I need to erase my MBP so I'm doing all the back up I need but I don't know how to backup my emails from mail... Can you guys help me with this?
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How to backup Mail
- Thread starter Sdahe
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All your mail data is stored in (user)/Library/Mail if you simply want to back that folder up to a USB stick or DVD-R...
I'd suggest making a backup of your entire home folder, since there's plenty of other stuff in there you'll want to keep (like your keychain, probably some app preferences, and suchlike).
OK... Now I'm scare. I went back to Tiger and when I told Mail to import mailbox it won't import them... This is what's going on.
Firts a click on Import Inboxes.
After that I get a window with the following:
Import data from...
-Microsoft Entourage
-Outlook Express
-Claris Emailer
-Netscape/Mozilla
-Eudora
-Mail for Mac OS X
-Other
I selected "Mail for MAC OS X" because I was using Mail in Leopard...
After that I get a window for me to look where the file is in my computer and I get an error that says "No Valid Mail for Mac OS X files were found"
So that means I've just lost all my emails?
Please help
Firts a click on Import Inboxes.
After that I get a window with the following:
Import data from...
-Microsoft Entourage
-Outlook Express
-Claris Emailer
-Netscape/Mozilla
-Eudora
-Mail for Mac OS X
-Other
I selected "Mail for MAC OS X" because I was using Mail in Leopard...
After that I get a window for me to look where the file is in my computer and I get an error that says "No Valid Mail for Mac OS X files were found"
So that means I've just lost all my emails?
Please help
It's probably because you're trying to go BACK from a new version of Mail to an older one, if I had to guess. This is why most people don't downgrade.
Did you try copying the entire Mail folder from your old Leopard user Library into the Library folder inside your user folder in Tiger instead of using "Import" in Mail itself?
Did you try copying the entire Mail folder from your old Leopard user Library into the Library folder inside your user folder in Tiger instead of using "Import" in Mail itself?
No... I did't copy the entire folder...
Can I upgrade my mail in Tiger to the one in Leopard?
No... I did't copy the entire folder...
Can I upgrade my mail in Tiger to the one in Leopard?
Oh, well, then you didn't backup your Mail at all. You just backed up the mboxes, which are like databases. The raw messages themselves are stored in folders.
And no, the Mail in Leopard depends on system frameworks and libraries that are only present in Leopard.
Unfortunately, you've learned a hard lesson—which is to say, "listen to killmoms," since I said five posts into the thread to backup your ENTIRE HOME FOLDER. It's always better to have more than you need than lose something. Sorry about the lost data, mate.
Oh, well, then you didn't backup your Mail at all. You just backed up the mboxes, which are like databases. The raw messages themselves are stored in folders.
And no, the Mail in Leopard depends on system frameworks and libraries that are only present in Leopard.
Unfortunately, you've learned a hard lessonwhich is to say, "listen to killmoms," since I said five posts into the thread to backup your ENTIRE HOME FOLDER. It's always better to have more than you need than lose something. Sorry about the lost data, mate.
Jajajajaja... Yep... I've learn a lesson. I still have the backup from Time Machine I did yesterday. Can I use that to recover my mails?
Ah, yes, you should be able to. Drill down into the folder structure of the most recent backup:
/Users/[yourusername]/Library
And then copy the entire "Mail" folder into the same location within your Tiger installation and see what happens.
What email provider do you use? I have about 5 different GMail accounts and I use mail with all of them. I store really important emails in folders in the mail app itself, but I never worry about losing those emails on my computer. Thats because I never delete them in my gmail inbox. I think my gmail inbox is up to 20,000 emails. If I ever needed to, I could go back and search for them. Also, if they are really important business documents, I would recommend printing them all out.