Update installed, now all my contacts and e-mails are gone!

I have installed the latest update of Opera and now all my contacts and e-mails are gone! Every time I start Opera I get the following message(in Dutch)

Voordat je het e-mail- en nieuwsstroomberichten kunt gebruiken, moet Opera de e-maildatabase bijwerken naar een nieuwe indeling. Wil je dit
nu doen?

This means if I want to update the e-mail database. When I say yes, the program crashes and I have to start again. If I say no, Opera works but without e-mail or chat accounts. I also cannot set any new e-mail accounts.

What can I do to retrieve my contacts and e-mails?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Kind regards,
Suzanne

type opera:config into the address bar. Locate the MAIL section. Check the location of the mail folder and make sure it is pointing to where your email actually sits on your PC.

Thank you for your quick reply. I appreciate it! The problem is that all my mails seem to have completely dissapeared.

When I do as you said and type in opera:config, then the mail root directory states C:\Documents and Settings\Suz\Local Settings\Application Data\Opera\Opera\\mail\

But the problem is that when I try to find this folder on the computer, it doesn't exist.

I just don't understand how an update can completely delete my mails.

Any other ideas? I'm getting desperate here...

Kind regards,
Suzanne

Update will not have deleted the emails. Even if it reset the database, it still will not have deleted any emails.

Are "hidden files" enabled on your PC? That folder will usually be a hidden one unless you flick the switch. (Check the TOOLS menu then select FOLDER OPTIONS from the menu the look on the second page and enabled "Show hidden files and folders")

Note also that you have two "\\" in your folder name there. Is that a typo you made? Or was that in the config box? (Look at the end of the path and you will see \\mail\ when it should be \mail\)

You will also get better quality help in the mail forum.

Thanks again! I was able to see the hidden files, but still no mail to be seen. The two "\\" was no typo. That's how it came up, but the folder doesn't exist. I did also post the same message in the mail forum, but didn't get a reply there yet. Feeling very much on the dark side of the moon now...

But thanks anyway for trying to help me!
Kind regards,
Suzanne

I am actually wondering now if maybe I didn't just install an update but a whole new version of Opera. I didn't think I did but could that be the problem? Although the download went really quick and I didn't get a message about overwriting anything...

Kind regards,
Suzanne

In that case it looks like there is an error in that opera:config mail path. The \\ is not a legal path. Remove one of those double \\ to get a correct mail path.

I expect you will find your email is in: C:\Documents and Settings\Suz\Local Settings\Application Data\Opera\Opera\mail\

Notice only one slash between each folder name.

A "new" install would go into a different folder. You would have to enter a new folder name for that.

Check out C:\Documents and Settings\Suz\Local Settings\Application Data\Opera\ and look at what is in that folder. How many "opera" or "opera11" etc folders are there?

Next, check in each of those folders for a mail folder. See if any of these are of multi-megabyte sizes.

(I am going to see if I can get a mod to move this thread into the mail forum as you will get more replies then)

You're absolutely brilliant! I have found the mails folder. Still don't know how to get them into my Opera but I have found them at C:\Documents and Settings\Suz\Local Settings\Application Data\Opera\ Just where you said.

In the folder there are the following folders:

autofilter
indexer
lexicon
store

and the following items:
accounts
incoming13
index
ini1F.tmp
ini2D.tmp
ini20.tmp
mailbase
0mailbase
signature1 (until 14)
storeupdate

The 'store' folder is 1.75 GB and includes a number of account folders, so I assume that must be my old mails.

When I set the correct folder in the mail root directory, and I try to update the e-mail database when starting Opera, it still crashes so there is still something wrong. Would it be an idea to install a new version of Opera and them somehow import the mail folder? Or would that be silly to try?

Again, any ideas are very welcome. I have the feeling I am at least getting somewhere (no longer obscured by clouds).
Kind regards,
Suzanne

Okay - now you have it, Personally I'd make a backup copy for paranoia's sake. Burn to a DVD or just copy to a spare location

Now... once backed up. Open Opera, go to opera:config and correct the path to point to the mail folder you have just found. Which means to correct the double \\ and make it a single \.

I am slightly confused by your "I found it at" location. Do you mean your mail is just in C:\Documents and Settings\Suz\Local Settings\Application Data\Opera\ ? No specifically named "mail" folder?

Whatever the name of the folder is you were looking at to get the list of folders you named in your post, this is what needs to be in the opera:config box. Then just close opera and restart.

No need to "import" - just let Opera know where your mail is really stored.

I retrieved all my mails!

My mails were indeed in C:\Documents and Settings\Suz\Local Settings\Application Data\Opera\ in a specifically named "mail" folder. (Because it is a 'hidden' folder, I didn't see it at first.)

I tried what you said, to make it a single \ but it just kept on crashing. This is what I eventually did:
I installed an old version of Opera on my laptop, opera 10.00. I then copied the 'mail' folder on an external hard drive and then imported the different accounts with the .mbs files onto opera on my laptop. So now at least I have access to all my old mails.

I think I will now uninstall Opera on my computer and then start from scratch, with a download of the latest version, and if that doesn't work I'll use another browser. I'm not going to try to import the mails then, because at least I now have access to them on my laptop, which I'm VERY happy about.

Thanks SO much for all your help. Without your steps as to where to look, etc. I would still be lost!

Kind regards,
Suzanne

How it should work is....

When Opera is installed on a computer it should just be able to look at the Mail folder and then pick it up and work with it without the need to import the old mail. This is all I have needed to do in the past (I keep my mail elsewhere on my PC as I am one of those weird technical geeks with an odd PC setup. My mail is in E:\Data\Opera\Mail\ so all I do on a fresh opera install is to correct that opera:config mail location and then restart Opera and cross my fingers. Usually all then works fine)

In your case it is clear that garbage text got into that config setting putting in the double slash into the directory name. And then could not see the folder due to the incorrect name. Computers are easily confused

I can't explain the crash you were getting when you were correcting the path to look at the right place.

If you are doing a "fresh install" of opera, notice the other files in the C:\Documents and Settings\Suz\Local Settings\Application Data\Opera folder. And also in the C:\Documents and Settings\Suz\Application Data\Opera folder. Among these are bookmarks.adr which is your bookmarks. wand.dat are your passwords. If you do a fresh install, you can just copy these files back in on top of the "new" ones and you will get your old bookmarks, etc. (Note - if you do this, make sure Opera is closed when you actually copy the files into place)

Thanks again for your advice. I have been using the Windows explorer browser today as I had work to do and now I'm kind of doubting if it's not easier to just keep using that browser. I have to make up my mind on that. As for the strange crashes and \\, my computer sometimes seems to have a mind of its own

Kind regards,
Suzanne

You have more choice with Opera. And surely a crash is rare in Opera? Personally I find M2 mail far better than other options as I am a heavy user of the filters. (I also have mail in here going back 10 years or more)

Opera just feels better for me - but it is all personal choice.

But do remember - as you are on XP, there will be no newer updates to IE. You will be stuck on version 8 forever. (Plenty of fanboi threads elsewhere, and I don't want to start this one off into being a "my browser is better than yours" argument as then some nutter will suggest Chrome.)

Personal choice - use what you feel most comfortable with for your own choice of websites.