
Need to delete and restore a Thunderbird account
I've been using Thunderbird successfully for years. I have three accounts on the same server at Time Warner, one of them is my main account. This account, in addition to the usual ones, has several custom created folders full of email. There has been a problem with the server, and I can no longer retrieve email for that account. (The other two accounts work just fine.) I've been able to log into that account via webmail with no problem. The techsupport advised me to delete and recreate the account in question and assured me that all my folders will be in place. I can't risk losing my email, so I'm reluctant to follow on that advise. Is there anything I can do safely and make sure that all my email is preserved? Thank you for your help.
Chosen solution
re :Wouldn't it make sense to scroll down to more recent email and edit markers in just that?
Yes that would be ok. Emails are in date order, so the oldest will be at the top.
I find Notepad works ok for me, but there are other text editors eg: Wordpad.
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re :The techsupport advised me to delete and recreate the account in question and assured me that all my folders will be in place.
This is true, but only IF you have an imap mail account, as all emails are stored on server and Thunderbird shows a remote view of all subscribed folders and their emails.
But before you go down that route, please post the following information so the forum can see what settings you are currently using.
Please confirm you can still send from this account - it is only a receiving issue.
In Thunderbird Help > Troubleshooting Information do Not select 'Include account names' click on 'Copy text to clipboard' button in this forum question, right click in a 'Post a Reply' text box and select 'Paste'. You can edit/remove alll info on fonts and printers, but nothing else.
1. Mine is a POP account 2. I can send email out 3.
Application Basics
Name: Thunderbird Version: 45.2.0 User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; WOW64; rv:45.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderbird/45.2.0 Profile Folder: Show Folder
(Local drive) Application Build ID: 20160630070546 Enabled Plugins: about:plugins Build Configuration: about:buildconfig Memory Use: about:memory
Mail and News Accounts account1: INCOMING: account1, , (pop3) pop-server.maine.rr.com:110, plain, passwordCleartext OUTGOING: , smtp-server.maine.rr.com, plain, passwordCleartext, true
account2: INCOMING: account2, , (none) Local Folders, plain, passwordCleartext
account4: INCOMING: account4, , (pop3) mail.twc.com:110, plain, passwordCleartext OUTGOING: , smtp-server.maine.rr.com, plain, passwordCleartext, true
account5: INCOMING: account5, , (pop3) pop-server.maine.rr.com:110, plain, passwordCleartext OUTGOING: , smtp-server.maine.rr.com, plain, passwordCleartext, true
Crash Reports
Extensions Mail Redirect, 0.8.7, true, {CC3C233D-6668-41bc-AAEB-F3A1D1D594F5} Send Later, 6.1, true, sendlater3@kamens.us Signature Switch, 1.6.14, true, {2ab1b709-ba03-4361-abf9-c50b964ff75d} Zoom Button for Thunderbird, 0.0.8, true, ZoomButton@accessfirefox.org
Important Modified Preferences
Name: Value
browser.cache.disk.capacity: 358400 browser.cache.disk.filesystem_reported: 1 browser.cache.disk.smart_size_cached_value: 358400 browser.cache.disk.smart_size.first_run: false browser.cache.disk.smart_size.use_old_max: false dom.apps.reset-permissions: true extensions.lastAppVersion: 45.2.0 gfx.crash-guard.glcontext.appVersion: 45.2.0 gfx.crash-guard.glcontext.deviceID: 0x6613 gfx.crash-guard.glcontext.driverVersion: 20.19.0.32832 gfx.crash-guard.glcontext.gfx.driver-init.direct3d11-angle: true gfx.crash-guard.glcontext.gfx.driver-init.webgl-angle: true gfx.crash-guard.glcontext.gfx.driver-init.webgl-angle-force-d3d11: false gfx.crash-guard.glcontext.gfx.driver-init.webgl-angle-force-warp: false gfx.crash-guard.glcontext.gfx.driver-init.webgl-angle-try-d3d11: true gfx.crash-guard.status.glcontext: 2 gfx.direct3d.last_used_feature_level_idx: 0 mail.openMessageBehavior.version: 1 mail.winsearch.firstRunDone: true mailnews.database.global.datastore.id: 0abd3234-0fb4-4635-a262-640aeb7686f mailnews.database.global.views.conversation.columns: {"threadCol":{"visible":true,"ordinal":"1"},"flaggedCol":{"visible":true,"ordinal":"3"},"attachmentCol":{"visible":false… mailnews.database.global.views.global.columns: {"threadCol":{"visible":true,"ordinal":"1"},"flaggedCol":{"visible":true,"ordinal":"3"},"attachmentCol":{"visible":false… network.cookie.prefsMigrated: true network.predictor.cleaned-up: true places.database.lastMaintenance: 1474295807 places.history.expiration.transient_current_max_pages: 104858 plugin.importedState: true Adapter Description: AMD Radeon R7 200 Series Vendor ID: 0x1002 Device ID: 0x6613 Adapter RAM: 2048 Adapter Drivers: aticfx64 aticfx64 aticfx64 amdxc64 aticfx32 aticfx32 aticfx32 amdxc32 atiumd64 atidxx64 atidxx64 atiumdag atidxx32 atidxx32 atiumdva atiumd6a atitmm64 Driver Version: 20.19.0.32832 Driver Date: 6-30-2016 Direct2D Enabled: false DirectWrite Enabled: false (10.0.10586.589) ClearType Parameters: Gamma: 2200 Pixel Structure: R ClearType Level: 100 Enhanced Contrast: 50 WebGL Renderer: Google Inc. -- ANGLE (AMD Radeon R7 200 Series Direct3D11 vs_5_0 ps_5_0) -- OpenGL ES 2.0 (ANGLE 2.1.0.316930d51ea9) GPU Accelerated Windows: 0
AzureCanvasBackend: skia AzureSkiaAccelerated: 0 AzureFallbackCanvasBackend: cairo AzureContentBackend: cairo
JavaScript
Incremental GC: 1
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Library Versions
Expected minimum version Version in use
NSPR 4.12 4.12
NSS 3.21.1 Basic ECC 3.21.1 Basic ECC
NSS Util 3.21.1 3.21.1
NSS SSL 3.21.1 Basic ECC 3.21.1 Basic ECC
NSS S/MIME 3.21.1 Basic ECC 3.21.1 Basic ECC
Two other things: 1. The account in question is the one identified as account1 2. You may notice that the three accounts have different POP server names, however, they point to the same server, and techsupport told me that it didn't matter.
DO NOT delete this account. That was poor advice from twc since these are all POP accounts and the only record of these messages is likely to be what is on your computer.
I hope you make backups. If not, find out NOW how to do so.
There is no difference between the settings for the working and non- working accounts and there's no reason to think that you'd get any different if you set up the account again.
What happens when you try to use this broken account? I ask because sometimes download becomes blocked by a message which is malformed and Thunderbird is not able to mark it as downloaded, so it remains on the server. Are there any messages on the server in the broken account that you have finished with and could delete? If there are messages that you do need to keep, could you forward them to one of your other accounts?
It's possible (but IMHO unlikely) that setting up the account afresh might help. I would either move all the messages to somewhere else (one of your other accounts, or Local Folders) and then delete the broken account, or disable the broken account (by changing its settings to point to a non-existent server). Then I'd try setting it up again.
Yes, it would appear you can send because you are sending using a different smtp probably with a different email address and password.
With account settings as they are; in your current state, please tell us some info on these points. Q: When you say you cannot get mail, what exactly occurs? Q: When you start up or click on 'Get Messages' for that mail account, what do you see in the bottom 'Status Bar' ? Looking up, connecting, connected etc ? Q: Do you get any error message? if yes what is the error message. Please tell us what it says...word for word.
Then try the following............. Most info from twc seems to say the pop server info is as you have shown. Offering no SSL/TLS. However, I also located some information that it was possible to get it to work using SSL. Maybe this is worth a try.
Right click on mail account name in 'Folder Pane' and select 'Settings'. Select 'Server Settings' for the pop mail account. check all details, clearing and rewriting to make sure.
Account Type: POP3
- Incoming Mail Server: mail.twc.com
- Port: 995
- User Name = full email address
- Connection Security: SSL/TLS
- Authentication Method: Normal password
You can keep the smtp setting as it works ok for you, but the correct ones would be.....
- Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP): mail.twc.com
- port: 587
- User Name = full email address
- Connection Security: STARTTLS
- Authentication Method: Normal password
Check password/username is correct:
- Password = same as used to logon to webmail account.
'Menu icon' > 'Options' > 'Options' > 'Security' > 'Password' tab
- click on 'saved passwords' button
- click on 'show passwords' button
right click on the mailbox line and it offers you the choice of editing.
