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Not all folders syncronizing and receive "expunge failed" message from the server

  • 7 svar
  • 1 har dette problemet
  • 13 views
  • Siste svar av stereokat

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I use Thunderbird 68.4.1. I have three gmail accounts and one Telus account set up. The gmail accounts work fine. Telus had a major failure in August 2019 and only recently restored my messages and folders. I can access all folders and messages only through Telus web mail client. Only one of many folders is syncing in Tbird with the Telus server. When I click on the inbox, Tbird displays a message that says, "The current operation on 'Inbox' did not succeed. The mail server for account nnnnnnnn@telus.net responded: EXPUNGE failed. I've tried deleting the account and setting it up again in Tbird, no change. I've checked server names and ports with Telus and the account settings seem okay. I've tried Window Mail and have a different set of problem. All folders show up in Windows Mail, but they are all empty and none except the inbox syncs. I've spent hours on the phone with Telus without resolution. Tbird seemed to work okay before the Telus failure. Is there something in Tbird settings I'm overlooking? Or is this a server problem. Sure would appreciate some assistance as there are a few thousand emails sitting on the Telus server that I want to restore locally.

I use Thunderbird 68.4.1. I have three gmail accounts and one Telus account set up. The gmail accounts work fine. Telus had a major failure in August 2019 and only recently restored my messages and folders. I can access all folders and messages only through Telus web mail client. Only one of many folders is syncing in Tbird with the Telus server. When I click on the inbox, Tbird displays a message that says, "The current operation on 'Inbox' did not succeed. The mail server for account nnnnnnnn@telus.net responded: EXPUNGE failed. I've tried deleting the account and setting it up again in Tbird, no change. I've checked server names and ports with Telus and the account settings seem okay. I've tried Window Mail and have a different set of problem. All folders show up in Windows Mail, but they are all empty and none except the inbox syncs. I've spent hours on the phone with Telus without resolution. Tbird seemed to work okay before the Telus failure. Is there something in Tbird settings I'm overlooking? Or is this a server problem. Sure would appreciate some assistance as there are a few thousand emails sitting on the Telus server that I want to restore locally.
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If you create a new folder through Telus webmail, and then copy a message there, can the folder be subscribed in TB and show the message? Same with Windows Mail.

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Thank you for the reply. In Telus webmail I created a folder. There's no option to copy a message in webmail, so I moved a message from the inbox to the new folder.

The new folder shows up in Windows Mail but not Tbird. There is a sync icon in Windows Mail. After selecting the new folder in Windows mail and clicking the sync icon, the message appeared in the new folder. I tried selecting a few other folders in Windows Mail followed by clicking the sync icon, and no messages are retrieved. The folders remain empty.

Going back to Tbird, I selected the Telus account under "Get Messages" and received the inbox "EXPUNGE failed" message.

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in your account setting in Thunderbird. Server settings> advanced button

Make sure the show only subscribed folders is not checked. This cripples subscriptions somewhat, but it also makes sure you see all the folders the server is reporting exist in the account.

While in that dialog, try setting the server directory to \ I see this mentioned here While it is possible it will either do nothing, or make things not work. It is worth a try as it is not working well for you now.

The server directory should be detected automatically, but the Google one is not at it appears in the user interface as a folder [Google]. Perhaps something similar is happening with Telus. Also make sure the option to allow server to override these settings at the bottom of that dialog is set. The namespace settings are a best guess and it is important that if the server offers something else it is allowed to correct the information.

Now follow the instructions to restart your device in safe mode. It is quite probable that an external program is causing your issues.

If safe mode for the operating system fixes the issue, there's other software in your computer that's causing problems. Possibilities include but not limited to: AV scanning, virus/malware, background downloads such as program updates.
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stereokat said

Thank you for the reply. In Telus webmail I created a folder. There's no option to copy a message in webmail, so I moved a message from the inbox to the new folder. The new folder shows up in Windows Mail but not Tbird. There is a sync icon in Windows Mail. After selecting the new folder in Windows mail and clicking the sync icon, the message appeared in the new folder. I tried selecting a few other folders in Windows Mail followed by clicking the sync icon, and no messages are retrieved. The folders remain empty. Going back to Tbird, I selected the Telus account under "Get Messages" and received the inbox "EXPUNGE failed" message.

Make sure you right-click the account in the Folder Pane, Subscribe, click Refresh, and see if the new folder appears in the list, and if it does, subscribe (check) it. The idea is that the old folders won't be accessible, but maybe creating new folders will be.

I know users with Telus IMAP accounts in TB, and they don't require any special settings.

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Thank you to all, and your help has given me a partial resolution.

First, I was unaware of the subscription selections. Right clicking on the account I found most of the folders Telus had restored were not selected. I selected them and the folders appear to have synced.

That said, I am still not syncing on the inbox even though it is selected within subscriptions. Clicking on the inbox in tb still generates the "Expunge failed" message.

Deselecting "Show only subscribed folders" doesn't change anything.

"Allow server to override these namespaces" was selected when checked.

Setting the IMAP server directory to \ and restarting tb results in all folders in tb for the Telus account to disappear except for the inbox with the same "Expunge failed" message generated when the inbox is selected. Restoring the default setting (blank) returned all folders.

Restarting in safe mode made no difference, the problem remains.

Telus has referred this to a second escalation manager who I'm trying to contact.

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Any further resolution ?

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No, it hasn't been resolved. I've spent many hours dealing with Telus and I'm tired of it. I no longer using their email services except to occasionally check for messages through web mail. I've migrated almost entirely to gmail which TB integrates well with.

During one of the many calls I placed to Telus, one manager told me that because their email service is "free", they are under no obligation to provide support for it.

Not impressed with them.