How to recover my old emails into Local Folders

1

Hello everyone,

Last week my C drive (SSD) with all my programs on it failed suddenly. My other D drive (HDD) with all my data survived, and all my backup files made on 1st January 2020 using ‘EaseUS Todo Backup Home’ software on an external HDD have also survived. I have now replaced the C drive (SSD) and re-installed the the programs. The only things I cannot find a way of re-installing are all my previous emails that were in Local Folders.

By using the ‘EaseUS Todo Backup’ software I have restored from the external backup drive the full email system that was originally on my C drive that I made on 1st January before the crash but unfortunately I had previously set up the target backup directory as:

C:\Users\Geoff\AppData\Roaming\eM Client

whereas my newly installed installation of eM Client has the default target backup directory as:

C:\Users\Geoff\Documents\Em Client.

Consequently I have still not got back my previous emails back into their Local Folders. I have not yet performed a backup into the new directory so that folder is still empty.

Question 1 - Would it be OK for me to change the new target backup folder to be the same as the old one that now has the files in it and can you see any problem in me trying to recover my previous emails in that way?

Question 2 - Does a successful backup restoration produce the same local folder structure that was there before and does it put the old emails back into the correct folders?

Question 3 - Before I go and do the wrong thing and cause more problems, please can you confirm that these are typical of the types of files that I should have in my backup folder because these are the files that I have there and are what I will be trying to recover if you say it should be OK:

3b8fbcf0-c421-47fb-9335-12984db7063a  (2.53MB, 30 files, 3 folders)

5c9349b6-3502-418e-a9af-40d10c91e453  (22.4MB, 30 files, 3 folders)

8937fc01-f0dc-4132-918f-e00e02e02951  (1.52, 27 files, 2 folders)

Archive  (612KB, 15 files, 0 folders)

Local Folders  (1.82MB, 39 files, 0 folders)

Logs  (1.91MB, 59 files, 0 folders)

Search Folders  (1.45MB, 39 files, 0 folders)

  • numerous groups of PDF files, ‘dat-bak’ files, ‘dat-shm’ files, ‘dat-wal’ files.

Any assistance offered will be very gratefully received. Many thanks,

Geoff

2

Generally external backup applications do not backup the eM Client database unless eM Client is closed and even then, not reliably. If eM Client is running, you end up with an empty database in the backup which is what you probably now have looking at the files sizes you quoted. So if eM Client was running during the EaseUS backup, that will be useless. Also, a SQL database needs a specific type of backup that writes the wal files back to the dat files during the backup. That is why eM Client has it’s own backup feature.

Where was your eM Client database before the crash? By default it should have been in C:\Users\Geoff\AppData\Roaming\eM Client, but you had that as the destination for storing backups. Or did you mean that was the backup source directory?

3

Hello Gary,

Thank you for your reply. It doesn’t get any easier! I hope you can follow this.

I found out that I HAD set up the automatic backup via your software but had forgotten that I had done it some time ago. I used the ‘easeUS Todo backup’ as a second line of defense. I have now found the WinRAR ZIP file called “backup_201912311429” which I think has the backups of my previous emails that were stored in Local Folders (can you confirm that to be the case?). I copied this WinRAR file into the nominated backup folder “C:\Users\Geoff\AppData\Roaming\eM Client”.

Then, as I haven’t got many new emails I created another backup into a DIFFERENT folder so that when I did a restore from that WinRAR file nothing would get overwritten. (That WinRAR file is in amongst a number of other files and folders similar to the ones I first mentioned above).

Then I set up the target backup folder in the eM Client program itself as the same “C:\Users\Geoff\AppData\Roaming\eM Client” before doing a “Menu > File > Restore” operation hoping that this would be the last step and all my old emails and Local Folders would then appear. That did not happen.

I lost control of eM Client which froze up and I had to force a stop of the computer. When I switched it on again I did not have eM Client working properly so I thought I would uninstall it and re-install it. When It came back it was the trial version so I though I would validate it as I have a lifetime licence. But even that didn’t work as I had this error message:

 System.IO.FileNotFoundException: Could not find file ‘C:\Users\Geoff\AppData\Roaming\eM Client\backup_201912311429.zip’.File name: ‘C:\Users\Geoff\AppData\Roaming\eM Client\backup_201912311429.zip’
   at System.IO.__Error.WinIOError(Int32 errorCode, String maybeFullPath)
   at System.IO.FileInfo.get_Length()
   at DbBackup.FormBackup.Restore(String backupFile, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
   at DbBackup.FormBackup.Restore(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
   at DbBackup.FormBackup.<>c__DisplayClass28_0.<mainform_load>b__0(Object a, DoWorkEventArgs b)
at System.ComponentModel.BackgroundWorker.OnDoWork(DoWorkEventArgs e)
at System.ComponentModel.BackgroundWorker.WorkerThreadStart(Object argument)
_____________________________

And to top it all the email that had given me my new validation code has also been lost, so now I need a new one of those again.

I don’t know where to go from here. I think that the WinRAR file is important and may eventually be able to give me back my old emails if I can get eM Client back working again with some good advice from your technical support.

Maybe I need to uninstall again and get a clean uncorrupted fully working version back on my computer, properly validated.

I will await further ideas as to how I can get your eM Client software, which I like, working again and hopefully with my old emails.

Many thanks,

Geoff









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4

One more thing, I assume that the target backup folder should be the same as the one you restore from?

5

First thing - go to the appdata folder and move any zip file backups to another folder because when you do a restore it is going to delete those files.

After the restore, change the backup destination to another folder so that if you ever need to restore in future, you do not delete all your backups.

Now, as you are using Local Folders, any new data since the last backup will be lost when you restore, so export any messages in those folders using Menu > File > Export > Export messages to eml. This will export all the messages and keep the folder structure.

Now restore the backup_201912311429.zip backup. Everything should be back to how it was on New Years Eve. You can now import the local folder data you just exported, and will end up with a combined database.

6

Hello Gary,

I cannot say how grateful I am for your detailed instructions that hopefully will get me back my Local Folders and their emails. Please bear with me a little longer as it’s your answers to the small details below that will really help me.  

So to be absolutely sure of what I need to do please run through the following sequence as there are some points I need clarified before I do anything. I want this to be the final job to be done without any further complications. 

You told me “Now, as you are using Local Folders, any new data since the last backup will be lost when you restore, so export any messages in those folders using Menu > File > Export > Export messages to eml. This will export all the messages and keep the folder structure.”

OK, this is the first thing I must do before attempting any of 2 and 3 below. I can understand those clear instructions. Thanks.

You told me “First thing - go to the appdata folder and move any zip file backups to another folder because when you do a restore it is going to delete those files.”

OK, I assume you mean this directory: “C:\Users\Geoff\AppData\Roaming\eM Client”.

Question:
This directory currently has only the one important WinRAR zip file “backup_201912311429” in it. This I take it is the one you want me to remove to another new folder, lets say I call it “C:\Users\Geoff\AppData\Roaming\eM Client TEMP”.

But this folder already also has many other files in it with that zip file, like these :

3b8fbcf0-c421-47fb-9335-12984db7063a  (2.53MB, 30 files, 3 folders)

5c9349b6-3502-418e-a9af-40d10c91e453  (22.4MB, 30 files, 3 folders)

8937fc01-f0dc-4132-918f-e00e02e02951  (1.52, 27 files, 2 folders)

Archive  (612KB, 15 files, 0 folders)

Local Folders  (1.82MB, 39 files, 0 folders)

Logs  (1.91MB, 59 files, 0 folders)

Search Folders  (1.45MB, 39 files, 0 folders)

  • numerous groups of PDF files, ‘dat-bak’ files, ‘dat-shm’ files, ‘dat-wal’ files.

Question:
So do I delete all these files as well or move them to the same new folder with that zip file?

You told me “After the restore, change the backup destination to another folder so that if you ever need to restore in future, you do not delete all your backups.”

The current Database Location directory and the Backup Target directory are both currently set as “C:\Users\Geoff\AppData\Roaming\eM Client” but you have just told me to remove the backup zip file from it.

Question:
How can it restore if the WinRAR backup zip file is no longer in that “C:\Users\Geoff\AppData\Roaming\eM Client” directory?

You told me “Now restore the backup_201912311429.zip backup. Everything should be back to how it was on New Years Eve. You can now import the local folder data you just exported, and will end up with a combined database.”

