Corrupt email folders/missing messages.

If messages appear to be missing from an email folder, and you're pretty sure that they were there previously, it could mean that you have a corrupt index (.msf) file for that email folder. Please note that the most common reason that .msf files corrupt themselves is due to low space on the drive. You'll want to check to make sure that you have sufficient room to work in before reconstructing the .msf file.

It's generally safe to delete any .msf file - they will be regenerated automatically the next time that the folder is opened. However, there are a couple of consequences. Mozilla uses the .msf file to keep track of special flags for each message. These flags show whether the message has been read, whether the message has been replied to, if it has a label assigned to it (such as important, work, etc). However, it's sometimes necessary to delete the file if it's corrupt.

First, close the program completely - both browser and email clients. You may wish to restart the computer to ensure that the program is closed.

If the mail folder is on the server:

- Use the Windows File Explorer to go to the h:\local\mozilla directory. Doubleclick on the 2 directory folders to drill down to the profile directory. Look for the ImapMail folder in your profile and open it.

Note: Each imap mail server profile has it's own subdirectory in the ImapMail folder - each subdirectory is named after the imap server address. For example, if you have a Gatorlink account and a CLAS mail account configured in Mozilla mail, in the ImapMail directory, you should see two subdirectories, one called "imap.ufl.edu" for Gatorlink mail and one called "imap.clas.ufl.edu" for CLAS mail.

- Locate the folder for the mail server profile and open it. For example, the mail folder for CLAS should be called "imap.clas.ufl.edu".

- The mail folder that you're having trouble with has a .msf file here with the same name. Highlight it and delete it.

- Start your mail client and open the folder again. The index file will rebuild itself automatically.

If the mail folder is in your local folders, rather than on the Imap server:

- Use the Windows File Explorer to go to the h:\local\mozilla directory. Doubleclick on the 2 directory folders to drill down to the profile directory. Look for the Mail folder in your profile and open it.

- You'll see two files here for each local mail folder. One has no file extension, the other has a file extension of .msf

Important: Do not delete the file with no file extension on it - only delete the file that ends in .msf.

The file with no extension actually contains the text of the messages in local email folders. Deleting them will delete the messages as well.

- Start your mail client and open the problematic message folder. The index file will rebuild itself automatically.

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