Netscape 7.2 - Backing up emails with attachments

Hi,

I have been trying to back up the emails from Netscape 7.2 to an external drive. I have done that by copying the entire .slt folder from
C:\Documents and Settings\user_name\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\profilename or default\xxxxx.slt to the external drive.

Ramona mentioned in previous post that the email attachments will come up as random numbers and letters... which is the case. Is there a way to back up these email attachments in its oringnal form? e.g. jpg/ pdf..

Thanks!

 

If you copy the backup files, and paste them into a working program, be it Netscape, or Thunderbird, the attachments will show up. Outside of a functioning program, attachments will come up as gibberish when attempts are made to use Notepad or Wordpad, which are not programs which can be used to view .jpg or .pdf attachments

 

what I did was go into Inbox.sbd and click on one of the files without a file extension. I tried opening it with netscape/ internet explorer by using "Open" and choosing a program, but the places where there should be attachments are still turning up as gibberish... any ideas?

Another thing is by opening this file I see all of the emails I had with this person in a single window.. Netscape seems to group them all together and so different emails from different times are all grouped together.

Thanks!

 

What I said , in my previous reply, was that the program used will open the e-mails, and show the "text" portion of the e-mails. Neither Netscape, nor IE, are programs which are designed to view files like .jpg, or .pdf. I am trying to understand what is the purpose of this backup. Is it to save the mail folders, or to read the e-mails. The e-mails will be completely readable if part of the program, but not from Windows Explorer.
As for the Inbox.sbd folder, it is a subfolder where e-mails of similar origin are placed. The .sbd folder contains such e-mails, and the subfolder content is not created automatically. I hope you understand what I am saying, because you want to do things that the Unix style files are not meant to do.
I did one test, trying to open the file with Adobe Reader or .jpg opening file. They did not recognize the Inbox file. Also the Seamonkey suite, which is the successor of Netscape7.x did fine with the text portion, but showed gibberish with the .jpg files, as such files are still part of e-mail. If you download such attachments, you will not have problems, as they become detached from the e-mail.

 

Thanks for your reply Westside.

The purpose of the backup is so that if my computer crashes, I will still be able to access these emails from the external drive. Quite a number of these emails contain attachments which I want to keep for future reference.

Just to clarify, you mean the way with Netscape configuration is that all the emails I have with sender#1 will be grouped into one file, sender#2 into another file.

Right now I have a few GB of emails; downloading each attachment individually from each email-containing-attachments would work, but would also take a long time. Is there a quicker way of saving them without needing to go through all of them individually?

Thanks for your help!

 

1. No problem there, but it appears to me that your issue is to test the entire message. This does not work, unless the files into which the messages are, become part of mail program. And, care must be taken that the restoration of the backup does not involve replacing same name files. An Inbox from a backup would overwrite an existing backup.
2. What I mean is that only if you choose to group messages from same sender, you will create a subfolder. It is an an automatic process. By default, all received messages end up in a single file, i.e. the Inbox. The Inbox.msf file, the header file, allows you to view the individual messages.
3. A few GBs of mail in a single file is courting with disaster, but if subfolders are created, then one can have a total of a number of GBs.
4. What I am saying about the Inbox applies, also, to the other files, such as Sent.
All the files are seen as folders in the mail program. In my case, I don't keep most of my sorted mail in subfolders (i.e. in Inbox.sbd), but rather in a number of files. Each set has the filename with no extention, and also, with the .msf extention.
I feel that we are miles away from understanding each other, and getting nowhere.

 

Hi, sorry to confuse you

- I have created subfolders in the Netscape email program. So there are individual files (filename with no extention, and also, with the .msf extention.) in the Inbox.sbd. They vary in size from a few MBs up but in total the whole Inbox.sbd is a few GBs. But I understand what you mean now.
- I believe you are saying since the acrobat reader/ picture viewer is not part of the Netscape program, I won't be able to view them directly from the external drive by clicking "a filename with no extension" and opening it with Netscape/ Notepad/ Wordpad... those attachments become gibberish numbers and letters. The only way to view these attachments in its original form from the external drive is if I download such attachments in my Netscape program, and transfer these into the external drive also as they become detached from the e-mail.

... or let say I overwrite the Inbox.sbd in my C: with the Inbox.sbd from my external drive. Does that mean I could view all the attachments then from Netscape? Because right now I am trying to access the attachments from the external drive directly.

Hope this helps to clarify. Thanks for your time

 

You got it Nelor. That is exactly what Westside is saying. The only way to read and use the mail files is through Netscape PERIOD.

With out too much detailed explanation, I will offer a couple of suggestions which will allow you to do what it APPEARS your trying to do.

1. Create a phony mail box account in your current profile and direct the incoming mail server settings on this new mail box to the mail folder location you now have on the external drive.
OR
2. Create a second Profile and put the complete profile on the external drive so you can access your backed up mail folders using this 2nd profile.

