Retrieve Deleted Messages Possible?

[scotia100]

I accidentally deleted about 2 years of emails from the All Mail folder. I have a 1.5GB Inbox file and with a text editor I can see the deleted messages. Is it possible to import those messages back in?

I'm pretty sure the file is compacted.

Think I'm screwed but thought I'd ask the group.

Grateful for any advice...

Scott

[DanRaisch]

If the Inbox file is that large you may be able to salvage some messages but it's a slim chance.

Hopefully you haven't been using Thunderbird since that deletion. Launch it now in from the Windows Run command using "C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Thunderbird\Thunderbird.exe" -offline as the entry in that Run dialogue. Be sure to leave a space after the second quotation mark and the hyphen. See if you can access the messages in that environment.

[scotia100]

Unfortunately not. Thanks for trying...

[DanRaisch]

The problem was that with an IMAP folder you are working with the messages as they actually exist on the server. Gmail's Allmail "folder" is not really a folder but only a label. Think of Thunderbird's tags. Just as you can have multiple tags on a message, Gmail allows you to associated multiple labels to the same message, causing them to appear in multiple "folders." The "Allmail" folder actually represents just what it says: All mail (that is, messages) in that account. The messages were visible in Thunderbird for a time because, by default, TB downloads a copy of the messages from the server to make them available when no Internet is available. But when TB next connects to the Internet, messages deleted in TB are deleted from the server and messages deleted from the server are deleted from the downloaded file.

Best to un-subscribe from the Allmail folder in Thunderbird to eliminate the risk of deleting messages you don't intend to remove. http://www.pcworld.com/article/250202/t ... tions.html

[scotia100]

Thanks. That helps me understand if not solve the problem. I will unsubscribe from AllMail. In this case my AllMail folder is immediately above the Spam folder so one mis-click was all it took to delete content from the wrong folder.

It hurts more when it's your own stupid mistake!

Thanks!

[DanRaisch]

You're welcome.