Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

Can't delete Sub Folder

  • 39 majibu
  • 2 wana tatizo hili
  • 11 views
  • Last reply by christ1

more options

Hi, I am using Thunderbird as my main email client. I created a subfolder and tried to delete it by right clicking and hitting delete and also by doing the following that I had read elsewhere....I responded below in capitals. Just a note....when I right click and hit delete or do it from above in the Edit, delete folder. The cursor just spins and at the top it says not responding....after 4 or 5 mins, it stops spinning and the not responding goes away. The folder is still there and if I do it again with or without rebooting Thunderbird and or computer, it still does the same thing, spins and spins the cursor and at top says not responding. I just bought a new computer and want to move my emails and folders to the new computer once I create the the Thunderbird email account on the new computer but I don't even want to attempt the transfer with this folder hanging around. I am assuming it is corrupt. Thanks for any help you can give me.


First follow this process.

   Right click on sub-folder and select 'Delete' 

It should get moved into the 'Deleted' or 'Trash' folder.

   Right click on the 'Deleted' / 'Trash' folder
   select 'Empty Deleted/Trash'. 
   Close and restart Thunderbird.                                           DID THIS BUT IT IS STILL THERE.

Did it come back?

If yes: Make hidden files and folders visible.

   http://kb.mozillazine.org/Show_hidden_files_and_folders                     DID THIS TOO

In Thunderbird

   Help > Troubleshooting Information
   click on 'show folder' button 

a new window opens showing the contents of your profile folder name.

   Close Thunderbird now - this is important. 
   Scroll down and delete this file: foldertree.json                                        DID ALL THIS

(a new one wil be created when you restart Thunderbird later).

   click on 'Mail' folder
   click on pop mail account name 

Sub-folders are kept in folders with a .sbd extension. Example: if the problem sub-folder is a subfolder of the Inbox; click on 'Inbox.sbd' folder

So you would need to apply the same logic to locate the problem sub-folder. The sub-folder you want to delete will not appear as a 'Folder', but it will have the same name as your sub-folder. It will be an mbox 'File' (which has no extension). There will also be an index file with a .msf extension.

   delete both the mbox file and the .msf file of same name.     I CAN FIND ALL MY SUB FOLDERS BUT THE ONE THAT I CAN'T DELETE IS NOT IN THE LIST

So if your Folder Pane structure was something like this: mail account name > Inbox > > Bills > > > > Gas

> Friends > > Bob > > Anne

example to locate 'Gas' In the profile mail account name click on 'Inbox.sbd' click on 'Bills.sbd' locate and delete : 'Gas' File - no extension 'Gas.msf' file

example to locate 'Anne' In the profile mail account name click on 'Friends.sbd' folder locate and delete : 'Anne' File - no extension 'Anne.msf' file

After deleteing the files as specified.

   Close window - top right X
   Start Thunderbird.
Hi, I am using Thunderbird as my main email client. I created a subfolder and tried to delete it by right clicking and hitting delete and also by doing the following that I had read elsewhere....I responded below in capitals. Just a note....when I right click and hit delete or do it from above in the Edit, delete folder. The cursor just spins and at the top it says not responding....after 4 or 5 mins, it stops spinning and the not responding goes away. The folder is still there and if I do it again with or without rebooting Thunderbird and or computer, it still does the same thing, spins and spins the cursor and at top says not responding. I just bought a new computer and want to move my emails and folders to the new computer once I create the the Thunderbird email account on the new computer but I don't even want to attempt the transfer with this folder hanging around. I am assuming it is corrupt. Thanks for any help you can give me. First follow this process. Right click on sub-folder and select 'Delete' It should get moved into the 'Deleted' or 'Trash' folder. Right click on the 'Deleted' / 'Trash' folder select 'Empty Deleted/Trash'. Close and restart Thunderbird. DID THIS BUT IT IS STILL THERE. Did it come back? If yes: Make hidden files and folders visible. http://kb.mozillazine.org/Show_hidden_files_and_folders DID THIS TOO In Thunderbird Help > Troubleshooting Information click on 'show folder' button a new window opens showing the contents of your profile folder name. Close Thunderbird now - this is important. Scroll down and delete this file: foldertree.json DID ALL THIS (a new one wil be created when you restart Thunderbird later). click on 'Mail' folder click on pop mail account name Sub-folders are kept in folders with a .sbd extension. Example: if the problem sub-folder is a subfolder of the Inbox; click on 'Inbox.sbd' folder So you would need to apply the same logic to locate the problem sub-folder. The sub-folder you want to delete will not appear as a 'Folder', but it will have the same name as your sub-folder. It will be an mbox 'File' (which has no extension). There will also be an index file with a .msf extension. delete both the mbox file and the .msf file of same name. I CAN FIND ALL MY SUB FOLDERS BUT THE ONE THAT I CAN'T DELETE IS NOT IN THE LIST So if your Folder Pane structure was something like this: mail account name > Inbox > > Bills > > > > Gas > Friends > > Bob > > Anne example to locate 'Gas' In the profile mail account name click on 'Inbox.sbd' click on 'Bills.sbd' locate and delete : 'Gas' File - no extension 'Gas.msf' file example to locate 'Anne' In the profile mail account name click on 'Friends.sbd' folder locate and delete : 'Anne' File - no extension 'Anne.msf' file After deleteing the files as specified. Close window - top right X Start Thunderbird.

