Myrtle76
Level 1 (4 points)
Mac OS X

Q: Mac mail folders

I recently upgraded my hard drive and when rebooting my Mac (I did do a back up beforehand) I've lost all of my email folders. How do I retrieve them from my hard drive?

MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2009)

Posted on Aug 8, 2016 10:12 AM

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Myrtle76

Q: Mac mail folders

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  • by chris_g1,

    chris_g1 chris_g1 Aug 9, 2016 7:32 AM in response to Myrtle76
    Community Specialists
    Aug 9, 2016 7:32 AM in response to Myrtle76

    Hello Myrtle76, 

     

    Thanks for using Apple Support Communities. 

     

    I see that you have recently upgraded your hard drive, and when you rebooted your Mac, you've lost all of your email folders. I definitely know how important it is to make sure that you have access to all of your emails. I have something that I would like you to try. 

     

    If you backed up your Mac with Time Machine, you can restore from a Time Machine backup to get these emails back. Use the article Use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac, specifically, this section:

    Restore from a Time Machine backup

    Restore specific files:

    1. Choose Enter Time Machine from the Time Machine menu Time Machine icon, or click Time Machine in the Dock.
    2. Find the files to restore: 
         
      • Use the timeline on the edge of the screen to see the files in your Time Machine backup as they were at that date and time. The timeline may also include local snapshots.
        •  
      • Use the onscreen up and down arrows to jump to the last time the contents of the window changed. You can also use the search field in a window to find a file, then move through time while focused on changes to that file.
        •  
      • Select a file and press Space Bar to preview the file and make sure it's the one you want. 
    3. Click Restore to restore the selected file, or Control-click the file for other options.

    Restore everything:

    • To restore everything in your Time Machine backup, use OS X Recovery.
    • To copy the files, settings, and OS X user accounts in your backup to another Mac, use Migration Assistant.

     

    Have a great day!

  • by Eric Root,Helpful

    Eric Root Eric Root Aug 9, 2016 11:47 AM in response to Myrtle76
    Level 9 (69,630 points)
    iTunes
    Aug 9, 2016 11:47 AM in response to Myrtle76

    Go to Finder and select your user/home folder. With that Finder window as the front window, either select Finder/View/Show View options or go command - J.  When the View options opens, check ’Show Library Folder’. That should make your user library folder visible in your user/home folder. Then Library/Mail. Enter your backup.