- click on 'Close'
- click on 'OK
Restart Thunderbird.
Then after altering server settings etc, please post any info regarding what it says in Status Bar and also any error messages.
Modified
re :The account in question is the one identified as account1
Sorry my fault, I had assumed it was account 4. So details in last comment were aimed at account 4 being wrong.
Please still provide .. When you say you cannot get mail, what exactly occurs? Q: When you start up or click on 'Get Messages' for that mail account, what do you see in the bottom 'Status Bar' ? Looking up, connecting, connected etc ? Q: Do you get any error message? if yes what is the error message. Please tell us what it says...word for word.
According to various info on the internet any of the following settings should work, although the information on main website refers to these email addresses:
- johndoe@[division].rr.com
- johndoe@roadrunner.com
- johndoe@twc.com
and this server setting: Account Type: POP3
- Incoming Mail Server: mail.twc.com
- Port: 110
- User Name = full email address
- Connection Security: none
- Authentication Method: Normal password
However, info also states that any of the following may work as well.
Account Type: POP3
- Incoming Mail Server: mail.twc.com
- Port: 995
- User Name = full email address
- Connection Security: SSL/TLS
- Authentication Method: Normal password
Account Type: POP3
- Incoming Mail Server: pop-server.maine.rr.com
- Port: 110
- User Name = full email address
- Connection Security: none
- Authentication Method: Normal password
Account Type: POP3
- Incoming Mail Server: pop-server.maine.rr.com
- Port: 995
- User Name = full email address
- Connection Security: SSL/TLS
- Authentication Method: Normal password
Here's some more information. Some of it answering your questions and some new. First of all, in reference to the account1. The last mail I see in Thunderbird is dated 9/10/16. The last email in webmail is dated 9/20/16. I believe I was first told by TWC that there was a problem with the server on 9/16/16. On 9/17 or 9/18, I found that some of the webmail on the first screen, even though it was dated Sept. 2016 was from 2013 and 2014 and I reported that to techsupport. A day later, the techsupport told me that, on their end, the problem was fixed. They asked me to delete that email from the first webmail screen, log in again, and see if it reappears. It didn't. When Thunderbird checks mail, the bottom of the screen shows the following: "Downloading messages 1 of 1201". Then the box appears that states: "The RETR command did not succeed. Error retrieving message. Mail server pop-server.maine.rr.com responded: no such message". (I may very well have 1201 messages in my Inbox, most read and some still unread, that I keep in that Inbox. The latest message is from 2006.)
Beginning yesterday, I started having the same kind of problem with the account2. The last message in Thunderbird is dated 9/19/2016. The last message in webmail is dated 9/20/16. When Thunderbird checks mail, the bottom of the screen shows the following: "Downloading messages 1 of 705". Then the box appears that states: "The RETR command did not succeed. Error retrieving message. Mail server mail.twc.com responded: no such message".
I will wait for your new replies and then will try to change Security to SSL/TLS and port to 995. You may want to know that one of the techsupport people was surprised that my POP server port was set to 110. She said that I should change it to 143 (and the SMTP port to 587). Changing the port to 143 didn't let me to connect at all, so I changed it back to 110.
I have been able to log on and retrieve mail from account1 from my smartphone, even though, from time to time, it tells me that the password is incorrect and I have to re-enter it. Most of the time it works fine.
Tried the SSL/TLS and port 995. The only difference I could see was that that on account1 it didn't show "Downloading messages 1 of 1201".
re :She said that I should change it to 143...Changing the port to 143 didn't let me to connect at all... That is not a port used by pop. It is used by imap and you do not have any imap mail accounts, so it was never going to work.
re :account2. The last message in Thunderbird is dated 9/19/2016. The last message in webmail is dated 9/20/16. When Thunderbird checks mail, the bottom of the screen shows the following: "Downloading messages 1 of 705".
As there is only one day difference, would I be correct in assuming webmail did not receive 705 new messages on the 20th Sept. But the 705 may be refering to the total number of messages in the webmail Inbox?
If yes, could you try this: Logon to webmail for that account. Move all messages you have previously downloaded into another folder, leaving only the new messages in the server Inbox which have not been downloaded. Then, in thunderbird, select account 2 and click on 'Get Messages'.
Did account 2 manage to download those new messages? Please report back on results for that account.
