Gary, thank you for responding. As you can see, I have not yet carried out the “uninstall and then install” fix for the problem of the unresponsive eM Client program in my laptop after an obvious flunked v8.1 update on December 7, 2020.
The thing kept me hesitate is how to select the choice of “delete the database” when prompted in the fixing process. Based on my read of the available literature on the subject in this forum, I guess we need to first of all make the distinction between (A) going back to the previous version before the botched v8.1 update and (B) reinstalling v8.1.876 via uninstalling the botched v8.1 update in the first place. The fixes to both (A) and (B) involve the same tactic of “uninstall then install”, but in terms of how to deal with the database associated with the fixing of the problem caused by the botched v8.1 we need to be mindful of some nuances (important nuances I must add) between (A) and (B) and even within the realm of (B).
In terms of “delete or not delete the database” choices,
For Scenario (A), we need to delete the database associated with the botched v8.1 and restore the database for the previous version from the backup. One active participant (by the name of “confuseduser”) in this forum has already mentioned this path (and echoed by you in your response, I remember), and I already sent him a request for confirmation of his successful steps in the process (you can easily search my inquiry on this point).
For Scenario (B), it seems we need to make a sub-division: those who inclined to reinstall v8.1.876 from an old version before the v8.1 series, and those who inclined to reinstall v8.1.876 from a version that is older than v8.1.876 but still within the v8.1 series; for the former category, they still need to choose to delete the database associated with the botched v8.1 update and restore the database from a backup, for the latter category, they do not need to choose to delete the database (which is the only situation where we should choose not to delete database when prompted in the “uninstall and then install again” fix solution).
I wish somebody would give a much better clarification on all the nuances shown above, all coalesced around the central concern as to how to correctly deal with the database and avoid ending up losing data in this fixing process.
I give that task a layman’s try here, with all the inputs (mainly from you and a couple of others) actually coming from this forum in scattered bits and pieces in different threads and different uploading.
Looking back Mr. Geoge-Wilson’s official solution on the fix, we cannot leave without a sense of inadequacy due to the fact that he mentioned nothing at all about the database aspect of the process. But the safety of our large email files is one of the major reasons why we chose to use eM Client software to begin with.
I wish we could hear the voices from eM Client supporting team more in the discussion process.
Thank you, Gary, for your always informative responses.