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internet:mail:thunderbird_recovery

Recover Mail From Local Cache with Thunderbird

After a mail server failure, where mail data is lost, it may be possible to recover a user's mail from the Thunderbird local IMAP cache.

  1. DO NOT reconnect Thunderbird to the new mail server
    • If you do, you may lose everything!
  2. Set Thunderbird to Offline Mode
    • File → Offline → Work Offline
  3. Copy (drag and drop) the still-visible mail and mail folders from the IMAP account into Local Folders

Once you are confident that all the desired mail has been copied/moved to Local Folders:

  1. Set Thunderbird to Online Mode
    • File → Offline → Work Offline (again)
  2. Connect the new mail server account
  3. Copy or move the mail from Local Folders to the new IMAP folders
internet/mail/thunderbird_recovery.txt · Last modified: 2018/01/17 12:02 by gcooper