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Messages from local folder seem to be deleted - help

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laurenmb5678
laurenmb5678

New user - I recently moved thousands of messages from my inbox to a local folder.

At some point, Thunderbird asked me to compact folders and I said yes. I noticed today that I am now missing about 13 years worth of messages from my local inbox folder.

Since I moved them, it deleted the messages out of the original inbox (I also logged into that account via the web and they are not located in the trash on the server either). There are now only a handful of messages there.

Does compacting mean that messages are deleted? Everything else I read said specifically that it would NOT delete messages. Any tips on how I can recover some really important messages? (It deleted about 13 years worth of messages from early May 2026 back to mid-2013, so there are recent messages in there I really need!).

Steps already taken: I tried using "repair folder" and that did not work. I do not have any automatic filters set up. I tried locating my Profile, and moved the "msf" files to my recycling bin, as I read that deleting the msf file would rebuild the index and display emails that had disappeared. Nothing changed. This was new for me so perhaps I did something wrong? I haven't emptied the recycling bin yet so the files are easily retrievable if necessary.

New user - I recently moved thousands of messages from my inbox to a local folder. At some point, Thunderbird asked me to compact folders and I said yes. I noticed today that I am now missing about 13 years worth of messages from my local inbox folder. Since I moved them, it deleted the messages out of the original inbox (I also logged into that account via the web and they are not located in the trash on the server either). There are now only a handful of messages there. Does compacting mean that messages are deleted? Everything else I read said specifically that it would NOT delete messages. Any tips on how I can recover some really important messages? (It deleted about 13 years worth of messages from early May 2026 back to mid-2013, so there are recent messages in there I really need!). Steps already taken: I tried using "repair folder" and that did not work. I do not have any automatic filters set up. I tried locating my Profile, and moved the "msf" files to my recycling bin, as I read that deleting the msf file would rebuild the index and display emails that had disappeared. Nothing changed. This was new for me so perhaps I did something wrong? I haven't emptied the recycling bin yet so the files are easily retrievable if necessary.

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david
david
  • Top 10 Contributor

I presume this was an IMAP account. Moving from server to local storage, regardless of email client, can be problematic, since the network itself is involved. A transfer may contain message headers, but not the message content. Better to COPY to local folders so that you can verify content. I suggest restoring the recycle bin, verifying the message content is there, and then COPYing to local folders, and then rechecking. Personally, I have doubts on the trash folder, but am hoping for success. :)

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