OK, I understand some of this regarding the final combining of the two databases after all have been restored, but I am still confused about:

a) Where the zip file should now be before attempting a restore of it AND whether all the other files I mentioned that are currently with it should remain with it or be deleted.

b) Is it correct for the the Database Location directory and the Backup Target directory should be the same as they are now?

c) Are you sure the two databases will combine rather that overwrite which will put me back to square one again.

Finally, I will sort out the validation of the software after all has been successfully restored as that is a separate issue not connected to this problem.

Many thanks again,

Geoff

7

To your questions:

  1. Just move ALL the zip files to C:\Users\Geoff\Documents\eM Client. Don’t worry about any of the other files as they are going to be deleted and replaced by the restore.

  2. eM Client will ask you for the location of the file to restore if it cannot find it. If you leave any of the older zip files in the appdata folder, it is going to restore one of them. So again, move ALL the zip files to C:\Users\Geoff\Documents\eM Client.

4a. Move ALL the zip files to C:\Users\Geoff\Documents\eM Client. Don’t worry about the other files as the restore will delete and replace them.

4b. No. The database and backup directories should not be the same. By default eM Client uses different folders for the database and the backup files for a reason. Better not to combine them. The default location for the backup files is C:\Users\Geoff\Documents\eM Client. Find all the backupxxxx.zip files and move them there. The default location for the database is C:\Users\Geoff\AppData\Roaming\eM Client. One of the reasons for separating them is that when you do a restore, it will completely delete the C:\Users\Geoff\AppData\Roaming\eM Client folder and then extract the zip file there. That means that all your backups will be lost, and the current restore will also probably fail because it has just deleted the zip file. You will have nothing left.

4c. No, the restore will completely replace the existing database. That is why you need to first export those messages from Local Folders. After the restore you can import them back into eM Client. That will combine the databases.

8

If in doubt, close eM Client and rename the C:\Users\Geoff\AppData\Roaming\eM Client folder.

When you restart eM Client it will be with a blank database and you can restore and import without affecting the current database.

9

Hello Gary,

I am very pleased to tell you that I have now restored all my Local Folders thanks to your clear and detailed instructions. You did a very good job for me for which I shall be eternally grateful. There are lessons to be learned on both sides.

I have learned how the eM Client ‘restore’ and ‘backup’ systems work and shall ensure that I do not leave myself so vulnerable again in the future. I thought I was doing the right thing by backing up my emails using external software (in this case: easeUS Todo Backup) which worked perfectly for all other programs except my emails. I was not aware that such external programs DO NOT actually backup emails in eM Client. It was very fortunate that when I first installed eM Client I did set up regular automatic backups but it was so long ago that I had forgotten about them. So it was very bad luck that I first went to restore my emails via that external program which then started the chain of events that led to my two weeks of total despair until you responded to my plea for help. 

I think eM Client (not you personally Gary) could have prevented this happening if you had done some things right at the beginning when I originally installed the software. I hope you will take on board these two suggestions that will help other people not to have the same problems I have had.

1.  I did not read anything about the fact that external backup software does not work with eM Client. I am computer literate and had I read that fact I would certainly not have used any external software to backup my emails. Your internal backup system is already probably the simplest, most effective and user-friendly email backup software on the market and that has fortunately been my experience of it thanks to the excellent technical support I have just received. So PLEASE make it abundantly clear when anyone installs your software NOT to use any external software to backup any emails but only do it with your excellent internal system. That would have saved me all that trouble which could have resulted in the total loss of all my emails.

2.  You use these two default folders upon installation of your software:

For the backup files:  C:\Users\username\Documents\eM Client    

For the database:  C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\eM Client.

You also reference each of them separately in various documents which we receive or read at purchase or installation. There is no clear indication of the function they serve and it is very easy for a new customer of yours to get confused by these names. I didn’t know they served different functions and incorrectly thought I should have the same path for both backup and restore. So I changed one of them and that caused a chain of nasty events that could have led to me losing all my emails. How much clearer it would have been if they had been tweaked at the end to read:

For the backup files:  C:\Users\username\Documents\eM Client Backups

(I am now using this folder)    

For the database:  C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\eM Client Database. 

I hope you will adopt these two suggestions in future versions of eM Client which should prevent the same problems I had.

Thank you eM Client and thank you again Gary

10

Glad you got it sorted. :wink:

Your point 2 above is already the default setting. The settings do allow them to be changed to accommodate specific needs, but they should never be the same directory.