At my wit's end about Netscape mail

My old computer is in the process of dying, so I have been trying to move my Netscape mail to my new computer. What a disaster! I have tried every gyration I've come across and still no luck (even from the Cherokee67 site - "Moving Profiles from PC to PC and/or OS to OS "). The profiles seem intact, there are folders listed, etc., but when you select the profile, there's nothing there. There is a large registry file that's listed in the Mozilla folder on the old computer. I tried copying that to the new folder, but that didn't seem to make a difference either.

Just tried the Seamonkey thing and that didn't work either. Seamonkey appears to see two profiles, but neither of them has a thing in them... What can I do? I have several years of email that I really need access to... Why is this move so difficult? Didn't the developers think that a move would ever happen?

Debbie

 

Welcome to the Forum, DebbieB!

Debbie,

What version of Netscape are you moving to the new PC?

If you are moving a Netscape 7.2 Profile, then all that's necessary is to copy the Profiles folder on the old PC, to the Mozilla folder on the new PC, replacing the existing Profiles folder.

From Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\WinXP_profile_name\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles

To Windows Vista: Users\UserName\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla

Guessing at the OS on both PC's...

 

More info

The version I'm using on both computers is the same - Netscape 7.02. Same OS on both - Windows XP Professional - SP2.

I think at this point I'm giving up... maybe my email is too big. I'm saving each individual piece as an .eml file and transferring it to Outlook Express (will take me days). But now I'm having the problem of even finding the file(s) on my new computer to include them in my daily back-up... sheesh, the gremlins are pounding me into submission... ... or insanity...

Debbie

 

When you say that you don't see e-mail, is it on the hard drive, or in the program. If you don't see e-mail on the program, it does not mean that it is not on the hard drive. A very large file would cause problems, and you can find how large the file is by go to the path mentioned by Ramona, and click on the Inbox file. Ignore the Inbox.msf file. Netscape, and similar programs reach the overfull limit near 1 GB. I heard of people functioning very poorly with 2-3 GB, but it is unforgivable to store so much mail in a file which should be used only to receive mail.
As for transferring, the methods outlined by Ramona do work.
I think that to do daily backups as .eml files is the wrong approach.
I do every other day backups of my entire profile to an external drive, and I keep my Inbox file lean and mean. Never exceeding 100 messages, or 3-4 MB.
And, my wife and I have 9 e-mail accounts, all with several subfolders.

 

This is business email, not personal. And the limit for Outlook is 2 GB. One of the owners found that out about 6 months ago when he exceeded it and it locked up. We had to purchase a program to recover it. Even with the size, Outlook performs fine. And the back-ups are done daily as complete back-ups on produced files (not programs) so recovery from a catastrophic loss would take a minimal amount of time. And no one here has the time to be continually backing up their emails, which they have to refer to on a regular basis, on another external device whether you think it's "unforgiveable" or not.

I'm thinking it is a size issue, so I'm proceeding with saving all the emails as .eml files. I finally found the Outlook Express files. I thought I had chosen to view alll hidden files and folders as a norm, but it appears I didn't.

 

I will explain what I meant by "unforgivable ".
The Inbox is not a storage file. So, I created folders and subfolders to place similar type of mail, like from one individual, or a topic. As you do that, and following with compacting the Inbox, the file, on the hard drive will be smaller, and so you can, safely, download new mail. It is not unforgivable for you not to do this, but rather the developers who do not make enough of a point about this. And, it is a lot simpler to move mail to a subfolder or folder, which can be backed up as a whole, than to make up individual e-mails.
It makes no difference if it is personal or business mail. I retired five years ago, and this method was taught me by an IT person, where I worked. And, it quickly became second nature.

 

Then you will be able to also find the Netscape Mail Files in this location:

C:\Documents and Settings\WinXP_profile_name\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles

Since it's the same OS, copy the Profiles folder from one PC, and paste it into the Mozilla folder on the other PC:

C:\Documents and Settings\WinXP_profile_name\Application Data\Mozilla

This will replace the existing Profiles folder. Windows will prompt you whether or not to replace the existing folder, and you should answer YES.

 

All my email is divided into folders and subfolders, but it's all within the same profile.

I did try replacing profiles and even did the prefs.js changes mentioned in the article, but it still will not open.

Strangely enough, I have moved a considerable amount of email out of the different folders, deleted it and emptied the deleted mail folder and the overall file size has not changed. I tried compacting the different folders and still no change in file sizes. The Inbox folder has nothing in it, but Windows Explorer says there is over 600 MB there. That number has not changed at all. Could the profile be corrupted in some way, but still be workable?

Debbie

 

Debbie,

No prefs.js edit should be made. Did you followed this suggestion:

Open Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings | Server Settings
Scroll down to the bottom of the page to the "Local directory" field

Is the path in the "Local directory" field correct, i.e., does it point to the correct location on the HD of the "Mail Account" folder?

C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\profilename\*.slt\Mail\pop.ispname.net

 

That Did It!!!

THANK YOU!!!

When I looked there, there was a completely different path. When I corrected it, there it was!

Maybe now I can open my really old mail that I could never get to...

Debbie

 

You're most welcome! Glad you have your mail back...