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Time Machine Warning: Email Does Not Get Backed Up!

H

honeycrisp

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 28, 2007
226
8
So I just purchased a new MBP, and used Time Machine to bring over all my files from my MacBook. Except Time Machine does something really dumb.

It backs up the actual Mailboxes you store on your mac, but not the contents of the folders.

So on my new MBP I had all my old mailboxes in Mail.app, but no emails in them. Why is this? Seems like an important thing to backup.
 
If your email is stored on the server and not your Mac, then it wouldn't back them up.
 
Are you sure that the contents of the mailboxes was actually downloaded to your Mac. Mail left on the server will never be backed up by a local backup solution.
 
Let me clarify. On my old machine I created new mailboxes, and choosed "On my Mac" as the location.

On the new machine, the mailboxes are there, but no email inside...
 
Strange, because I have 3 years of email in a folder "On My Mac" and TM restored it just fine when I got my new Mac Pro.

I think you're mistaken.
 
DerekS said:
Strange, because I have 3 years of email in a folder "On My Mac" and TM restored it just fine when I got my new Mac Pro.

I think you're mistaken.
Click to expand...

I did a restore about a month ago and my "local" mail was in fact restored. Server mail was not and was initially empty until I connected then it populated.

Double check your settings on your mail and make SURE it's not stored remotely. TM doesn't really exclude much. It's not like BackUp3 from .Mac where you have to tell it what to do. It's supposed to be a full HD backup.
 
Well, I guess I was partially mistaken. I found them on my HD, but they are still not showing up properly in Mail.app. So I still have the messages, just not in the app yet. Working on switching them over. Strange that it did not do this...
 
Solution

Hi. I just experienced this too and so googled it and found this forum. The answer is to rebuild each of the folders after you open up the mail client. IT will then synchronise everything back into order.

Hope that helps you!
 
cant find this Time Machine on my mail ?

firstly i cant find time machine on the mail app ...
I had accidently checked on "remove copy from server after retreiving mail" option in preferences in the mail application on my mac book pro ...
and almost all my old mails are deleted from my hotmail account ...
in my office im using a windows desktop and dont really use my back book there to send mails .... i need to retrieve my mails on my hotmail account in the server ... how can i do that ? please help !!
 
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