First, I have a general question: what does this mean "Leave messages on sever/Until I delete them"? This is my setting. My understanding has been that when I download message into my Thunderbird they remain on server, but the messages I delete in Thunderbird are also deleted from the server. Then when I download messages every day only new ones are downloaded. Is that correct?
If it is correct, then the answer to your question about account2 is no, There may very well be 705 messages on server, but I don't get anything close to 705 new messages every day.
Now, this your suggestion I didn't understand: "If yes, could you try this: Logon to webmail for that account. Move all messages you have previously downloaded into another folder, leaving only the new messages in the server Inbox which have not been downloaded. Then, in thunderbird, select account 2 and click on 'Get Messages'.
Did account 2 manage to download those new messages?"
Did you mean to move previously downloaded mail FROM WITHIN WEBMAIL? Or FROM THUNDERBIRD? If the first, I have no idea how to do it.
Should I call TWC techsupport and, based on that my problem with account2 just appeared, ask them if they still have a problem with the mail server and if it's getting even worse? The problem is that their techsupport is not competent and two people very well give two different answers to the same question.
re : what does this mean "Leave messages on sever/Until I delete them"?
By default, when pop mail accounts download from server Inbox, the copy on the server is put into trash and later deleted by the server.
If you have selected the setting: 'Leave messages on server': This means the copy is not deleted off the server; it remains in the server Inbox.
If you have selected 'For at most xx days': The copy will remain on the server for a limited period determined by the number of days selected, then it will be deleted off the server.
If you have selected 'Until I delete them': If you delete the email in Thunderbird then that copy will also be deleted off the server.
re :Then when I download messages every day only new ones are downloaded. Is that correct? Yes.
re :Did you mean to move previously downloaded mail FROM WITHIN WEBMAIL? Or FROM THUNDERBIRD? If the first, I have no idea how to do it.
Webmail is the means of accessing your mail account directly from the server via a browser connecting to the internet. I put webmail twc maine.rr into the google search and got this link:
I suggested you started with account 2, but this method of clearing inboxes works then you can do it for account 1 as well. to logon you would need to enter the email address and password for the account. You can create new folders and then move all previously downloaded emails from Inbox into the new folder. I would also make sure the server Spam/Junk folder is also empty. So only new not downloaded mail is in the server Inbox.
then in Thunderbird, do a similar thing. Create a new folder and move all emails currently in your Inbox into that new folder. When Inbox is empty, right click on Inbox folder and select 'Compact'.
Selecting 'Compact' will remove all traces of previously deleted emails, so the Inbox is completely cleared.
Then click on 'Get Messages' to download..hopefully...all the emails which you left in the server (webmail) Inbox.
Account1 has been fixed. TWC deleted 2013 and 2014 email from the server and asked me to delete 2015 messages from webmail. Now new messages are downloaded correctly in Thunderbird.
Account2 has not been fixed. There is a conflict in how many messages does the server have and what shows in webmail. They promised to clean it up within 3 days.
I had to change passwords for both accounts because the old ones were too short.
I used your suggestions and created new folders in webmail for both accounts and moved there about two months worth of latest email. In account1, I then moved that email back to Inbox.
I'll let you know what happens with account2.
The problem with account2 has NOT been fixed. Earlier today, was told that 4 days of recovered email were in my webmail Inbox. When I didn't find it there, I looked in my created folder and that email (all looked unread) was there. Nobody could explain to me why it got there instead of Inbox. I was told to move that email to the Inbox. I moved it, that folder was then empty, and I could see that email in Inbox. I went to Thunderbird, checked mail, and approximately 37 messages were downloaded. I also checked mail on my smartphone and could now see these missing messages.
However, when I returned to Thunderbird several hours later, these same messages were gone. I went to webmail and these messages were not in Inbox anymore. I could not see them on my smartphone either.
At this point, TWC, cannot explain to me what had happened to them, how did they disappear from Inbox. I spoke with their Level 3 support person who confirmed to me that their email problems are continuing.
But what I absolutely cannot understand is how these already downloaded 37 messages could disappear from Thunderbird. I thought such thing wasn't even possible. Do you have any idea?
I believe I still have problems with account1, too. I have more of recent messages in Thunderbird that I can see on webmail. That cannot be right.
If one's incoming POP server setting is Leave email on server/Until I delete them, how does this work? Until I delete them in Thunderbird? Or until I go to the webmail account and delete them there?