"Missing" messages are there - Deleting msf doesn't help.

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FantaGrape
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Joined: June 1st, 2015, 3:21 pm

"Missing" messages are there - Deleting msf doesn't help.

Post by FantaGrape »

I'm using TB 45.8.0 and Windows 7. A few days ago, all emails in my inbox disappeared, i.e. they no longer show up in TB. However, messages in other folders on the same level as the inbox displayed all of their messages as they should. Back to the inbox, anything received after that point has showed up just fine. I looked in the profiles folder and found both the "new" and the "missing" messages in the inbox.mozmsgs directory, right where you would expect them to be.

So, I went through he usual routine of closing TB, deleting the .msf files and then reopening TB. This didn't solve the problem. I also used the "repair folders" button to no avail. I checked the setting for the "Local Directory" in TB and verified that it is pointing to the correct folder.

Can anyone point me in the direction that they think I should proceed?

Thanks very much,
Tom
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tanstaafl
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Re: "Missing" messages are there - Deleting msf doesn't help

Post by tanstaafl »

See http://kb.mozillazine.org/Recover_messa ... upt_folder . The Cut MboxD program frequently workaround the problem. You can use the ImportExportTools add-on to import each mbox file it creates.
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DanRaisch
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Re: "Missing" messages are there - Deleting msf doesn't help

Post by DanRaisch »

found both the "new" and the "missing" messages in the inbox.mozmsgs directory, right where you would expect.
Actually, that's not where one should expect to find them because that's not the location of the actual message files.

The Knowledge Base explains that "Each file is a partial copy (up to 20kb) of a message in the mail folder, stored in a .mozmsgs subdirectory. It is used by the optional Spotlight Integration component under OSX. It's deleted when the message in the mbox is deleted."

How is that account set up in Thunderbird, as POP or IMAP?
FantaGrape
Posts: 8
Joined: June 1st, 2015, 3:21 pm

Re: "Missing" messages are there - Deleting msf doesn't help

Post by FantaGrape »

Okay, thanks for the reply. I've read the document and also some of those that it linked to. Now, before I begin these processes, I want to check something first, to make sure I'm not going down the wrong path.

What I am reading here appears to be regarding a problem where the mbox file is corrupted. It goes into detail on taking a corrupted mbox file and chopping it into individual emails. In my case, the individual emails appear to be in perfectly good condition when I view them in the preview pane of the Windows Explorer clone that I'm using. Put another way, when I use the Explorer to look at the wdseml files in the profile.mozmsgs file, each one is there and is intact, including the header. It's just that only those that were received after 3/14/17 are able to be viewed in TB. Everything prior to that point, while it still exists in the folder, is not able to be viewed in TB.

I don't want to give the impression that I think that I know what I'm doing. I just wanted to check before starting.

Thanks,
Tom
FantaGrape
Posts: 8
Joined: June 1st, 2015, 3:21 pm

Re: "Missing" messages are there - Deleting msf doesn't help

Post by FantaGrape »

DanRaisch wrote:
found both the "new" and the "missing" messages in the inbox.mozmsgs directory, right where you would expect.
Actually, that's not where one should expect to find them because that's not the location of the actual message files.

The Knowledge Base explains that "Each file is a partial copy (up to 20kb) of a message in the mail folder, stored in a .mozmsgs subdirectory. It is used by the optional Spotlight Integration component under OSX. It's deleted when the message in the mbox is deleted."

How is that account set up in Thunderbird, as POP or IMAP?
Sorry, I must have been busy writing my follow-up and missed your post. The account is a POP.

Thanks,
Tom
FantaGrape
Posts: 8
Joined: June 1st, 2015, 3:21 pm

Re: "Missing" messages are there - Deleting msf doesn't help

Post by FantaGrape »

Actually, that's not where one should expect to find them because that's not the location of the actual message files.

The Knowledge Base explains that "Each file is a partial copy (up to 20kb) of a message in the mail folder, stored in a .mozmsgs subdirectory. It is used by the optional Spotlight Integration component under OSX. It's deleted when the message in the mbox is deleted."
So in other words, these wdseml's that I thought were the actual emails are actually just copies of the first part (up to 20kb) of the emails that are all rolled into the mbox file. Am I reading that correct? So, I can see where the mbox could be corrupt, even though the wdsemls all look good.

Thanks,
Tom
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DanRaisch
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Re: "Missing" messages are there - Deleting msf doesn't help

Post by DanRaisch »

That's one possibility. Thus tanstaafl's suggestion to try the cutmbox utility. That might be able to split out the messages that are recoverable.

The files you need to look for are mbox files which will have the same name as the the folder in which they are/were displayed in Thunderbird and which have no file name extension, such as Inbox, Sent, Trash, etc. Locate them using menu path Help->Troubleshooting information->click on the "Show folder" button->then look in the \Mail directory for a sub-directory with a name that includes the name of the email provider. In other words, a Gmail account might appear in a sub-directory like \Mail\pop.gmail.com. Try opening the appropriate mbox file using a text editor to see if the text of some of the missing messages are still present.
FantaGrape
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Joined: June 1st, 2015, 3:21 pm

Re: "Missing" messages are there - Deleting msf doesn't help

Post by FantaGrape »

Many thanks. I've had to leave town on business, but will jump on this as soon as I get back! I appreciate all the help!

Tom
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