All Replies (20)

more options

What is your anti-virus software?

more options

Microsoft Security Essentials is all I have

more options
more options

No doing safe mode did not help unfortunately

more options

To be more specific....when in safe mode and I open thunderbird that sub folder is still there, if I right click it and say delete, a box comes up and says do you want to delete BLAH BLAH folder and when I click Delete...it does the same while in regular mode...it locks up the computer.

more options

Tried again and this time when I try to delete said sub folder I get the spinning cursor and not responding at top again

more options

What is the name of the folder you are trying to delete? What is it's parent folder?

Please add the troubleshooting information to your post To find the Troubleshooting information:

  • Open Help (or click on three-line-icon and select Help)
  • Choose Troubleshooting Information
  • Use the button Copy to clipboard to select all. Do not check box "Include account names"!
  • Paste this in your post.
more options

I will have to do this in numerous steps as there are to many characters

Application Basics Name Thunderbird Version 45.1.1 User Agent Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:45.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderbird/45.1.1 Profile Folder Show Folder (Local drive) Application Build ID 20160526140950 Enabled Plugins about:plugins

Build Configuration about:buildconfig

Memory Use about:memory

Mail and News Accounts ID Incoming server Outgoing servers Name Connection security Authentication method Name Connection security Authentication method Default? account1 (pop3) pop.cox.net:995 SSL passwordCleartext smtp.cox.net:587 alwaysSTARTTLS passwordCleartext true account2 (none) Local Folders plain passwordCleartext account4 (pop3) host5.shoppepro.com:995 SSL passwordCleartext host5.shoppepro.com:465 SSL passwordCleartext true account5 (pop3) host5.shoppepro.com:995 SSL passwordCleartext host5.shoppepro.com:465 SSL passwordCleartext true account6 (pop3) host5.shoppepro.com:995 SSL passwordCleartext host5.shoppepro.com:465 SSL passwordCleartext true account7 (pop3) pop.cox.net:995 SSL passwordCleartext smtp.cox.net:587 alwaysSTARTTLS passwordCleartext true account8 (pop3) host5.shoppepro.com:995 SSL passwordCleartext host5.shoppepro.com:465 SSL passwordCleartext true account9 (pop3) pop.cox.net:995 SSL passwordCleartext smtp.cox.net:465 SSL passwordCleartext true

more options

account11 (pop3) pop.cox.net:995 SSL passwordCleartext smtp.cox.net:465 SSL passwordCleartext true account12 (pop3) mail.rockin-rhinestones.com:110 alwaysSTARTTLS passwordCleartext mail.rockin-rhinestones.com:587 alwaysSTARTTLS passwordCleartext true account13 (pop3) mail.rockin-rhinestones.com:110 alwaysSTARTTLS passwordCleartext mail.rockin-rhinestones.com:587 alwaysSTARTTLS passwordCleartext true account14 (imap) mail.dejaes.com:143 alwaysSTARTTLS passwordCleartext mail.dejaes.com:587 alwaysSTARTTLS passwordCleartext true account15 (imap) mail.rockinrhinestonesandvinyls.com:143 alwaysSTARTTLS passwordCleartext mail.rockinrhinestonesandvinyls.com:587 alwaysSTARTTLS passwordCleartext true Crash Reports Report ID Submitted bp-fcbd82ea-daaf-477c-b798-1788c2160330 3/30/2016 bp-2f647b69-eac2-4e77-b9e0-fbad02150814 8/13/2015 bp-d26eb03c-0b05-4835-b024-3bda22141216 12/15/2014 bp-344f4f12-a730-4dff-a877-3a31e2141215 12/14/2014 bp-0fc5b3f7-9c6c-43c2-8410-086bc2141122 11/21/2014 Extensions Name Version Enabled ID Lightning 4.7.1.1 true {e2fda1a4-762b-4020-b5ad-a41df1933103} Important Modified Preferences Name Value browser.cache.disk.capacity 358400 browser.cache.disk.filesystem_reported 1 browser.cache.disk.smart_size_cached_value 358400 browser.cache.disk.smart_size.first_run false

