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Level 1

16 points

Mail sent is missing - how can it be recovered from backup into the program

I've been using two POP accounts in my Mail program for the last few years, one with Virgin Media and one with 123-Reg. In upgrading my account with 123-Reg yesterday, all the messages in the Virgin SENT MAILBOX disappeared! There's a backup of them but I don't know how to recover them into the program. Can someone help?

I was naturally mystified as to why this happened. How were the two accounts connected? Is this a possible explanation?...

My deal with 123-Reg was what they call a 'pophost account', which meant I could receive mail via their server but not send - return mail went via Gmail. (The setting in the Mail program showed Outgoing Mail Server as 'smtp.gmail.com'). Yesterday's upgrade with 123-Reg means mail can now be received and sent via their server. I deleted the old account in Mail Preferences and created a new one with new settings (showing Outgoing Mail Server as 'smtp.123-reg.com').

I had no idea this would have any effect on the Virgin Media account and result in the disappearance of all mail in the SENT mailbox! (All mail in the Virgin INBOX is intact). Then I remembered that I'd changed the Mail Preferences setting on this account too, with Outgoing Mail Server also as 'smtp.gmail.com'. (This was because when working outside the UK the Virgin server wouldn't accept my outgoing mail). Could it be when the connection between 123-Reg account and Gmail was cut this also affected the connection between the Virgin account and Gmail?

I'm truly puzzled by what's happened. Mail SENT on the Virgin account continues to go via the Gmail server, so the link is still there. But all the mail SENT up to yesterday is missing. How can I recover this mail back into the program from the backup?

Your help would be appreciated!

iHope

G5 Dual 2GHz PowerPC; MacBook 2GHz Intel, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Mar 30, 2011 2:09 AM

52 replies

iHope Author

Level 1

16 points

Apr 1, 2011 1:28 PM in response to BDAqua

I tried what you suggested but still get the same error message.

iHope

BDAqua

Level 10

239,363 points

Apr 1, 2011 1:42 PM in response to iHope

Make a new Admin account, log out & into the new account, setup Mail & see if you can import from the backup while in that account.

iHope Author

Level 1

16 points

Apr 1, 2011 1:59 PM in response to BDAqua

How do you make new Admin Account? Why are you suggesting this? Do you think lack of 'permission' is the problem?

When you say "setup Mail" do you mean launch Mail?

iHope

BDAqua

Level 10

239,363 points

Apr 1, 2011 2:21 PM in response to iHope

Well, I can't figure out the problem yet, the new account may or may not shed any light on it... it's very perplexing out here.

To make a new account, open System Preferences>Accounts, unlock the lock, click on the tiny + icon & fill in the info, be sure to Allow user to administer this computer.

Once logged out & into the new account, run Mail, it'll want to setup a new account, you can even make it a fake account if you don't mind waiting for Mail to timeout trying to connect & let you go on.

iHope Author

Level 1

16 points

Apr 1, 2011 3:00 PM in response to BDAqua

Well, I can't figure out the problem yet,

Does what I wrote in the first three posts make sense to you now?

To make a new account, open System Preferences>Accounts, unlock the lock, click on the tiny + icon & fill in the info, be sure to Allow user to administer this computer.

Can I get rid of this new account later? I don't want problems. I'm working on a laptop which is set up identically to my G5. I don't want to mess with the set up. Do you understand?

Once logged out & into the new account, run Mail, it'll want to setup a new account, you can even make it a fake account if you don't mind waiting for Mail to timeout trying to connect & let you go on.

I don't want to make a fake Mail account. So what will happen? Mail will timeout? Then what do I do? Will Mail eventually open? Are you hoping then I'll be able to import into it?

Please explain. I'm now finding all this a bit stressful...

iHope

BDAqua

Level 10

239,363 points

Apr 1, 2011 3:17 PM in response to iHope

Can I get rid of this new account later? I don't want problems. I'm working on a laptop which is set up identically to my G5. I don't want to mess with the set up. Do you understand?

Yes you can. But I like to have an emergency account to be able to get into.

I'm now finding all this a bit stressful...

Shouldn't be, I think we should drop that tact & go back to where we were, trying to import in your regular account.

Normally when it says can't find any mbox to import it's because the top Mail folder in User>Library wasn't chosen, choosing any folder or mbox within that will give that error.

iHope Author

Level 1

16 points

Apr 1, 2011 3:28 PM in response to BDAqua

Normally when it says can't find any mbox to import it's because the top Mail folder in User>Library wasn't chosen, choosing any folder or mbox within that will give that error.

