The folder Inbox is full and can't hold any more messages.

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CJRetired
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The folder Inbox is full and can't hold any more messages.

Post by CJRetired »

This message began appearing over my inbox last week: "Alert! The folder Inbox is full and can't hold any more messages. To make room for more messages, delete any old or unwanted mail and compact the folder." Interestingly, the alert started appearing the next day after I reduced the volume of my inbox by over one-half. I don't recall ever having seen the message previously.

My ISP (Comcast) has not been helpful in this. In several calls to their "techs" I have been given all sorts of suggestions, none of which have helped. (But, although many of their "techs" admit it's superiority, Comcast doesn't officially recognize or support anything by Outlook Express.) At their suggestion, I have reduced the volume of my Thunderbird Inbox even further, deleted over half of my mail sitting on Comcast's webmail server (Inbox), let them deactivate and reactivate my account two or thre times, change passwords, and other things I don't recall.

Tonight, I uninstalled Thunderbird (2.0.0.18) and reinstalled Thunderbird (same version) with no change or improvement.

Is there any way to get back to using Thunderbird? I get and send a lot of e-mails every day and I have been basically without access (except through webmail, such as it is) for going
on a week.
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steviex
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Re: The folder Inbox is full and can't hold any more messages.

Post by steviex »

Have you compacted the folder, as suggested by the Error message... ??

When you delete a message in Thunderbird, it is only marked as deleted in the mail file. It is only actually deleted when you compact the folder. If you do not compact the folder, it will just keep getting bigger and bigger until Thunderbird starts scratching its head, wondering how to cope with a massively bloated file.....

Uninstalling and reinstalling will not do anything here, as the problem is with the mail files, that are in a separate location to the core program, and are unaffected by this.

Compacting is something that needs to be done regularly in any email program. We recommend weekly, but many of us do it daily. When done often enough, it can be an extremely fast process. Not doing so can lead to problems like those you are experiencing. See this about how to and why it's so important: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Compacting_folders

Since you probably haven't been doing that before, if 'compacting' them now (and leaving a long enough time for the process to complete) doesn't fully resolve the problem then do the following on each account:

Close Thunderbird. Find and delete all of the files with the .msf file extension in your profile folder/Mail http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_Folder#Thunderbird including your Local Folders, especially if you are using the global inbox. You must have "View hidden files and folders" on http://spywarewarrior.com/viewtopic.php?t=272 and you need to set "hide extensions for known file types" off (just below View Hidden) if you are using Windows. These are your mail summary files and do not hold any messages themselves. They will be rebuilt the next time you open each folder in Thunderbird. Compact all your folders when you have completed this.

To avoid this happening again, see the tips in these articles:
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Keep_it_worki ... derbird%29
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Performance_%28Thunderbird%29
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -Albert Einstein

Please DO NOT PM me for support... Lets keep it on the board, so we can all learn.
orcish_lib
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Re: The folder Inbox is full and can't hold any more messages.

Post by orcish_lib »

OK, here's one for you. I have this coming up repeatedly. I have NO inbox files. I have filters that automatically scan and sort my mail. the last two take anything addressed to me specifically and put them into a "General" folder. Anything that drops all the way through goes to a "spam" folder. SO today I start getting this message. I have compacted my mailboxes and restarted the program, every time I restart, I have the same problem. I have deleted messages from my general and spam folders and compacted again. Any ideas? I am running 2.0.0.19 on OS X 10.5.6, iMac 24" c2duo 2.16 ghz 3gb of ram.

Thanks!
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steviex
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Re: The folder Inbox is full and can't hold any more messages.

Post by steviex »

Have you tried the second part of the fix, involving the .msf files..... ????
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -Albert Einstein

Please DO NOT PM me for support... Lets keep it on the board, so we can all learn.
Orcish_lib
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Re: The folder Inbox is full and can't hold any more messages.

