Bye bye, email
11 July 2006 @ 14:25 in Work
I've just lost all my work email, so here's a tip to ensure nobody else makes the same mistake.
My account was playing up, and in an attempt to track down the problem, I created another account with exactly the same settings. The original problem remained, so I trashed this second, 'duplicate' account. Because of the way Mail differentiates accounts – they're held in folders with names built from account details, such as POP-chris.phin@pop.dennis.co.uk – trashing an account with the same details also immediately erased all the mail held in my original work inbox. It's irretrievable except by rebuilding the directories with a data rescue tool.
The moral of the story: Don't create an account with the same settings as an existing account, or you run the risk of interfering with mail held in the original account.
I do have a backup, never fear, and as it's only a couple of weeks old, the interim mail should still be on the server ready to be pulled down once I've replaced the local mail folders with those from my backup, but it's inconvenient to say the least.
