Deletes folders on startup then downloads them and their messages and other messages again
OS: Linux Mint 20.3 ( has been a problem since 18 ) Thunderbird: 91.5.0 (64 bit) but the problem has been for years Thunderbird footprint on disk: Account 1 = 23.2GB, Account 2 = 15.1GB File system: ext4 Email server type: IMAP Email server: outlook.office365.com
When Thunderbird starts it deletes many of the folders then downloads the messages again from these folders and other folders that haven't been deleted. The behaviour is the same for both accounts This can be seen in the activity log. If any of the message filters are needed, i.e. the rule is met and the message needs moving into a folder that has been deleted and not downloaded yet then the rule is automatically switched off (enable tick removed). I have compacted the folders numerous times over the years I have followed the advice to delete the msf files but that has not cured it. All the data on the server stays and thunderbird does not affect that so the issue is purely local. I use thunderbird to sort all my messages into folders for the most part and use either my phone mail app or the Windows 10 mail app for day-to-day. I see all my messages in the inbox that why and then when I start the VM with Thunderbird everything should get sorted for me. I have 250+ message filter rules and decades of email so this re-downloading every time I start the Thunderbird VM takes hours.
The reason for my methodology is so I can sort all my emails on demand very quickly, I have a backup of all my emails on the Thunderbird VM, I can search using thunderbird if I need to, I can use Thunderbird to send emails If I need to whilst my day to day email is quickly dealt with on my phone or simple windows mail app. The startup re-downloading time is making Thunderbird not viable and the load on the email server and bandwidth usage is really concerning.
I am assuming that the record of all the mail folders and downloaded messages is corrupt or corrupted on startup. How do I force thunderbird to recreate the record or what can be corrupting the record?
All Replies (3)
Further to my post. I noticed that the information bar at the bottom of the screen (or whatever it is really called) isn't a true reflection of what is happening. I was incorrectly assuming that if this was blank or said "moved x messages from inbox to xxxxx folder" for a number of minutes, then Thunderbird was currently doing nothing and therefore it was safe to shut down.
This is not the case. If I look at the activity manager I see it is;
"Indexing xxx of xxxxx messages (x% complete)"
I've left this running overnight and it is still working through the indexing of various folders, one of them taking almost 20 hours, and is still going. I am now assuming that until the indexing is complete the record is not completed and that is causing the process of downloading to occur again for the folders or emails that have not been indexed are actually indexed.
I am going to leave it running until it has finished all the indexing and then I will update this post.
That didn't cure it. I've looked at /home/username/.thunderbird/1qrp4n4b.default/ImapMail
The files that hold the data without an extension get deleted. The.msf files appear not to be deleted but there is a second one created with a -1 postfix
it works like this.
Before I start Thunderbird I have
Magazines.msf Magazines
when I start Thunderbird I get this;
magazines.msf magazines-1.msf
The -1.msf file has info about all the emails that were there before, the .msf file only has 24 lines and looks like a blank folder record.
When Thunderbird gets round to saying it is downloading this directory I get
Magazines.msf Magazines
but the Magazines file is very small and starts increasing in size.
It looks to me like Thunderbird tries to read the directory list on the server but fails, takes it that there are no directories and deletes them and then sees there are directories and re-recreates them and downloads them again in sequence.
If Thunderbird checked multiple times before deleting or asked for permission with the option to recheck or delayed looking for a time, if this was the case it could cure the problem.
What was the historic problem with Gmail, where it kept downloading? is it a similar problem?
Modified by simon129
Do not do what I have tried.
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Letting Thunderbird keep on downloading, then deleting, then downloading has resulted in the Microsoft office 365 server marking my email address as SPAM.
Now If I send an email to someone that has their email run by office 365 then I get them returned with permanent errors because their MS server sees me as SPAM.
I am now trying to get this lifted.
I think my 15 year+ journey with thunderbird must come to an end. A shame as it has been a good email client over the years but this persistent problem has finally beaten me.