re :my web manager has changed our servers and instructed me to change my email setting.

Are you saying that the web manager did not migrate all previously received mail over to new server before telling people to use different server?

Are you saying that the web manager did not advise that all emails on imap mail account would need to be copied to 'Local Folders' mail account to get a copy outside of the imap account else they would be lost?

I'm presuming you are using an imap mail account. Imap mail accounts see a remote view of what is on server. This means your imap mail account Inbox is looking at a particular server Inbox and displaying the contents. When you instruct it look at a completely different Inbox on a completely different server, it does exactly as you have instructed it to do. It cannot display anything that was on old server Inbox.

If you can get someone to tell you old server settings then you might still get access to old mail, but it depends on whether the contract has ceased on old server. If you get access, you would need to synchronise folders for offline mode. Then in offline mode to stop any further synchronising whilst moving emails, copy emails to new folders in the 'Local Folders' mail account. Then go back into online mode and swap the server settings to the new settings.

Did no one ever create any backups of emails? Did you ever use Windows to search for emails? If yes, then you might have eg: Inbox.mozmsg folders containing old emails. Do not use Windows search just in case you over write anything.

Make hidden files and folders visible: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Show_hidden_files_and_folders

In Thunderbird

• Help > TRoubleshooting Information
• click on 'Open Folder' button

a new window opens showing contents of your Profile name folder.

• click on 'ImapMail' folder
• click on the imap mail account name folder

Do you see any folders with *.mozmsg extensions? eg: Inbox.mozmsg

Do you see any folders with *.sbd extension eg: 'Inbox.sbd open those folders, do you see any folders with *.mozmsg extensions?

If yes, there are .mozmsg folders.

• Exit/Close the Thunderbird program.

Create a new folder on desktop and call it eg: 'TB mozmsg' Make copies of any *.mozmsg folder and paste into that desktop 'TB mozmsg' folder.

Let us know if you have any mozmsg folders and I'll give instructions on how to access them and import back into 'Local Folders'.

re :The emails are still in a web mail in Outitgoes.

If this is on new server, then you should get access by subscribing to see the 'Outitgoes' folder.

• Right click on imap mail account in Folder pane and select 'Subscribe'
• select the 'Outitgoes' folder
• click on 'Subscribe'.
• click on 'OK'.

Then synchronise for offline use to download full copy on your computer. Then put a copy of emails into 'Local Folders' mail account.

re :The emails are still in a web mail in Outitgoes. I am worried that they won't stay there for long and I desperately need them back in Thunderbird. He won't change the servers back so I can retrieve them that way. Is there any other way to do it?

If Outitgoes folder is on old server.... the web manager does not have to swap anything. Web manager just needs to tell you the old server settings, so you can swap back to point your email address to look at old server.

Then subscribe to see folders and follow the instructions in previous comment to download and get copies in to Local Folders. When all is ok, you can swap back server settings to the new ones.

Thanks everyone. Outitgoes is on my old server and I am hoping that I can persuade him to do that but he is being very unhelpful. I am angry that he didn't warn me to make the changes beforehand. My worry is that , if I can get him to do that, as I had the old email for so long, I can't remember what the account settings were like port numbers, security etc.

Do you all use Thunderbird, across the business, or like me, are you a maverick going against the flow? I am in an Outlook/Exchange/Office365 environment and I am the only person here that I know uses Thunderbird.

There are so many things I don't like about the Outlook client (and Windows in general). I try now and again to make myself like Outlook, but it's just not a good fit to my way of thinking and working. And I find it aesthetically and ergonomically lacking.

I get the impression that your web manager isn't quite on top of this. Or maybe he is working on the assumption that everyone uses the same tools and services, and perhaps you are the odd one out?

Is there anyone else in the office who had to change server settings? They may remember them, whilst your email address and password might be unique, the old server name for incoming and outgoing, port numbers etc would be the same.

Another option you could try: create a free gmail account. See if you can forward all 'Outitgoes' emails to that gmail account. This would be done via webmail account.

Info here: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/21289?hl=en&visit_id=0-636554294142388318-4009337484&rd=1 section : Get only old messages

I am a step further on in that my web manager has reset the settings to the old server in order for me to retrieve all the emails from the old server.. I can now see that new emails have gone into outitgoes so the reset has worked Unfortunately I am still having problems. I am creating a new email account for this webmail (have deleted the old one). I am putting in all the details and it is finding the account. I have to then go to manual config because the username comes up as sondheimsociety so I have to change that to the email address - sondheimsociety@sondheim.org However when I try to finish off I get a pop up box saying "Configuraton could not be verified - is your username or password wrong. I have tried it with both "sondheimsociety" and my full email address and I have got my web manager to change the password. I know that it is working because I can still get into outitgoes. I am so frustrated, please can someone help me. I attach a screenshot below. Thanks Lynne

I'm somewhat perplexed about why you are creating new mail accout or indeed why you deleted any.

You already had an imap mail account. You simply needed to chnage the server settings back to the old one. Connect to old server and download.

After synchronsing for offline use to get copies, move them to Local Folders account and then swap server settings back to new one to see new server.

Anyway that is now irrelevant.

The error message about username and password, does not necessarilly mean they are wrong. It can also mean they are wrong for the server settings you are attempting to use.

IMAP uses port 143, but SSL/TLS encrypted IMAP uses port 993. So change the port to 993 and retry.

Thank you so much, they are all back in Thunderbird. Lynne