My suggestion is to = make a full backup of the profile for assurance that you will lose nothing. - delete the raysloan account - then, click File>New>Existing Mail account and create raysloan account fresh - If the other account is a POP account, you can copy mail folders to LocalFolders. After confirming that all messages are copied, you can delete the account.

Hi David, thank you very much for your response.

My first question is, how do I do a backup ?

Secondly, I am really most reluctant to delete my main account ray@raysloan.com because that is the one with all of my most important information and customer files if I lose any of that I will be devastated. Is there another way of sorting this out ? The other mailbox is relatively empty, although it does have mail in the 'sent' folder that I would like to keep if possible.

Thanks again.

Ray

OK, how did you create the raysloan account? It appears you did not use the standard approach. It may help if you do a screenshot of account panel, and server settings panel for raysloan, and also the smtp server panel (which is also at tools>accountsettings panel).

You can do a full backup by copying the folder at c:\users\yourID\appdata\roaming\thunderbird

Hi again David, just one more question, if the second account was deleted would raysloan.com stop being a 'special account' and revert to being my default ?

Thanks again.

Ray

NO, the other account seems to be the only one that works. I wouldn't delete anything until we know more.

Hi David,

Well, I have had raysloan.com for a very long time and I guess I created the account in the usual way? It's the @nilgaut that is new and I have no idea how or why it was created except that it was a result of re-configuring the server information yesterday for ray@raysloan.com - I cannot find any server settings for raysloan.com - yet I can send emails from there, but not receive them ?

I have also been into TBD roaming files and the only files I can see are for raysloan.com there is nothing in there called ray@nilgaut.o2switch.net

I have attached the screen shots

Thanks !

re : If I look at 'settings' for raysloan.com at the top it says 'The following is a special account. There are no identities associated with it - account name ray@raysloan.com' !?

That account by default is the 'Local Folders' mail account. At some point in the past you renamed it from 'Local Folders' to 'ray@raysloan.com', but it is still the default 'Local Folders' mail account.

The 'Local directory: information says it is using the 'Local Folders' mail account folders.

I believe you may have done the following: In the begining you created a pop mail account, but you did not set it up as a regular pop account using it's own folders - you set it up as a deferred account using a Global Inbox which was 'Local Folder' Inbox. So all emails coming into the pop mail account went directly to the 'Local Folders' mail account. As the 'Local Folders' mail account would be the only account visible in the Folder Pane, you decided to rename the folder to reflect the pop email address which you were redirecting to that account.

However, the original pop account would still have been listed in the Account Settings. It is not listed. It would seem you removed it. That would fully explain why you are no longer receiving any emails into that pop account. But you have not removed the outgoing server smtp and you still have it set up as default. Obviously that outgoing server name is still operating.

As this was originally set up as a POP account then it is possible it may still be in the profile 'Mail' folder - same place as the 'Local Folders' mail account.

As the 'Local Folders' mail account aka renamed as your email address - is at the top of the list, I'm also assuming you set it up as the default account. It is not advisable to set up the 'Local Folders' mail account as the default account.

The other account '@nilgaut.o2switch.net' - is the new one. It was created as a completely new account and it was set up as an imap mail account. Imap mail accounts cannot be set up as deferred accounts and cannot use the 'Local Folders' mail account. This is because Imap folders synchronise with server folders and can only display whatever is held on the server.

In the profile, that imap account would be located in the 'ImapMail' folder.

re :if the second account was deleted would raysloan.com stop being a 'special account' and revert to being my default ?

No. It is the 'Local Folders' mail account regardless of what you call it. It is and always will be a special account. At this point in time you do not have the original pop mail account. You deleted it. Therefore you cannot connect to that server and download mail.

The 'other account' - the IMAP account. You have called it 'ray @ nilgaut.o2switch.net' but that is just a name for the account, it is not the email address. I have no idea why you gave it that name because that is not the email address and it's likely to only confuse you - may be it was to remind you that this account is using a different server in which case I would have called it - 'ray on nilgaut.o2switch.net'

You would need to post image of the 'Server Settings' for that mail account. I suspect you are using an entirely different server. You would also need to post the 'outgoing server smtp' settings for that account.

You mention "re-configuring the server information" - please explain why you needed to re-configuring the server information ?

It is entirely possible you have moved everything to a new server, so you do not want to get rid of that account at the moment. Are you seeing emails in the Inbox of that nilgaut.o2switch.net account?

re :I have also been into TBD roaming files and the only files I can see are for raysloan.com there is nothing in there called ray@nilgaut.o2switch.net

It is not the name of the server nor the email address used so it will not appear in the ImapMail folder as that name.

Sheesh, thank very much TH, but I find it very hard to get my head around all of that..... I did not do any of what you mention intentionally and have no idea why it happened ? I have looked in my folders including IMAP mail folders and I cannot find anything at all with the name of the new account. My question remains, regardless of how or why it happened, what can I do to reinstate raysloan.com as my primary default account and get rid of ray@nilgaut.o2switch.net without harming any files in raysloan.com ?

Thank you very much for your input and time.

Ray

Thanks again TH, as I said I actually did nothing intentionally and certainly did not intentionally open an account called ray@nilgaut.o2switch.net - how that happened is just beyond me ?

The reason I was reconfiguring the settings is because I have just transferred my domains to a new hosting company and so I had to change the server settings so I could continue to receive my emails - the name of the server for my new host is nilgaut.o2switch.net

The only TBD profiles I have are for raysloan.com I can find no folders anywhere called ray@nilgaut.o2switch.net only folders for raysloan.com

This whole thing is a mystery to me. What I can tell you is that I can 'send' mails from raysloan.com but all incoming mails only go to nilgaut.

