Restoring back ups
I have a bit of a problem. So I followed the file path to get the MSF files for a client's inbox. We're both connected through IMAP and the host messed up and restored some old emails on their server but deleted the new ones. So i followed the file path that's in the server settings for each account and copied all the files while the server resored the new ones, now the problem I'm having is getting Thunderbird to recognise these new files, even if the old ones were in a new folder in Thunderbird. I'm a bit of a novice at all this and my client needs these emails :/
Any help would be awesome, I've attached a picture so you have an idea of what one of the emails looks like in Thunderbird's app data file.
Thanks in advance :D
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YOU'VE FIXED IT YOU ARE THE BEST PERSON IN THE WORLD THANK YOU SOO MUCH!!!
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Sorry, image didn't upload :/
First thing: msf files won't help you. Your data is in those larger files without filename extensions, e.g Inbox. These are the so-called mbox files.
Second thing; you can't just copy mbox files into an IMAP account. They won't agree with what is on the server, and in the case of such a dispute, the server wins.
Your best hope of fixing this is to copy or import the mbox files into your Local Folders account. If the contents are usable, you'll see your old messages in the new folders created by doing this. Finally you can restore back to how it was before the accident by moving or copying the messages from account to account in Thunderbird.
Whilst you can just copy files into the profile, it may be safer and easier to use the ImportExportTools add-on to do this. If you choose to do it "by hand", I'd suggest you create a new folder in Thunderbird first. Give it a distinctive name and use it as a place-holder to help you identify where to paste your old mbox files using your file manager
I am assuming throughout that you're using mbox. There is an alternative system, maildir, where you'd need to copy a large number of separate files, one per message, rather than the monolithic mbox files. However, your screen shot tells me you're using mbox.
Okay I'm going to sound really stupid here but what do you mean by local folders account? is this within Thunderbird's app files?
In my Thunderbird (pick any, I run it on three machines using a mix of Linux and Windows) there is an account named "Local Folders" which appears in the pane at the left where the accounts are listed.
I should say also that if you choose to work directly with the contents of your profile, make sure Thunderbird is closed before making any changes!
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Chosen Solution
YOU'VE FIXED IT YOU ARE THE BEST PERSON IN THE WORLD THANK YOU SOO MUCH!!!
I have verizon.net extension email and well- it retrieves to thunderbird when it's in the mood this past week. I accidentally deleted the account trying to fix the server settings, and my folders are seen, as above- but how can I import them to thunderbird again? I NEED those emails and not everything is on the server.
If you go into settings for the account through Thunderbird and go to server settings, at the bottom will be a file path to the MSF files, copy and paste this into file explorer. find the MSF file Inbox and copy it into local folders, open thunderbird and have a look at local folders at the bottom of your list of emails and a new file called inbox should be there, just select all emails and copy it to your email address :D hope this makes sense because it's what I did to fix my problem :)