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5T disk space - startupCache corrupt

  • 2 replies
  • 0 have this problem
  • 6 views
  • Last reply by Wayne Mery

Steve Hansen
Steve Hansen
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I'm on Thunderbird 115.11.1 on Windows 11. I got an error that there wasn't space to download emails today. My Thunderbird profile shows this: 

            121 File(s)    100,867,461 bytes
             24 Dir(s)  455,503,380,480 bytes free

In the startupCache folder File Explorer says that there are 2500 directories, 660 files, and 4.94 TB of content. The last few lines of a dir command show this. Note the weird dates on the directories and garbage names.

06/02/2024 12:15 AM 164,221 startupCache.8.little 08/16/2057 01:32 AM <DIR> }+ 3an^.1q 08/08/1997 03:53 AM <DIR> √µÇ┌╪,Pù. 05/04/1990 02:21 PM 467,310,242 4φ)τ~o╗D.cÖê 04/24/2063 05:53 AM <DIR> ╤fεª╫s₧&.╘rα 02/08/2083 12:31 AM 2,596,407,552 «-╞┐I┤U.`xs 10/22/2020 06:59 PM <DIR> *¼²Ñ▐'╣.░╦ 03/06/2078 11:59 AM 3,915,121,951 n│ê/ë∞3Γ.f└ï The parameter is incorrect. 

     <DIR>          πºaîí├

▌.»δ The parameter is incorrect. 

        333,948,754 Åô␦╖w6ùƒ.x▐

The parameter is incorrect. j]j.╥QwDIR> Φπ═ The parameter is incorrect. 

     <DIR>          ╒0q≡ó,.@{¥
            660 File(s) 2,708,943,115,907 bytes
            664 Dir(s)  455,496,040,448 bytes free

What is the best way to clean this up?

I'm on Thunderbird 115.11.1 on Windows 11. I got an error that there wasn't space to download emails today. My Thunderbird profile shows this: 121 File(s) 100,867,461 bytes 24 Dir(s) 455,503,380,480 bytes free In the startupCache folder File Explorer says that there are 2500 directories, 660 files, and 4.94 TB of content. The last few lines of a dir command show this. Note the weird dates on the directories and garbage names. 06/02/2024 12:15 AM 164,221 startupCache.8.little 08/16/2057 01:32 AM <DIR> }+ 3an^.1q 08/08/1997 03:53 AM <DIR> √µÇ┌╪,Pù. 05/04/1990 02:21 PM 467,310,242 4φ)τ~o╗D.cÖê 04/24/2063 05:53 AM <DIR> ╤fεª╫s₧&.╘rα 02/08/2083 12:31 AM 2,596,407,552 «-╞┐I┤U.`xs 10/22/2020 06:59 PM <DIR> *¼²Ñ▐'╣.░╦ 03/06/2078 11:59 AM 3,915,121,951 n│ê/ë∞3Γ.f└ï The parameter is incorrect. <DIR> πºaîí├ ▌.»δ The parameter is incorrect. 333,948,754 Åô␦╖w6ùƒ.x▐ The parameter is incorrect. j]j.╥QwDIR> Φπ═ The parameter is incorrect. <DIR> ╒0q≡ó,.@{¥ 660 File(s) 2,708,943,115,907 bytes 664 Dir(s) 455,496,040,448 bytes free What is the best way to clean this up?
Attached screenshots

Modified by Wayne Mery

All Replies (2)

david
david
  • Top 10 Contributor
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My approach is 'down and dirty.' I just exit thunderbird, click to folder in Windows File Explorer, highlight all the entries and press 'delete'

Wayne Mery
Wayne Mery
  • Moderator
  • Top 10 Contributor
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~5T is quite extraordinary. a) I'm not finding any bug reports about this. b) No one (both of you) should ever need to do this manually.

Do you have all imap accounts? Do you have message sync disabled in Account Settings > Sync > Message Synchronizing? And what number "Use up to" do you see at Settings > General > Disk Space?

Modified by Wayne Mery