How to Rebuild a Eudora Mailbox

When you first set up Qualcomm's Eudora email client, the program creates two separate files for your In and Out boxes as well as for any additional mailboxes you create. These files reside in the Eudora directory with ".mbx" and ".toc" extensions. Your Inbox files, for example, appear as "In.mbx" and "In.toc." You may receive a message that your table of contents is damaged or find that you suddenly can no longer open your mail, but all is not lost. If your mailbox becomes corrupted, you can try to recover your messages using the following steps.

Instructions

1. Exit Eudora if it is still open.

2. Find the mailbox files in the Eudora directory. Since these files are by default buried deep in the User's Application Data Folder, locate them by clicking "Start" and then "Search" and type "in.toc" in the search box---if your problem is the Outbox, search for "out.toc." The ".mbx" files are in the same location as the ".toc" files.

3. Copy and then paste the in.mbx and in.toc mailbox files to your desktop as a backup.

4. Return to your Eudora directory and delete only the "In.toc" file.

5. Start Eudora and open the In mailbox. If you get an error message that the mailbox needs to be rebuilt, or you need a new table of contents, allow it to rebuild. If you have a large number of messages, be patient and do not click on your mailbox more than once. If you continue to have trouble with the mailbox, close Eudora again and return to the "In.mbx" you saved to your desktop. Open the file with a text editor, such as Notepad or Wordpad, so you can read the messages contained in that file---assuming the file wasn't completely destroyed.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have "compacted" your mailboxes at any time prior to your file corruption, you should have back up copies that you can restore from the same directory you located in Step #2. These files appear with a numbered extension, such as In.mbx.001 and In.toc.001. Restore them by removing the "001" and renaming each folder, such as BacIn.mbx and BacIn.toc so you don't overwrite your current In box. When you restart Eudora you will see these new mailboxes listed.

• Prevent mailbox corruption by eliminating unnecessary mail. Empty your Trash box which, along with the In and Out mailboxes, loads every time you start the program. You can also move messages from your Inbox to other mailboxes to keep the Inbox from growing excessively.

References

• "PC World"; Flaws in Eudora; Stuart J. Johnston; 2005

Resources

• Academic Computing and Communications Center: Using Eudora
• Eudora: Technical Support