BUG: Thunderbird restarts online after compacting folders
This all started after outlook.live.com "disappeared" my sent items folder:
1) as stated above, everything in my "Sent Items" folder disappeared from outlook.live.com. I found this out using outlook.live.com via my Firefox browser. 2) I knew that I had not used Thunderbird in a little while, so I did a MozBackup of my local Thunderbird folders, created a new profile, and intended to use that profile in cases where I needed something from my old Sent Items history.
The new profile is labeled "tf0uz6a7.Restore of Lost Send Items" under: AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles 3) In order to access the data, I use the command:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Thunderbird\thunderbird.exe" -p
After running the command, I specify the alternate profile AND to work offline.
Every time I do so, Thunderbird asks whether I want to compact the folders. If I answer yes then when the compacting is done, Thunderbird restarts in online mode. Since the account information is still stored in the new profile, Thunderbird immediately starts synchronizing the new profile and therefore deletes the Sent Items under the new profile.
Hope that all makes sense. My only work-around is to always answer no then Thunderbird asks me about compacting folders.
Chosen solution
That would indicate to me you don't have the messages, only an index with enough information to populate the user interface with a mail list. Can you view the body of the message in Thunderbird while in offline mode?
Read this answer in context 👍 0All Replies (7)
Err, the setting to work offline is part of the profile, so changing the profile will change the connection settings to whatever the other profile has set.
I suggest you use the import export tools to import the send mail directly to the "local folders" of you existing profile and then move it a bit at a time to where you apparently want it. What you are doing now will simply not work.
https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-US/thunderbird/addon/importexporttools-ng/?src=ss
Unfortunately, I can't add the addon without going online, at which point Thunderbird starts syncing e-mails and my Sent Items disappear. I was able to install the addon from a .xpi file; however, when I try to export I get the message shown in the attached .jpg. Also, if I try to move the messages to a local folder, I get a message saying I can't while offline.
Modified by Craig D. Glasser
Chosen Solution
That would indicate to me you don't have the messages, only an index with enough information to populate the user interface with a mail list. Can you view the body of the message in Thunderbird while in offline mode?
You are right. I could have sworn that I had opened one or two while offline. I suppose that means they are gone for good, eh?
Open the IMAP mail folder in your profile. Goto the help menu, select troubleshooting information and click the open profile button. Close Thunderbird Open the IMAP mail folder in your profile in windows explorer
open the server folder and locate the relevant files that make up the "folders" in this case you are looking for a sent file. NOT Sent.msf, that is the index that fills the user interface.
Do you have one? If so copy the send file to preserve it. Open the file in a text editor. If it is to large for Notepad (here is hoping) download and install notepad++
Do you see any emails in the file? If so,
do a find and replace for any instance of
X-Mozilla-Status: 008
replace it with
X-Mozilla-Status: 001
Save your changes to the file
Now use the import export tools to import whatever mail is now available to import from the file you modified. That process changes the status of mail from deleted to new, but it may get you access to mail you have in the file that was awaiting being compacted / expunged.
No instances of "X-Mozilla-Status: 008". I wrote a quick program to search the file. As far as I can tell, all items have the status of 0001.
Example:
- Thu Jun 22 08:32:52 2017
X-Mozilla-Status: 0001 X-Mozilla-Status2: 00000000
The import/export option does not seem to work with these.
Modified by Craig D. Glasser
Have you tried importing from the file you have outside the profile? THe import e4xport tools were fully rewritten for the current release. Perhaps they have been "fixed" to want IMP accounts to be online.
With the file out of the profile a different import result may occur. as there clearly appears to be mail in the folder.