more options

browser.cache.disk.smart_size.use_old_max false dom.apps.reset-permissions true extensions.lastAppVersion 45.1.1 font.internaluseonly.changed true font.name.monospace.el Consolas font.name.monospace.tr Consolas font.name.monospace.x-baltic Consolas font.name.monospace.x-central-euro Consolas font.name.monospace.x-cyrillic Consolas font.name.monospace.x-unicode Consolas font.name.monospace.x-western Consolas font.name.sans-serif.el Calibri font.name.sans-serif.tr Calibri font.name.sans-serif.x-baltic Calibri font.name.sans-serif.x-central-euro Calibri font.name.sans-serif.x-cyrillic Calibri font.name.sans-serif.x-unicode Calibri font.name.sans-serif.x-western Calibri font.name.serif.el Cambria font.name.serif.tr Cambria font.name.serif.x-baltic Cambria font.name.serif.x-central-euro Cambria font.name.serif.x-cyrillic Cambria font.name.serif.x-unicode Cambria font.name.serif.x-western Cambria font.size.fixed.el 14 font.size.fixed.tr 14 font.size.fixed.x-baltic 14 font.size.fixed.x-central-euro 14 font.size.fixed.x-cyrillic 14 font.size.fixed.x-unicode 14 font.size.fixed.x-western 14 font.size.variable.el 17 font.size.variable.tr 17 font.size.variable.x-baltic 17 font.size.variable.x-central-euro 17

more options

font.size.variable.x-cyrillic 17 font.size.variable.x-unicode 17 font.size.variable.x-western 17 gfx.crash-guard.glcontext.appVersion 45.1.1 gfx.crash-guard.glcontext.deviceID 0x0166 gfx.crash-guard.glcontext.driverVersion 9.17.10.2932 gfx.crash-guard.glcontext.gfx.driver-init.direct3d11-angle true gfx.crash-guard.glcontext.gfx.driver-init.webgl-angle true gfx.crash-guard.glcontext.gfx.driver-init.webgl-angle-force-d3d11 false gfx.crash-guard.glcontext.gfx.driver-init.webgl-angle-force-warp false gfx.crash-guard.glcontext.gfx.driver-init.webgl-angle-try-d3d11 true gfx.crash-guard.status.glcontext 2 gfx.direct3d.last_used_feature_level_idx 0 mail.openMessageBehavior.version 1 mail.winsearch.firstRunDone true mailnews.database.global.datastore.id 160e3c65-5a4e-4477-bcc1-b3982101e4d mailnews.database.global.views.conversation.columns {"threadCol":{"visible":true,"ordinal":"1"},"flaggedCol":{"visible":true,"ordinal":"3"},"attachmentCol":{"visible":false… network.cookie.lifetimePolicy 1 network.cookie.prefsMigrated true network.predictor.cleaned-up true places.database.lastMaintenance 1466303967 places.history.expiration.transient_current_max_pages 104858 plugin.importedState true print.printer_Xerox_Phaser_6500N_PS.print_bgcolor false print.printer_Xerox_Phaser_6500N_PS.print_bgimages false

more options

Graphics Adapter Description Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000 Vendor ID 0x8086 Device ID 0x0166 Adapter RAM Unknown Adapter Drivers igdumd64 igd10umd64 igd10umd64 igdumd32 igd10umd32 igd10umd32 Driver Version 9.17.10.2932 Driver Date 12-12-2012 Direct2D Enabled false DirectWrite Enabled false (6.2.9200.17568) ClearType Parameters ClearType parameters not found WebGL Renderer Google Inc. -- ANGLE (Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000 Direct3D11 vs_5_0 ps_5_0) -- OpenGL ES 2.0 (ANGLE 2.1.0.316930d51ea9) GPU Accelerated Windows 0 AzureCanvasBackend skia AzureSkiaAccelerated 0 AzureFallbackCanvasBackend cairo AzureContentBackend cairo

more options

JavaScript Incremental GC 1 Accessibility Activated 0 Prevent Accessibility 0 Library Versions Expected minimum version Version in use NSPR 4.12 4.12 NSS 3.21.1 Basic ECC 3.21.1 Basic ECC NSS Util 3.21.1 3.21.1 NSS SSL 3.21.1 Basic ECC 3.21.1 Basic ECC NSS S/MIME 3.21.1 Basic ECC 3.21.1 Basic ECC

more options

YOUR QUESTIONS: What is the name of the folder you are trying to delete? SANDY MCCAULEY What is it's parent folder? Inbox

