Looking for my mail in a lost Linux partition
I moved my /home contents to a FAT partition at the end of my disk with the intention of resizing and reformatting my Linux partitions and clean-upgrading to SUSE 10 (RC1). I gave SUSE 10 YaST the repartitioning and software package selection instructions, started the setup and went to sleep (it was late). When I wake up I find that for some reason the install is faulty and my backup FAT partition is gone. Now I have successfully reaccessed that FAT partition from PC Inspector on Windows XP, and copying files from that partition to my XP partition (should have done that in the first place) so I can wipe the rest of the hard disk and start install over again. Thank God I decided on a freak impulse to use a FAT partition for backup. I doubt PC Inspector would have detected stuff on an ext3 or reiserfs partition. Now I have backed up all my software archives (entire KDE 3.42 etc) to Windows, and only thing that remains is my mail. Where do I find it for backing up? http://docs.kde.org/development/en/kdepim/kmail/faq.html#id2605128 told me to look under ~/.kde/share/apps/kmail/. What I see is this: ~/.kde/share/apps/kmail/ <DIR> Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 11 KB gmail <DIR> Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 1 KB inbox <DIR> Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 30 KB linux <DIR> Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 1 KB trash <DIR> Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 1 KB drafts <DIR> Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 1 KB sent-mail <DIR> Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 1 KB outbox Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 0 KB .sent-mail.index.ids Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 0 KB .drafts.index.ids Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 0 KB .trash.index.ids Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 1 KB .gmail.index.ids Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 35 KB .linux.index.sorted Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 114 KB .gmail.index Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 12 KB .gmail.index.sorted Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 352 KB .linux.index Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 0 KB .outbox.index.ids Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 0 KB .drafts.index.sorted Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 0 KB .trash.index Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 0 KB .outbox.index Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 3 KB .linux.index.ids Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 6 KB .inbox.index.sorted Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 0 KB .sent-mail.index Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 0 KB .outbox.index.sorted Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 1 KB .inbox.index.ids Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 55 KB .inbox.index Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 0 KB .drafts.index Now I go into my linux folder, where I had over 600 mails. What I see is just this: ~/.kde/share/apps/kmail/mail/linux/cur Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 3 KB 1127838133.8468.8OKk1 Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 4 KB 1127753083.7778.qCNPE Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 3 KB 1125949189.7912.24Njw Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 3 KB 1127811450.9746.v4dtL Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 4 KB 1127829717.9746.R35h5 Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 3 KB 1127838270.8468.41sOv Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 3 KB 1125949191.7912.hFQpD Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 3 KB 1126005183.7843.FMmJY Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 1 KB 1125949892.7912.bQmpO Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 3 KB 1126007496.7843.GggTY Somehow these file sizes don't look right. I see a lock file in the ~/.kde/share/apps/kmail folder. Perhaps kmail didn't shut down properly? Do I have to recover the mail from elsewhere? Contents of lock file: appName=kmail hostname=linux pid=-1 programName=KMail
* Shriramana Sharma
Now I have backed up all my software archives (entire KDE 3.42 etc) to Windows, and only thing that remains is my mail. Where do I find it for backing up? http://docs.kde.org/development/en/kdepim/kmail/faq.html#id2605128 told me to look under ~/.kde/share/apps/kmail/. What I see is this:
~/.kde/share/apps/kmail/
<DIR> Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 11 KB gmail <DIR> Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 1 KB inbox <DIR> Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 30 KB linux <DIR> Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 1 KB trash <DIR> Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 1 KB drafts <DIR> Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 1 KB sent-mail <DIR> Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 1 KB outbox
Your mail will be beneath these folders. ie: using gmail as an example gmail/cur/ new/ tmp/
Somehow these file sizes don't look right.
sizes are for *that* directory only, not those beneath.
I see a lock file in the ~/.kde/share/apps/kmail folder. Perhaps kmail didn't shut down properly?
that is correct. But since you do not have kmail running and have moved the files, the lock is no good. Delete it.
Do I have to recover the mail from elsewhere?
no. -- Patrick Shanahan Registered Linux User #207535 http://wahoo.no-ip.org @ http://counter.li.org HOG # US1244711 Photo Album: http://wahoo.no-ip.org/gallery2
Email backup in kmail is a pest, I really whish someone would come up with something similar to MS windoze's pst file. On Wednesday 28 September 2005 15:24, Patrick Shanahan wrote:
* Shriramana Sharma
[09-28-05 05:41]: .... Now I have backed up all my software archives (entire KDE 3.42 etc) to Windows, and only thing that remains is my mail. Where do I find it for backing up? http://docs.kde.org/development/en/kdepim/kmail/faq.html#id2605128 told me to look under ~/.kde/share/apps/kmail/. What I see is this:
~/.kde/share/apps/kmail/
<DIR> Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 11 KB gmail <DIR> Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 1 KB inbox <DIR> Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 30 KB linux <DIR> Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 1 KB trash <DIR> Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 1 KB drafts <DIR> Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 1 KB sent-mail <DIR> Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:45 1 KB outbox
Your mail will be beneath these folders. ie: using gmail as an example
gmail/cur/ new/ tmp/
Somehow these file sizes don't look right.
sizes are for *that* directory only, not those beneath.
I see a lock file in the ~/.kde/share/apps/kmail folder. Perhaps kmail didn't shut down properly?
that is correct. But since you do not have kmail running and have moved the files, the lock is no good. Delete it.
Do I have to recover the mail from elsewhere?
no.
-- Patrick Shanahan Registered Linux User #207535 http://wahoo.no-ip.org @ http://counter.li.org HOG # US1244711 Photo Album: http://wahoo.no-ip.org/gallery2
-- Kind regards Per Qvindesland E-mail: per@qvtech.cc Web: www.qvtech.cc Tel: +27 39 682 5453 Cell: +27 82 777 1362 Success defies gravity - it goes straight to the head. Gravity take over when the head becomes heavy with Success!
