AOL mail box linking - how to recover POP emails

[SJayne]

I recently linked my AOL account to my MAC as a POP acc. I realised that an IMAP acc would be better so set that up too. The messages coming in were duplicated so I decided to delete the POP Mailbox on the mac. To my horror-most of my emails were deleted (from 2009 onwards until Jan 2012) I can still see the Sent Folder and a couple of folders but as it stands nothing else on either the Mail app or the AOL web sign in. Can anyone advise how to help me recover them? Thanks so much.

 

[maflynn]

POP emails mean that all emails are transferred from the mail server to your computer. If you deleted them then they are probably gone.

First check to see if they're in the wastebasket in your mail app and/or OSX's trash.

Also I'm assuming that you don't have a back up. If that is the case, I highly recommend using OSX's Time Machine.

Bottom line if they're off the mail server and you deleted them off your computer then they're probably gone

 

[SJayne]

AOL mail box linking - how to recover POP emails

POP emails mean that all emails are transferred from the mail server to your computer. If you deleted them then they are probably gone.

First check to see if they're in the wastebasket in your mail app and/or OSX's trash.

Also I'm assuming that you don't have a back up. If that is the case, I highly recommend using OSX's Time Machine.

Bottom line if they're off the mail server and you deleted them off your computer then they're probably gone

Thanks for your quick reply! I am guessing AOL won't be able to recover them? Is there any software out there that might? I will check the OSX trash box when I get in front of it.

Thanks again!

 

[James_C]

I am sure if you had, your would already thought of this, but do you not have a time machine backup? If you do you can recover deleted emails this way. It will put them into a separate recovered folder. Just click on the time machine icon while you have mail as your active application. If you don't have a backup system like time machine, I strongly suggest you get one set up. Will not be able to help you with your present problem, but if it ever happens again you will be covered.

If you don't have time machine or other backup software then your best bet is to speak to AOL as quickly as you can, as they may be able to recover the emails, as I bet you are not the first person to accidentally delete them.

 

[SJayne]

AOL mail box linking - how to recover POP emails

Thanks for another great repky re Time Machine. We have only had the Mac for a week so haven't done a Time Machine back up yet. This is a dumb question but if I do one now - would your suggestion work? Thanks for your advice - much apprecitaed!

 

[takeshi74]

I am guessing AOL won't be able to recover them?

There's only one way to find out...

 

[James_C]

We have only had the Mac for a week so haven't done a Time Machine back up yet. This is a dumb question but if I do one now - would your suggestion work?

Unfortunately Time Machine can only recover files and data that you have previously backed up.

 

[James_C]

Searching I found this thread , where a number of people did exactly the same thing. A number of people say they managed to get there emails back using data recovery software, DataRescue. However a number of people also said that it did not work. As you have a brand new Mac, your chances of data recovery are probably pretty good as your hard disk is unlikely to be full or fragmented. However you need to decide if it worth spending the money to try as success is not guaranteed. I would suggest contacting AOL to see if they can restore your emails first as this would be the easiest solution. If you do want to try data recovery stop using your Mac, until you try as this will reduce the risk of the data being overwritten.