "within" the Profiles folder: C:\Users\****\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\2pt1axtm.TB 24\Mail\pop.1and1-2.com .

[Lee_Dailey]

howdy Banditz71,

from what i can see, the error msg directly relates to problematic folder names in the profile folder. so moving up - or down - the folder tree would likely avoid those folder names.

for instance, the 1st report i read said the problem was caused by folders with close variations of SQLITE files used by tbird that needed to be in the profile's root folder.

%appdata%\thunderbird\profiles\gobbledegook.default\-places.sqlite [a folder]
%appdata%\thunderbird\profiles\gobbledegook.default\places.sqlite [a file]

so start looking for such files or folders with names that are _very_ similar to reserved file names in mozilla apps. something similar to the reserved "places.sqlite" file name, for instance.

also, one reporter discovered that the problem seemed to be triggered when his antivirus software created zero-length files from the original ones that tbird made.

places.sqlite [normal file with normal data in it] >>
places.sqlite [normal file with nothing in it] >>
-places.sqlite [folder]

it would REALLY be nice if the error msg would tell us WHY the folder is not usable ... [*grin*]

take care,
lee

[Banditz71]

I think "for now", I'm just going to leave the folder where it works.......and investigate more when I've got some time to burn.

[Lee_Dailey]

howdy Banditz71,

that makes sense to me ... real life trumps "i wonder" every time. [*grin*]

take care,
lee

[a009]

I'm having the exact same problem. I love this so much, if you don't change anything, and then all of the sudden, an update breaks everything. Props to the developers.

[Lee_Dailey]

howdy a009,

have you checked the profile mail folder to see if there are any questionably named folders there?

take care,
lee

[morat]

I do not understand why Banditz71 is getting the error if the local directory in server settings is the standard path i.e. ProfD\Mail\Local Folders. Maybe the problem is an extension conflict.

Dangerous directories for Windows XP:

ProfD = C:\Documents and Settings\<USERNAME>\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\12345678.default
GreD = C:\Program Files\Mozilla Thunderbird
CurProcD = C:\Program Files\Mozilla Thunderbird
TmpD = C:\Documents and Settings\<USERNAME>\Local Settings\Temp
SysD = C:\WINDOWS\system32
WinD = C:\WINDOWS
ProgF = C:\Program Files

[Banditz71]

Yeah, I have never modified the standard path.......and, I haven't added any new extensions (recently)......so if there's a conflict, it's one that came about with the latest TB update (or the last update or two....can't really remember how long it had been since I went into Account Settings).

[Lee_Dailey]

howdy morat,

i don't think it's about the dangerous dirs you listed. i think it's about dirs with dangerous names IN the profile mail folder - or perhaps in the folder for local_folders pseudo account.

take care,
lee

[morat]

I can't figure out what dirs are used in the "safeSubdirs" array.

I believe the safeSubdirs member is added by extension developers.

Extensions can add theirs own lists of file directories which can (or should not) be used for mail storage by extending the global gDangerousLocalStorageDirs array in AccountManager.js.

https://developer.mozilla.org/docs/Mozi ... er_changes

[Lee_Dailey]

howdy morat,

thank you for that! i still can't figure out the exact dir that triggered the OP's problem, but that is on my end. [*grin*]

i wonder if it would be useful to enter a bug asking for the error msg to show the name of the offending dir?

take care,
lee

[morat]

@Lee_Dailey

It already shows the offending directory. If I try to change the local directory to the profile, then the error message pops up.

The Local Directory path "C:\Documents and Settings\User\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\12345678.default" is not suitable for message storage. Please choose another directory.

[Lee_Dailey]

howdy morat,

i was unclear - or really confused.

from what i read of the bug that started me on this, the OP's problem is NOT the folder that he chose - it's the contents of the folder that he chose. the bug mentions the folder contains folders that too closely match reserved files. in the bug, the reporter listed a specific folder - "-places.sqlite" - that was triggering the error msg. when that folder was removed, the error msg stopped.

i'm referring to this bug comment...
Comment 9

at least that is how i interpreted the msg. [*grin*]

perhaps a better way to describe the enhancement i propose is to get the error msg to list the specific item or quality that makes the selected folder unsuitable.

take care,
lee