Post by Orcish_lib »

I have deleted the files. On restart it rebuilds the files and I have the same problems.
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Daifne
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Re: The folder Inbox is full and can't hold any more messages.

Post by Daifne »

You have an inbox folder. You have to. Emails always go to the inbox first and then are filtered to the other folders. That's the way it works with the POP3 protocol. Since the messages are passing through the inbox, the inbox must be compacted regularly.
Orcish_lib
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Re: The folder Inbox is full and can't hold any more messages.

Post by Orcish_lib »

I KNOW that I have an inbox. It is however, empty. I have compacted the inbox and all folders. I still cannot get mail. I have deleted the .msf files, and I still cannot get mail. Is there anything else that I can try?
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Daifne
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Re: The folder Inbox is full and can't hold any more messages.

Post by Daifne »

If compacting and deleting didn't work, you will need to try the sledge hammer approach:

1. Move any mail in your Inbox - that you want to retain (if any) - to subfolders of Local Folders. Backup your profile. http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_backup You really shouldn't be storing them there anyway. The inbox is too busy in any email program and is therefore more prone to corruption. If you cannot see the messages to move them, close Thunderbird and rename the effected inbox file with no extension to something like InboxOld

2. Close down Thunderbird

3. Navigate to your Thunderbird Profile Folder on your system and DELETE the 'Inbox' and 'Inbox.msf' files for this account, or for Local Folders if you are using the global inbox. They will be rebuilt when you relaunch Thunderbird. If you have more than one account, make sure you do this in the proper account. All messages left in the inbox will be deleted in this process. If you do make a mistake, I hope you made the backup I suggested in step 1.

4. If InboxOld does not show at this point, let me know.

To avoid this happening again, see the tips in these articles:
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Keep_it_worki ... derbird%29
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Performance_%28Thunderbird%29
Orcish_lib
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Re: The folder Inbox is full and can't hold any more messages.

Post by Orcish_lib »

Sorry to be so late. I found the problem to be just what you said. I had a second inbox in my local folders, and even though it was empty, it had a size of 4gb! After deleting and rebuilding it is working better. I am still having problems with a couple of other folders, but compacting seems to be working for them.

Thanks for all your help!
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Daifne
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Joined: July 31st, 2005, 9:17 pm
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Re: The folder Inbox is full and can't hold any more messages.

Post by Daifne »

You're very welcome.
anda33
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Re: The folder Inbox is full and can't hold any more messages.

Post by anda33 »

Hi, I did clean all and there is blank, still can't receiving emails.
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steviex
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Re: The folder Inbox is full and can't hold any more messages.

Post by steviex »

@ anda33 Please explain EXACTLY what you have done, and What Error Messages you are receiving...Your statement is rather vague...

Um, you really need to give us more information..... My Crystal Ball is in the Repair shop, and I can't see your computer....

When posting to a forum to request support it is helpful to detail what has already been tried so that folks won't post suggestions for the same unsuccessful "solutions".

* Which version of Thunderbird? Check Help>About for the version number.
* What operating system?
* What is the exact wording of the error message you are receiving?
* Do you have any extensions installed?
* What kind of mail - POP, IMAP?
* Is your mail service from an ISP, corporate e-mail system or Web-based?
* Are you using an antivirus and/or a firewall program? Which ones?
* Do you regularly compact your folders? Weekly or more often is strongly recommended. Check http://kb.mozillazine.org/Compacting_folders for more information on compacting folders.
* Without divulging your e-mail address or account name, what are your server settings, including server name and port number for:
+ Tools>Account Settings>*account*>Server Settings?
+ Tools>Account Settings>Outgoing Server (SMTP) (at the bottom of the list of accounts on the left)>*server*>Edit?
* Any recent changes in your computer or software configuration that might be relevant?
(including OS or Thunderbird updates, adding extensions or themes, etc. and any security program updates)

(Pinched from DanRaisch :) )
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -Albert Einstein

Please DO NOT PM me for support... Lets keep it on the board, so we can all learn.
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