* Per Qvindesland
Email backup in kmail is a pest, I really whish someone would come up with something similar to MS windoze's pst file.
Please trim your posts. It's really not a problem. 1. Define the steps necessary. 2. Write a shell script to accomplish the steps. 3. Enter the script in cron. -- Patrick Shanahan Registered Linux User #207535 http://wahoo.no-ip.org @ http://counter.li.org HOG # US1244711 Photo Album: http://wahoo.no-ip.org/gallery2
On Wed, 2005-09-28 at 15:29 +0200, Per Qvindesland wrote:
Email backup in kmail is a pest, I really whish someone would come up with something similar to MS windoze's pst file.
and suffer from it's obscurity? The average Joe does not even know where it resides in the Windows file hierarchy. Kmail stores all the files in the user's home dir viz. ~/Mail. Just as you need to know that you have to back up .pst file for Outlook/Outlook Exp. so do you need to know the dir you need to back up for your email application in Linux/*nix. -- Arun Khan
On 9/29/05, Arun K. Khan
you need to know that you have to back up .pst file for Outlook/Outlook Exp. so do you need to know the dir you need to back up for your email application in Linux/*nix.
With the difference between that when you have set up /home on a different partition, you can close your eyes and backup that partition to another drive, trusting that all your stuff is backed up, PROVIDED KMail doesn't mess up things like it did for me.
Shriramana Sharma wrote:
On 9/29/05, Arun K. Khan
wrote: you need to know that you have to back up .pst file for Outlook/Outlook Exp. so do you need to know the dir you need to back up for your email application in Linux/*nix.
With the difference between that when you have set up /home on a different partition, you can close your eyes and backup that partition to another drive, trusting that all your stuff is backed up, PROVIDED KMail doesn't mess up things like it did for me.
when you do the backup, you can as well backup /home, whereever it is located. problem is not all is saved in /home... for example plugins for mozilla/thunderbird, config in /etc and even sometimes in /usr/X11/etc... jdd -- pour m'écrire, aller sur: http://www.dodin.net http://valerie.dodin.net http://arvamip.free.fr
On 9/28/05, Patrick Shanahan
Your mail will be beneath these folders. ie: using gmail as an example
gmail/cur/ new/ tmp/
gmail/cur contains one file of size 8121 bytes and another of 3436 bytes. gmail/new and gmail/tmp are empty.
I see a lock file in the ~/.kde/share/apps/kmail folder. Perhaps kmail didn't shut down properly?
that is correct. But since you do not have kmail running and have moved the files, the lock is no good. Delete it.
Read-only access to the lost partition.
* Shriramana Sharma
On 9/28/05, Patrick Shanahan
wrote: Your mail will be beneath these folders. ie: using gmail as an example
gmail/cur/ new/ tmp/
gmail/cur contains one file of size 8121 bytes and another of 3436 bytes. gmail/new and gmail/tmp are empty.
But there are *other* folders that will *also* have mail, inbox, linux! Apparently, that's all that you recovered.
I see a lock file in the ~/.kde/share/apps/kmail folder. Perhaps kmail didn't shut down properly?
that is correct. But since you do not have kmail running and have moved the files, the lock is no good. Delete it.
Read-only access to the lost partition.
YOU are the sys-admin. Change the access. -- Patrick Shanahan Registered Linux User #207535 http://wahoo.no-ip.org @ http://counter.li.org HOG # US1244711 Photo Album: http://wahoo.no-ip.org/gallery2
On 9/29/05, Patrick Shanahan
gmail/cur contains one file of size 8121 bytes and another of 3436 bytes. gmail/new and gmail/tmp are empty.
But there are *other* folders that will *also* have mail, inbox, linux!
Well, same story there too. Some files under /cur, but nothing under new and tmp. (I didn't have any new messages at the time of closing, nor any unsaved drafts, if that's what goes under tmp.)
Apparently, that's all that you recovered.
I recovered 2 GB of data! I hardly think that this section alone might have been lost.
On Wednesday 28 September 2005 12:39, Shriramana Sharma wrote:
Now I have backed up all my software archives (entire KDE 3.42 etc) to Windows, and only thing that remains is my mail. Where do I find it for backing up? http://docs.kde.org/development/en/kdepim/kmail/faq.html#id2605128 told me to look under ~/.kde/share/apps/kmail/. What I see is this:
~/.kde/share/apps/kmail/
Just a thought, but did you look in ~/Mail too?
Had another thought. I backed up my /home partition using Konqueror. I do not remember whether as root or my own user. I also don't remember whether KMail was running at that time or not. But: If KMail had been running, would that have prevented the mail files from being copied? In Windows, when a particular file is in use, I am prevented from deleting it but not from copying it. I wonder how Linux works in this matter. Can anyone please run KMail and while running it try to copy their mail folder to another partition and tell me whether all their mail files get transferred?
Shriramana Sharma wrote:
Had another thought. I backed up my /home partition using Konqueror. I do not remember whether as root or my own user. I also don't remember whether KMail was running at that time or not.
But: If KMail had been running, would that have prevented the mail files from being copied? In Windows, when a particular file is in use, I am prevented from deleting it but not from copying it. I wonder how Linux works in this matter.
Kmail will prevent you from copying or moving files when it is running. I have also had a problem with the group permssions being changed without my intervention. Rich
participants (7)
-
Anders Johansson
-
Arun K. Khan
-
C.Richard Matson
-
jdd sur free
-
Patrick Shanahan
-
Per Qvindesland
-
Shriramana Sharma