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There is not enough disk space to download new messages.

  • 1 reply
  • 18 have this problem
  • 238 views
  • Last reply by Toad-Hall

Please when is Mozilla going to permanently fix this problem. This limitation is keeping me to fully rely on Thunderbird.

Please when is Mozilla going to permanently fix this problem. This limitation is keeping me to fully rely on Thunderbird.

Chosen solution

This information will explain why you may be experiencing a disc space issue.

Emails are downloaded to the mail account Inbox.

The Inbox should be kept low or even empty in email numbers. The Inbox is designed to be an Inbox for new mail and therefore should be used for that purpose. Read mail should be moved to an appropriate folder for storage or deletion.

if you have emails in the Inbox folder, then move them to appropriate folders.

In Pop mail accounts, emails are downloaded and stored in a single mbox file, one email listed after the other in the order they were downloaded. So, keeping huge numbers of emails in one single file is a risk not worth taking. Hence the ability to create new folders and Archive old mail.

If you have emails older than a couple of months, Archive them. Old messages should be Archived by month and year and folder structure should be maintained. This includes the Sent folder as that folder can sometimes be allowed to get huge. Archiving tidies up older mail and creates smaller files which uses less memory when opened.

After removing emails into suitable folders and Archiving old mail, create a backup and then compact the folders. When you delete an email, from your point of view it disappears from eg: Inbox and reappears in Trash. In reality, it is still in the Inbox, 'marked as deleted', so it is still using up space. When you compact that folder, those 'marked as deleted' emails are fully removed, thus freeing up space. If you do not compact on a regular basis, you run a risk of the file becoming corrupted and losing everything in the file.

Assuming the compacting went ok, create another backup so that you have an up to date backup.

In addition, make sure any emails you leave on the server are deleted at least after 30 days, so that you do not use up quota space on the server. Most Pop mail accounts download and auto delete the copy off the server. I choose to leave them on the server for 30 days, so that between regular backups and the month on the server, I can retrieve all emails in the event of a problem. This info is configured here:

  • Tools > Account settings > Server Settings for the account

Links to helpful info which I recommend you read. How to keep a healthy Thunderbird:

Compacting - what it does and why it is important:

Archiving Options:

Backup:

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Chosen Solution

This information will explain why you may be experiencing a disc space issue.

Emails are downloaded to the mail account Inbox.

The Inbox should be kept low or even empty in email numbers. The Inbox is designed to be an Inbox for new mail and therefore should be used for that purpose. Read mail should be moved to an appropriate folder for storage or deletion.

if you have emails in the Inbox folder, then move them to appropriate folders.

In Pop mail accounts, emails are downloaded and stored in a single mbox file, one email listed after the other in the order they were downloaded. So, keeping huge numbers of emails in one single file is a risk not worth taking. Hence the ability to create new folders and Archive old mail.

If you have emails older than a couple of months, Archive them. Old messages should be Archived by month and year and folder structure should be maintained. This includes the Sent folder as that folder can sometimes be allowed to get huge. Archiving tidies up older mail and creates smaller files which uses less memory when opened.

After removing emails into suitable folders and Archiving old mail, create a backup and then compact the folders. When you delete an email, from your point of view it disappears from eg: Inbox and reappears in Trash. In reality, it is still in the Inbox, 'marked as deleted', so it is still using up space. When you compact that folder, those 'marked as deleted' emails are fully removed, thus freeing up space. If you do not compact on a regular basis, you run a risk of the file becoming corrupted and losing everything in the file.

Assuming the compacting went ok, create another backup so that you have an up to date backup.

In addition, make sure any emails you leave on the server are deleted at least after 30 days, so that you do not use up quota space on the server. Most Pop mail accounts download and auto delete the copy off the server. I choose to leave them on the server for 30 days, so that between regular backups and the month on the server, I can retrieve all emails in the event of a problem. This info is configured here:

  • Tools > Account settings > Server Settings for the account

Links to helpful info which I recommend you read. How to keep a healthy Thunderbird:

Compacting - what it does and why it is important:

Archiving Options:

Backup: