Netscape 7.2 - can't retreive missing folders

There are 5 Netscape email accounts, 4 are fine. In one account the contents of the folders disappeared and also the personally named folders. Research said to delete the MSF (SNM) files, which were probably corrupted, and that they'd be built when reopening Netscape. Didn't happen. Went into Windows Explorer to check the profile and the personally named folders are still in there (no MSF files though since I deleted them).

Tried to rename the Mail folder Old Mail and put the folders in a new Mail folder. That didn't work either. Noticed when I was searching for MSF files that the ones in question were tied to Norton AV which was recently uninstalled and replaced with AVG. I know from experience that Norton AV is hard to get rid of. Could this be the problem?

Also before I uninstalled Norton I had saved the profiles to a CD. When I checked the CD for the missing folders, they weren't there!!! Weird. Should I reinstall Netscape or set up a new account and try to transfer the Mail folder?

I read the comments about Netscape 7.2 being defunct and switching to SeaMonkey. Will try this after I get the mail folders back.

Thanks in advance.

 

I am not sure what is going on. And, I never trusted Norton AV, after it quarantined my NS4.x files six years ago. May be someone else may be able to help you with that.
It is not clear what you did. If you rename a folder, you take it out of circulation, so it is not the mail to go. However, you can rename the individual files in the mail account folder, and only those with no extention. You should delete the .msf files which are present.
Next, i want ot make sure that we are in the same page, because you mention snm(msf). Snm are the header files of 4.x, and .msf are 7.2's header files.
And, everything in the profile used by 7.2 is hidden, by default, in WinXP. So, are we talking about the same thing?
You should be able to store the entire profile folder (with its .slt subfolder), and reuse it, from a CD. So, what was being backed up.
NS7.2 is still usable, but there have not been any security update, nor updates of any kind, so, if not dead, it should be put out of its misery, but you should be able to get to your old files/folders. With the specter of norton, I don't know what to say.
Yes, I would ger Seamonkey1.0 going, and set up your mail. Except for Netscape Webmail in the mail client, it works as well or better than NS7.2.

 

Welcome to the Forum, bintyre!

bintyre,

Check your "Local directory" path located here:
Edit | Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings | Server Settings

Is the "Local directory" path correct?

If this is not the problem, try deleting the problematic account within Mail & Newsgroups. Once you have deleted the account, close Netscape, then reopen. Now setup the account again. Does this help?

I'm wondering if NAV quarantined your Inbox, and when you uninstalled NAV, you also deleted your Mail? Take a look at this Symantec KB Article.

 

Netscape 7.2 - can't retrieve missing folders -ad on

Guess I shouldn't have tried some tips I found in my research... like renaming the mail folder. Didn't do anything. Also there was some confusion with SNM and MSF files... now I know the difference... SNMs were from 4.x... I remember now.
He did have 4.x on there before upgrading to 7.2. Forgot to mention that the OS is Win ME not XP. What was backed up on CD was the whole Netscape profile folder and yet when I looked in it, the personally named folders were not there!! I still suspect NAV had something to do with this problem. Funny how the other 4 Netscape accounts on this computer were not affected... they all have their folders and work fine. Just one account is messed up. So, let's see if I've got this straight... if I delete the one account it won't take the emai (profile folder)l with it? Then I can set up that account again and the email might reappear?? I'm always afraid to delete accounts for fear of losing data.

As for NAV quarantining the Inbox, there were several viruses on the computer but they were in the trash. If NAV did quarantine folders, it must have done all the personally named ones too, not just the Inbox. Weird. The article on Symantec was only about the Inbox. ???

 

bintyre,

If you delete the Account in Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings, you won't lose any Profile data. Simply highlight the Account, and click on the "Remove Account" tab. Close Netscape, reopen, and set up the account again. Hopefully the mail will be viewable, if the "Local directory" path is correct, and the Mail is actually in the Mail Account folder. Ensure that the "Local directory" path points to the Account which actually contains the Mail. When recreating a Mail Account, the name will change from, e.g., pop.isp_name.net TO: pop.isp_name-1.net, etc.

If this doesn't work, then you will need to manually copy the Mail files from the CD. Check to see that the File Attributes aren't "Read only ", once copied.

From the CD, copy only the files without the MSF extension, e.g., Inbox, Drafts, Templates, Sent, etc. Also copy the SBD folders, as these are the subfolders. Also remove the MSF files from the SBD folders.

Caution: you may first want to rename the Netscape Mail files, e.g., rename Inbox to OldInbox, etc. The renamed files will appear in the Netscape Mail. This will ensure that you lose no existing mail.

About NAV: if the missing folders were subfolders of Inbox, then they too would have been deleted along with NAV.

 

A number of times I thought I lost folders in Netscape 7.x but then discovered that I had accidently moved them. The folders appeared as subfolders of another folder. I wish I knew what I did to move them so I could be careful not to repeat that action. Check other folders to see if they are there - just not where you expected them to be.

 

I almost deleted some folders, and, even did that once, but was able to rummage through the Trash. But, it is next to impossible to move an existing folder to become a subfolder, unless your mouse is out of control.
I tried to see if I can accomplish what you say happened accidentally, and, it is possible only if you drag and drop, hardly an operation which can just happen.
If you think that you have been doing it, be careful when you click and hold.
By the way, as a test, I, purposely, created a subfolder of one of my accounts.
That would make it vulnerable because it would be placed at the very bottom, just below the Trash folder, then I dragged and dropped the same folder into the Inbox, making it a subfolder of the Inbox.
Of course, if I would be careless, the folder could end up anywhere.