If what your trying to do is conveniently access both your current mail and your backed up mail then this is a couple of ways you can do it.

If this does not work for you then please explain exactly how you desire to handle your current and backed up mail and we will try again.

Another trick is to leave your mail on the ISP server and then dump it occasionally to another profile. But, let me better understand what you want to do before offering other suggestions.

My 2 Cents, Ray

 

Thanks for your reply and suggestions Ray.

What I want to do is to back up all the email on my C: to the external drive. I still keep all the emails on my C: until I need more room; it's just that if anything happens to the computer I hope to be able to retrieve the emails from the external drive. At that time, I want to be able to see all the messages and attachments again.

So, I don't have to access both the external drive and C:'s Inbox simultanenously.

The attachments are quite important, but there are many emails to go through to save them individually.

I asked about overwriting inbox.sbd because let say I need to format my computer. Then I will reinstall Netscape 7.2 and then replace the new-empty inbox.sbd on C: with the "backuped" one from the external drive. If then the attachments don't show up as gibberish when I access it through Netscape, then that would be what I want.

Thanks!!

 

Here is what I would do and exactly what I do do with some exceptions due to our computer equipment being slightly different.

I consider the 2nd most important piece of software on my computer to be a $29.95 program called "Second Copy" which does just that. It does not do a backup per say it simply copies files or folders same as does Windows Explorer.

But, it does so automatically and if you are short of space it will zip the files up. But, I never do that -- I do a simply copy only.

Sounds like you may have a lot of mail and while I don't have that much I have "Second Copy" make a copy of my complete profile every 4 hours to a second hard Drive.

Second Copy does it in the back ground and you never know it is being done.

If you don't want to do the complete profile then Second Copy will copy only those files or folders you choose to copy.

I copy the complete Profile because this also provides me a backup of the address books, bookmarks and everything.

If I was to install a new C: hard drive or reformat the current one, I would, after reinstalling Netscape, create a new profile which generates it's own .slt folder name.

I would then rename the old .slt folder on the external hard drive to match the name of new profile .slt name and copy my now renamed backup and over write the new profile which of course as yet has nothing in it.

If it is your method/system to backup just the mail folder or just the files of Inbox and Sent then so be it. Just remember if you copy just the files copy only the Inbox and Sent files without the .msf extensions and none of the others unless you have some files in the template and draft .

If I didn't copy the complete Profile then I would copy the complete mail folder.

I'm an old Netscape man myself since about day one back in 93 or 94 when ever it was.

I would encourage you to now switch to Seamonkey

After AOL took NS over I switched to Mozillas' Seamonkey because it is practically identical to Netscape 7.2 I'm now using SM 1.1.17

Fact is, I was suggesting Seamonkey to another Netscape User awhile back and put up the screens at this link so they could review Seamonkey. http://www.raysmyth.net/seamonkey/

Netscape is KaPut and Seamonkey continues to be updated.

If you don't want to cut loose with the $29.95 to purchase Second Copy then you can still do the above method by hand using Windows Explorer.

You mentions the attachments a lot and I know of no reason why if you get the mail folder copied over the attachments should be there same as normal in mail.

I might also tell you that Second Copy will do multi copies at different times if there are other selective files or folders you want backed up.

AND of course it will do a complete drive it that is your choice.

Good Luck with what ever you choose, Ray

 

Hi Nelor,

Good. You should always back up, back up, back up, everything you have.

You did when you copied the .slt folder. Your entire mail folder is in it's original form. However, as Ramona says, when you copy the old mail box to the new, delete the .msf files and they will rebuild themselves.

If you want to view your mail on the second drive, how about installing Netscape or SeaMonkey on that drive?

Just as you can't view a .pdf file in Word, you can't view Netscape mail in anything other than Netscape.

 

Just to expand on what jp said, it goes like this. The attachments are part of the message, and the message can be viewed in its entirety, i.e. text plus pictures or .pdf file only if you use Netscape6/7, and related programs. e.g: the uptodate Seamonkey can us the same profile as Netscape. However, that program must be installed in order to function. It is unlikely that a full program be installed in an external drive.
If you must view the messages outside the program, you can try Ramona's trick.
I think that it will work, but I see no point in doing it, other than a test case.

 

Hi thank you everyone for your replies. I really appreciate it and it definitely gave me a sense of what to do.

I will copy the files without the .msf extensions, and when needs to in the future if I need to reinstall, overwrite the inbox with the one from the external drive.

Thanks!!

 

This will work only if you updated your backup, constantly. Otherwise, you may overwrite an Inbox with recent mail with one with old mail. There is a perfectly good solution to this.
Rename to backed file, to let's say Inboxold. Copy the renamed file, and paste it into the present mail account. I don't use the current Inbox for storage, so my Inbox is pretty small, rarely exceeding 2-3 MB. But, I keep my old mail in renamed folders, so that there is no duplication. Since I use a lot of subfolders, it is so much easier to find my archived mail.