Can you see how to get rid of nilgaut and reinstate raysloan.com as my default ? I would be very grateful for advice.

Thanks so much.

Ray

Thanks again TH. Can you see how to get rid of the nilgaut account and reinstate raysloan.com as my default ? I would be very grateful for advice.

Thanks so much.

re :The reason I was reconfiguring the settings is because I have just transferred my domains to a new hosting company and so I had to change the server settings so I could continue to receive my emails - the name of the server for my new host is nilgaut.o2switch.net

OK, that means the new imap account is the correct one.

To stop confusion can you please do the following and then supply the information requested.

1. The top account is 'Local Folders' so change that name back to the default because this account is only a storage of emails, it is not the original account. See images below.

2. Change the default because Local Folders should not be the default when there is another mail account - it can mess things up. Select the name of other new nilgaut.o2switch.net imap account Click on 'Account Actions' and select 'Set as default' It should go to the top.

3. Change the name of the new imap account because currently it is not the same as the email address. It needs to be your email address. See image below.

4. Then Select 'Server Settings' and make window wide enough so you can read all the information in the Local Directory then post an image. This will tell us where that account is being stored, because it should be in the 'ImapMail' folder. Then we will know whether you set it up correctly.

5. Restart Thunderbird and then post this information.

6. Help > More Troubleshooting Information Under 'Mail and News Accounts. Copy all the data and then post it into this forum.

Hi Guys, well, at the same time as reconfiguring my server details for TBD on my PC I had to do the same for my Tablet. I reconfigured my Tablet email without any problem. So, I get my emails no problem on my Tablet and it arrives in TBD in ray@nilgaut.o2switch.net As I have said previously, strangely, I can still 'send' from raysloan.com in TBD and I have now discovered that all mails that come into @nilgaut I can move to raysloan.com.

And so, in the absence of knowing how to get rid of @nilgaut and reinstate raysloan.com as my default account in TBD I will just have to move everything that comes into @nilgaut to raysloan.com and reply from there. I do not want anyone, especially my clients, receiving mails from ray@nilgaut.o2switch.net ! It is inconvenient and a nuisance but I do not see what else I can do.

Thank you very much for your time and input. I appreciate it.

Best wishes.

Ray

Hi again TH. Thanks for getting back to me.

I am really extremely nervous about doing anything to raysloan.com as that account contains a lot of information critical to my business, so please excuse me if I want to confirm my actions will do nothing to harm any information in my raysloan account ?

So, to be clear, you want me to go into the account settings for raysloan.com and replace the account name with 'Local Folders' is that correct ?

You then refer to changing the default, I have to tell you that if I click on 'account actions' in both of the accounts 'set as default' is actually greyed out ? And so I am not sure if I can do what you ask. I cannot do a screen shot of the greyed out text as the box closes when I try and do the screen shot. But I can assure you that it is greyed out. I will wait for a response before doing anything else.

Thank you very much.

Will you please do as I have asked you to do. You are confused and your confusion is because you are deliberately changing names of your accounts for no good reason. It is likely you were posting the last comment at the same time as me.

If you move emails off the server and put them in Local Folders, they will be on your computer but they are no longer on the server and the purpose of an imap account is to have emails on the server. You are moving emails believing they are in the wrong account when they are probably in the correct account.

There is no such email address as 'ray@nilgaut.o2switch.net'. It is just the name you have given to the account. It says very explicitly that the email address is the same as normal. I believe there is nothing wrong with the 'ray@nilgaut.o2switch.net' account except that you have given it a confusing name.

I keep asking for specific information and you are not supplying it. I need to see the server settings and the outgoing server settings for the new imap account. Please work through my last comment and stop panicing. Get the names for the accounts corrected, Get the imap account set up as default. Restart Thunderbird and then post the information so we can check all is in the correct location.

re :So, to be clear, you want me to go into the account settings for raysloan.com and replace the account name with 'Local Folders' is that correct ? yes, because it is Local Folders mail account.

re :I am really extremely nervous about doing anything to raysloan.com as that account contains a lot of information critical to my business, so please excuse me if I want to confirm my actions will do nothing to harm any information in my raysloan account ?

The one you think is raysloan.com is not raysloan.com, it is Local Folders. It is not connected to any mail account because you deleted the pop mail account. It is just a storage of folders and emails.

However, all those emails and folders are stored on your computer. They are stored in this location: C:\Users\User Name\Appdata\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\puoj1znl.default\Mail\Local Folders

You are merely being asked to undo what you did a long time ago which is reset the name of that account back to the original name. It will have no effect what so ever on what it contains but it will help you sort out this confusion.

I am trying very hard to follow your instructions and provide you with the info' you ask for TH. I am sorry it is frustrating you but I do not always understand the language.

I have changed raysloan.com to Local Folders but I cannot follow the next step because 'set as default' is greyed out in both accounts, so there is nothing I can do about setting anything as a default ?

re :You then refer to changing the default, I have to tell you that if I click on 'account actions' in both of the accounts 'set as default' is actually greyed out ?

Not sure if you doing this correctly.....If you are selecting the 'Server Settings' or any other sub setting then the 'Set as default' will be greyed out. It will also be greyed out for the account name currently set up as default.

In the left pane , you need to select the name of the account, not a sub section. I am hoping at this point you have reinstated the name 'Local Folders' to the top account. I am hoping you have corrected the name of the imap account previously called 'ray@nilgaut.o2switch.net' which I'm now hoping you have called 'ray@rayslone.com'. Then in left pane select the name of the imap account - then click on 'Account Actions' and choose 'Set as Default'