Under the email account name [email protected]

more options
No doing safe mode did not help unfortunately

Can you confirm you did start Windows in safe mode?

more options

Please go back to the troubleshooting information and click the show profile folder button. In windows explorer open the mail folder (this is messy as you have two cox accounts so just repeat on each until you get the right one.)

Open the pop.cox.com folder and any that have a numeral say pop.cox-1.com There should be a folder inbox.sdb. open that. There should be a file "SANDY MCCAULEY" in that folder if you have the right account.

What is the size of that file? Is the path including the file name anything like 256 characters. (Right click the address shown at the top and copy. Paste into a text editor to see exactly what is is.

If SANDY MCCAULEY is the only folder under your inbox. create a new one. The name is unimportant.

Now this part is very important. Close Thunderbird and make sure it has time to fully shut down. Move the file and the accompanying file with the MSF extension to your desktop.

Restart Thunderbird. The folder should be gone.

I think there might actually be an issue with the file on disk. So do not be surprised is Windows balks and refuses to move the file. I sort of expect it.

more options

Chris....How do you want me to verify that I did safe mode, not sure what you mean. I followed your directions and did it twice to make sure I didn't miss anything I started the computer in safe mode and then started thunderbird in safe mode.

more options

MATT I ANSWERED NEXT TO YOURS IN CAPS

Matt said

Please go back to the troubleshooting information and click the show profile folder button. In windows explorer open the mail folder (this is messy as you have two cox accounts so just repeat on each until you get the right one.) There is actually 9 email accounts Open the pop.cox.com folder and any that have a numeral say pop.cox-1.com There should be a folder inbox.sdb. open that. There should be a file "SANDY MCCAULEY" in that folder if you have the right account. What is the size of that file? Is the path including the file name anything like 256 characters. (Right click the address shown at the top and copy. Paste into a text editor to see exactly what is is. If SANDY MCCAULEY is the only folder under your inbox. create a new one. The name is unimportant. IT IS NOT THE ONLY SUB FOLDER UNDER THAT INBOX THAT IS WHY I WANT TO GET RID OF IT. I NEED TO TAKE TRANSFER THAT EMAIL [email protected] TO A NEW COMPUTER AND WANT TO TAKE ALL MY SUBFOLDERS WITH ME AND NOT THAT ONE AS I FEAR IT IS CORRUPT. SINCE IT WENT CORRUPT I CAN COMPACT ANY EMAILS OR ANY FOLDERS. THE SUBFOLDER SANDY MCCAULEY HAS NOTHING IN IT, JUST CAN'T GET RID OF IT AND IF YOU ACCIDENTALLY CLICK ON IT...IT WILL LOCK UP THE COMPUTER. I DID MAKE A NEW FOLDER JUST CALLED SANDY NEW AND USE IT. Now this part is very important. Close Thunderbird and make sure it has time to fully shut down. Move the file and the accompanying file with the MSF extension to your desktop. Restart Thunderbird. The folder should be gone. I think there might actually be an issue with the file on disk. So do not be surprised is Windows balks and refuses to move the file. I sort of expect it.

I WILL TRY WHAT YOU ARE SAYING

more options

This is a screen shot of the actual email in thunderbird, you see Sandy McCauley and above it Sandy new

Next I will try to upload the screen shot of the troubleshooting page for this email

more options

This is the troubleshooter page. You will see, there is no Sandy McCauley No where you go do you find this folder except on the actual email page, but can't delete it. Again, if you try to delete it, it will tell you not responding and the cursor will just spin for about 8 mins and then stop and it is like nothing happened (unless you try to delete that folder again).

If I knew for sure I could transfer all of [email protected] and not have that folder follow I would do it but i don't want to take it and have troubles. I am transferring to a windows 10 (have never used windows 10 so a new learning curve) I still have to find out how to transfer Thunderbird as I am not taking ALL the emails. Thank you so much for trying to help it is so appreciated by both of you.

  1. 1
  2. 2