does mail save a copy of a recieved email in a file somewhere on hard drive

Unless you set up in preferences, or with a specific mail script, the mail is stored only within the mail program, and if you delete it there, it is gone.

Many people, however, when they use POP mail (mail that you download into an e-mail reading application, such as Mail) don't erase the mail from their server. For instance, if you have Earthlink or Hotmail, and you log on directly via the internet to your mail account, you may still have it there.

The first thing to do to determine whether it may still be there is look in your Mail preferences. In the Accounts section, click on the e-mail address that you used to send and receive the mail you are looking for.

If it says POP underneath it, then the mail may still be on the internet mail server you use (if you use one).

Then click on Advanced, and you still see a few boxes that will be either checked or unchecked.

If the box that says Remove copy from server after retrieving a message is unclicked, it is most likely the messages are still on the server (unless you deleted it directly from there).

If the box is checked, the longest time mail remains on your server is a month.

I hope that helps.

Hello,

Try this:

Go to Spotlight in the menu bar (the hour-glass next to the clock).

Now, type in some text that would only be in those messages. And, see if it brings-up some results.

If so, double-click on them, and see if they open.

I know on my system that I have several hundred e-mails that come up this way that I have 100% definitely deleted from Mail.

There is a particular individual that I used to correspond with. I kept all the messages in my e-mail program, and just recently deleted all of them. I've removed them from my inbox, my deleted messages, my sent folder, and all mailboxes in my mail program.

And, strangely, they are all still there when I do a Spotlight search.

If I search by his name, e-mail address, or text that was only in those messages, then they appear in the results.

And, I can open them and read them by double-clicking on the result in the Spotlight window. But, they are definitely not still in my Mail program.

So, I suspect that while I deleted them, that they are still hidden in one of Mail's files.

So, while I cannot tell you exactly which file may contain these messages, you may be able to find them using Spotlight.

If nothing else, open the results, then copy whatever you need from them. Or, see if it will even let you forward them to yourself.

It may work, or it may not. But, it's worth a try.


I hope this helps.

Is it possible that there are a copy somewhere on my hard drive.

Yes, it's possible. And, if not on your hard drive, it's possible that they are on the server.