Where did you install Firefox from? Help Mozilla uncover 3rd party websites that offer problematic Firefox installation by taking part in our campaign. There will be swag, and you'll be featured in our blog if you manage to report at least 10 valid reports!

Avatar for Username

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

This thread was archived. Please ask a new question if you need help.

Is it safe to delete "ImapMail" folder from AppData after changing the "Local Directory" in Thunderbird?

  • 1 reply
  • 1 has this problem
  • 28 views
  • Last reply by Matt

kristian3
kristian3
more options

I have 5 IMAP accounts created in Thunderbird. I've noticed they are consuming ton of space on my C drive. I went to /AppData/Roaming/Thunderbird folder, and noticed that the "ImapMail" in my profile's folder is almost 44 GB in size.

I've changed the "Local Directory" setting for each of my accounts in "Server Settings" section to another partition. After restarting Thunderbird it began downloading all messages using IMAP all over again, and it went for an hour or so.

Now, it is all synced and the new folders on another partition are 22 GB large, which is only half the size of the ImapMail folder in AppData.

Because of that I am worried I might lose some data if I delete the original ImapMail folder, or that I might corrupt my Thunderbird profile. However, all my accounts are synced with IMAP, so in theory it shouldn't do any damage.

Is it safe to delete that folder completely?

Thank you.

I have 5 IMAP accounts created in Thunderbird. I've noticed they are consuming ton of space on my C drive. I went to /AppData/Roaming/Thunderbird folder, and noticed that the "ImapMail" in my profile's folder is almost '''44 GB''' in size. I've changed the "Local Directory" setting for each of my accounts in "Server Settings" section to another partition. After restarting Thunderbird it began downloading all messages using IMAP all over again, and it went for an hour or so. Now, it is all synced and the new folders on another partition are''' 22 GB''' large, which is '''only half the size''' of the ImapMail folder in AppData. Because of that I am worried I might lose some data if I delete the original ImapMail folder, or that I might corrupt my Thunderbird profile. However, all my accounts are synced with IMAP, so in theory it shouldn't do any damage. Is it safe to delete that folder completely? Thank you.

All Replies (1)

Matt
Matt
  • Moderator
  • Top 10 Contributor
more options

My personal feeling is it is never safe to change the local directory in Thunderbird. Despite it having a setting.

If you want you mail on another drive, relocate your profile and save yourself some serious angst over the next few years.

You may well have old data in your other folders in IMAP mail... I am not privy to your local storage, but no you can not remove IMAP mail as when you set up a new account it will be placed in that folder. You could remove the sub folders that you redirected.

Note that there are some safe guards in place regarding storage of profiles, but under no circumstances can mail be stored in folders that are synchronized either to another device or the cloud. It inevitably leads to data loss, or duplication.