I'm happy to try again. Even though I've now tried importing four times (twice from the external drive and twice from the computer) and am 100% sure I chose the Mail folder in User>Library each time.

I'll try again and report back.

iHope

BDAqua

Level 10

239,363 points

Apr 1, 2011 3:32 PM in response to iHope

Yes, it sounds like you're doing it right, but why it doesn't work is behooving.

iHope Author

Level 1

16 points

Apr 1, 2011 3:52 PM in response to BDAqua

BDAqua,

I've tried another couple of times. With Mail selected in the dialogue box, I press Choose and get the same message: " Error - No valid mail for Mac OS X files were found."

Btw, at the beginning of the import process, when the button for *Mail for Mac OS X* is selected, it says: "You will now be asked for the location of a folder containing mailboxes created by another copy of Mail for Mac OS X."

Could that be a problem? That the mailboxes were all created by the same copy of Mail for Mac OS X?

iHope

BDAqua

Level 10

239,363 points

Apr 1, 2011 4:04 PM in response to iHope

Nope, not the problem, here's my 10.4.x Mail>File>Import Mailboxes right after I choose MyUserName>Library>Mail...

They're just assuming you wouldn't want to Import Mail you already have.

Are you up to trying something new?

iHope Author

Level 1

16 points

Apr 1, 2011 4:25 PM in response to BDAqua

Are you up to trying something new?

Is this a possibility?... My G5 isn't connected to the internet. It still has the old Mail set up, before I changed the 123-Reg POP account into an IMAP account. All the mail missing in the laptop Mail is present in the G5 Mail. Could the settings in Mail Preferences on the laptop were changed back to the way they were before? Then, knowing what we know now, before upgrading the 123-Reg POP, could I 'archive' or copy all the mail in the SENT mailbox into a new Mail mailbox?

Or do you have other ideas?

iHope

BDAqua

Level 10

239,363 points

Apr 1, 2011 4:33 PM in response to iHope

Are we trying to Import Mail from a later version of Mail?

Anyway, to be sure we don't lose anything...

First Quit Mail, then I'd backup these two Mail folders, by right clicking on them in the Finder, then choose Archive/Compress.

Users/YourUserName/Library/Mail

Users/YourUserName/Library/Mail Downloads

(Could be a different folder here if you chose such in Mail Prefs)

Right click on that Mail folder, choose archive, you'll get everything in the folder, and the folder itself in a file called Mail.zip, move it to a safe place, same for the Mail Downloads folder... only the plist is separate.

/Users/YourUserName/Library/Preferences/com.apple.mail.plist

Might repeat the zip for the Backup folder also.

Then Start Mail, Mail>Mailbox>New Mailbox>On My Mac, name it Test for now, quit Mail, in Finder open up the backup copy of sent.mbox, COPY all the .emlx files to another Finder window open to the new Test.mbox

Again... Move this Folder to the Desktop...

/Users/YourUserName/Library/Caches/Mail/

Move this file to the Desktop...

/Users/YourUserName/Library/Mail/Envelope Index

Start Mail, do the Sent messages now show in Test?

iHope Author

Level 1

16 points

Apr 1, 2011 4:56 PM in response to BDAqua

BDAqua,

Thanks for all that! Before trying to do it let's just clarify something...

Are we trying to Import Mail from a later version of Mail?

Not at all. I believe what I said was clear: "My G5 isn't connected to the internet. It still has the old Mail set up, before I changed the 123-Reg POP account into an IMAP account." That change was three days ago. The laptop and the G5 are both using version 2.1.3 of Mail.

I'll now try to get my head around the latest instructions...

iHope

iHope Author

Level 1

16 points

Apr 1, 2011 6:10 PM in response to BDAqua

Start Mail, do the Sent messages now show in Test?

No, the Test mailbox is empty.

All your instructions were followed. Presumably the 2 folders on the desktop can be trashed again?

What next?

iHope

BDAqua

Level 10

239,363 points

Apr 1, 2011 6:30 PM in response to iHope

And in the finder it shows .emlx files in that folder?

And if you double click on those .emlx files in the Finder do they open in Mail?

Next, I guess try Import emlx to mbox...

http://www.cosmicsoft.net/emlxconvert.html

Mail sent is missing - how can it be recovered from backup into the program