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It's me again with another wierd Mailsmith error.

This afternoon my laptop locked up and had to be reset.
Mailsmith was open at the time. After rebooting, Mailsmith got
to work reimporting a bunch of messages.

When it finished one of my mailboxes now displays as

[Warning icon] <name of mailbox> (error 20464)

I can select the mailbox, but it doesn't display the index of
messages. Attempting to open the mailbox results in "The field
requested is not available (application error code: 20404)"

What do I do now?

--
James Bucanek


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James Bucanek wrote on 14/5/08 at 00:27

>When it finished one of my mailboxes now displays as
>
>[Warning icon] <name of mailbox> (error 20464)
>
>I can select the mailbox, but it doesn't display the index of messages.
>Attempting to open the mailbox results in "The field requested is not
>available (application error code: 20404)"
>
>What do I do now?

sounds like something we should hope BB comment on... But since
the beta is unsupported and you can't be sure they will have the
time, I would suggest doing this on a *copy* of your Mailstore.

After quitting Mailsmith:

a) open the Mail package
b) find the files associated with the offending mailbox. There
should be three sets - the name, the .messageData and the
..freelist files.
c) try deleting the one that apparently has no extension (the
postbox icon).
d) make mental note to back-up frequently, 'cos it's a beta

Then restart Mailsmith

You did see the 'copy' bit, right?

The logs in console might be worth sending on, if there is
anything interesting.



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Good afternoon,

On 15/5/08 at 1:22 AM +0100, Jason Davies <ophiochos@[Protected]> wrote:

>sounds like something we should hope BB comment on... But since
>the beta is unsupported and you can't be sure they will have
>the time, I would suggest doing this on a *copy* of your Mailstore.
>
>After quitting Mailsmith:
>
>a) open the Mail package
>b) find the files associated with the offending mailbox. There
>should be three sets - the name, the .messageData and the
>.freelist files.
>c) try deleting the one that apparently has no extension (the postbox icon).
>d) make mental note to back-up frequently, 'cos it's a beta

Umm, what about re-building the mailbox. I'd try that before
poking around in the Mail package.

Also, I would NOT just delete files from the Mail package. You
might want to try restoring the problematic file from backup.
But just deleting a file that Mailsmith expects to be there
could just make problems worse.

And Jason does make a VERY GOOD point. Make sure you have a copy
of the Mail package before attempting any sort of rebuild or
repair. Also, remember to quit Mailsmith before poking around in
the Mail package.

Basically, never touch the Mail package unless you have been
given specific instructions from BBSW to follow. Since the beta
is only supported through this list, I'm not sure how best to
apply that advice in this case.

I can say from personal experience though, do NOT delete files
from the Mail store and expect things to get better. I have done
fixes in the Mail package based on instructions from BBSW, but
they were case-specific so I don't want to repeat them here. But
it involved restoring a specific set of files from backup.


Charlie

--
Charlie Garrison <garrison@[Protected]>
PO Box 141, Windsor, NSW 2756, Australia

O< ascii ribbon campaign - stop html mail - www.asciiribbon.org
http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1855.txt

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Charlie Garrison wrote on 15/5/08 at 04:51

>Umm, what about re-building the mailbox. I'd try that before poking
>around in the Mail package.
>

Since Mailsmith had already reimported the mailboxes, I
thought rebuild was redundant. Nonetheless, you're right --
should have tried that first anyway.


>Also, I would NOT just delete files from the Mail package. You might
>want to try restoring the problematic file from backup. But just
>deleting a file that Mailsmith expects to be there could just make
>problems worse.

As you say, it's slightly tricky here. I would never have given
this advice if we were dealing with a fully supported version.
Bare bones may well offer advice on the list, but they may well
not do so.
>
>And Jason does make a VERY GOOD point. Make sure you have a copy of the
>Mail package before attempting any sort of rebuild or repair. Also,
>remember to quit Mailsmith before poking around in the Mail package.

It seemed to me that the worst-case scenario of working a copy
was that you threw away the damaged copy if the advice did not
work. But it can't be stressed enough to use a copy on to quit
Mailsmith before tinkering.
>
>Basically, never touch the Mail package unless you have been given
>specific instructions from BBSW to follow. Since the beta is only
>supported through this list, I'm not sure how best to apply that advice
>in this case.

their concern is only the integrity of the database and the
software (it's not like they're offended if we tinker with the
package). So this is very good advice -- except when it leaves
you with nothing!
>
>I can say from personal experience though, do NOT delete files from the
>Mail store and expect things to get better. I have done fixes in the
>Mail package based on instructions from BBSW, but they were
>case-specific so I don't want to repeat them here. But it involved
>restoring a specific set of files from backup.

Perhaps it's time For us all to say to each other once again
"don't forget to backup, you're using a beta is a backup twice"

On the other hand, backing up a mail store that changes by the
minute is a tricky venture. Even when you have a backup from
three hours ago, and the messages still on the server, there
your replies, your deletions etc to consider.

Anyway, it may help, it may not. But there's not a long way to
fall if you are using a copy of the mail store.


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Jason Davies <mailto:ophiochos@[Protected]> wrote (Thursday, May
15, 2008 5:22 PM +0100):
>d) make mental note to back-up frequently, 'cos it's a beta

Jason,

Thanks for all of the ideas. But (d) reminded me that I probably
should just restore from my nightly backup[1] and re-fetch the
lost mail. I have all of the POP mail accounts set to keep
messages for at least 24 hours, just for such situations.

James

[1] Given my day job <http://www.qrecall.com/>, I'm embarrassed
that this wasn't the first thing I thought of.

--
James Bucanek


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James Bucanek wrote on 15/5/08 at 20:10

>Thanks for all of the ideas. But (d) reminded me that I probably should
>just restore from my nightly backup[1] and re-fetch the lost mail. I
>have all of the POP mail accounts set to keep messages for at least 24
>hours, just for such situations.
>
>James
>
>[1] Given my day job <http://www.qrecall.com/>, I'm embarrassed that
>this wasn't the first thing I thought of.

it's always when it happens to you that all common-sense goes
out of the window:-)

I never know whether to go on and on about back-ups. It can be
wearying to read, and I always think "I'm sure they know this".
It's gratifying to hear that it's not (or, if it is, it's still
worth saying...)

cheers


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