I have moved to a new computer and have transferred the complete em Client database to the new machine (copied the folder with everything in it) - the accounts all show up, but the local folders and my search folders are missing. How can this be fixed? I still have a copy of the original database folder, but re-copying the “local folders” did not help.
(Version is 7.2.40748.0)
Can you go to Menu > Tools > Settings > General.
Make sure that Show Local Folders, and Show Smart Folders are selected.
Both of these are selected (and were from the start). I did also try de-selecting and re-selecting. I do get extra folders in the “local folders” section, but the wrong ones - it’s not the ones I had on the previous machine. It’s also not possible to find any of the mails that I put into the local folders through the search function.
Initially, my search folders were also missing, but they re-appeared when I was adding a new search folder. This did not work with the local folders, though.
Is there perhaps a More folder in Local Folders? Are the other folders in there?
But I am concerned that you copied some files or folders from the original database into the new one. This could have broken the database.
Do you have a recent backup from before the move?
No, there’s no “more” folder.
I copied the complete database structure from the old machine to the new one, as per the instructions on how to move old data to a new computer. That included the local folder part.
I re-copied the “local folder” folder from the structure once more when the local folders did not turn up after the move.
I don’t have a backup as in “a backup made by a backup function of em Client”, but I do have the original folders/files from before the move.
The recommended method is to backup on one computer, and restore on the other. That way you can open the old version, see the Local Folders are there before the backup. But if you no longer have the previous computer, maybe try the copy again.
First, with eM Client closed, rename or delete the current database on the new computer, then copy the complete \eM Client\ folder to the same location on the new computer.
If, after restarting eM Client the Local Folders are empty, then the data is not in the copy of the original database you have.
I did this, and this time it worked - I have no clue why the exact same action did not work before, but now all my old data and folder structures are back, as it’s exactly what I did before.
I’m very relieved now (and can finally get back to work…)
. . . . and your first priority should be to make a backup! 
I backup everything on my computer regularly - so there would have been several slightly older to older versions of the databases available… but like any other backup, it’s of little help if the restoration does not work due to some unknown or unfathomable reasons!
Please use eM Client’s own backup option Menu > Backup to do it manually, or set it in Menu > Settings > General > Backup for automatic backups.
External backup options may not work, as when eM Client is running, you could end up with empty or corrupted backup files.
