mayday --- inbox and sent files lost

hi-

i had a strange one yesterday. there was an odd looking email in my inbox which was only a subject- no contents.
i deleted it after a couple of tries and then emptied the trash, when i returned to the inbox it was empty- as was the sent file.

the inbox had been a large file (>75 megs). altho my recollection is a bit hazy, i think when i first used ztree to look at the mail folder, the inbox was still there. it did not hv the .msf extension on it, so i added that. i think it was then that it disappeared.

i am hoping that netscape 7.1 archived these files somewhere with a new extension with which i am unfamiliar. i am running on windows xp pro.

can anyone help me with this mess?

thjanks for trying ! emlsr

 

Welcome to the Forum, emlsr!

Hi emlsr,

I'm sure you've done a "Find" for Inbox (without the .msf extension).

I'm afraid that by renaming the Inbox file to Inbox.msf you wiped out your Mail. When you next opened Netscape, it created a new Inbox folder, then overwrote the Inbox.msf file which you renamed (containing the mail), with mail summary/header information.

Inbox (with no extension) contains the Mail
Inbox.msf contains the mail header information or mail summary files

If you've not done a backup, and you've done a "Find" for Inbox, with no success, then I'm afraid your Mail is lost.

I would say that 75 MB is a very large Inbox. As you continue to receive mail You might wish to consider not using the Inbox as an archive. Create another folder for this pupose, and burn it to CD, if that option is available. In any case, make frequent backups of your entire Profiles folder, located in C:\Documents and Settings\user_name\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles. Then this will never happen to you again.

I'm really, really, sorry, as I know how important email is, to us all.

Ramona

 

hi ramona-

thank u for the welcome and for the very helpful reply. i am sure, based upon ur info, that i did wipe out he mail, BUT alas, the problem now seems even worse.

i had recvd several new emails and all had appeared to be normal; however, when i returned to the mail early this pm, i found the inbox was empty. i checked on ztree again and saw the inbox (no extension) had 186k-- ur response had not been posted, so i did the same stupid thing again.

however, it looks like something is hiding my messages in the inbox and making them unavailable . i hope someone there knows what is going on becasue i surely don't-- virus- trojan horse- worm ???? a norton antivirus scan says no viruses.

thanks for ur interest and assistance, emlsr

 

Hi emlsr,

Have you also run, or do you have installed, AdAware or Spybot, for spyware detection? If not I would suggest installing and/or running them both.
AdAware
Spybot - Search and Destroy
Both programs are freeeware.

When in Mail & Newsgroups, have you enabled: View | Show/Hide | Message Pane
I'm sure you have, or you wouldn't be able to see the messages before they disappear. Just trying to cover all the bases.

Try this:
Send yourself several messages. See if they are viewable in the message pane. If so, compact your folders
Close, then restart Netscape.

Are the messages viewable? If not:

Close Netscape
In the Mail Account Folder
Delete the Inbox.msf file (Not the Inbox file with NO .msf extension)
Start Netscape

Now are the messages viewable?

Ramona

 

hi ramona-

thanks once again for a prompt and helpful response.
i hv added spybot and will add the other whren i complete this post.

i hv followed ur instructions on the inbox thru the restarting of netscape and everything seems fine at this time. i shall leave it overnite and c if there is any change.

again, thanks for all ur assistance, emlsr