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!

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

Can't view old POP3 email messages, but I think the data is still there

  • 1 baphendule
  • 0 zinale nkinga
  • Igcine ukuphendulwa ngu sfhowes

more options

I'm trying to read some old emails in an account from around 20 years ago that I have kept in Thunderbird the entire time. I stopped using the account, but kept it configured as it always had been with the old email saved in it. The emails are in several folders in Thunderbird, and I can see them listed when I select a folder, but the content of most of them is now invisible. For many years I upgraded Thunderbird and they remained visible, and I naively assumed that would always be the case. I think the visibility problem happened after a Thunderbird upgrade sometime within the last few years. Strangely, a few emails are readable. I think they're the last ones I viewed before I became unable to see additional ones I select to view. I believe all the data is still there, but I don't know how to read it. In the file system, here's what my Thunderbird profile Mail directory looks like:

/Users/myMacUser/Library/Thunderbird/Profiles/my-random.default/Mail account.server.name - TB Email Folder 1.sbd (empty directory) - TB Email Folder 1 (no file extension, apparently the file containing the email data. File sizes suggest they contain data) - TB Email Folder 1.msf (the index file, apparently readable) etc.

I'm using Thunderbird 115.12.2 on MacOS Sonoma 14.5. I tried several types of exports with the ImportExportTools NG extension, but it just exported zero byte or blank files for the invisible emails.

How do I read these folder data files?

I'm trying to read some old emails in an account from around 20 years ago that I have kept in Thunderbird the entire time. I stopped using the account, but kept it configured as it always had been with the old email saved in it. The emails are in several folders in Thunderbird, and I can see them listed when I select a folder, but the content of most of them is now invisible. For many years I upgraded Thunderbird and they remained visible, and I naively assumed that would always be the case. I think the visibility problem happened after a Thunderbird upgrade sometime within the last few years. Strangely, a few emails are readable. I think they're the last ones I viewed before I became unable to see additional ones I select to view. I believe all the data is still there, but I don't know how to read it. In the file system, here's what my Thunderbird profile Mail directory looks like: /Users/myMacUser/Library/Thunderbird/Profiles/my-random.default/Mail account.server.name - TB Email Folder 1.sbd (empty directory) - TB Email Folder 1 (no file extension, apparently the file containing the email data. File sizes suggest they contain data) - TB Email Folder 1.msf (the index file, apparently readable) etc. I'm using Thunderbird 115.12.2 on MacOS Sonoma 14.5. I tried several types of exports with the ImportExportTools NG extension, but it just exported zero byte or blank files for the invisible emails. How do I read these folder data files?

Isisombululo esikhethiwe

Close TB and delete TB Email Folder 1.msf, then restart TB and see if the mail in TB Email Folder 1 appears under the POP account.

Funda le mpendulo ngokuhambisana nalesi sihloko 👍 1

All Replies (1)

more options

Isisombululo Esikhethiwe

Close TB and delete TB Email Folder 1.msf, then restart TB and see if the mail in TB Email Folder 1 appears under the POP account.

Helpful?

Buza umbuzo

You must log in to your account to reply to posts. Please start a new question, if you do not have an account yet.