 |
 |
How do I manually migrate my Mail.app data to a new machine?
|
|
|
|
|
Moderator  Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Arizona
Status:
Offline
|
|
Long story short; Tiger has never been very nice to me, especially recently. So I reverted to Panther on another drive.
I've migrated everything I want to migrate manually but Mail has me stumped. I've brought over the Mail folder from ~/Library. But as is the case now and as has been with past experiences, it isn't enough. It still asks me to set up my server information and once it gets past that what it retains of my mail boxes is iffy.
What do I have to find/replace to be able to open up Mail under my new installation and have it be just as it was under my other OS X installation?
|
|
I like chicken
I like liver
Meow Mix, Meow Mix
Please de-liv-er
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mac Elite
Join Date: Nov 2001
Status:
Offline
|
|
Information about your mail accounts is in your preferences folder -- ~/Library/Preferences/com.mail.plist or some-such.
The messages themselves are in ~/Library/Mail. Note that in Panther stuff is stored in MBOX format (so, a single file per mailbox), while in Tiger it is stored in maildir format (a single file per message). A conversion is necessary... So once you've moved the files themselves (or the ~/Library/Mail directory) you may need to do file->import mailboxes from within Mail.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mac Elite
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Punta Cana, República Dominicana
Status:
Offline
|
|
I recently copied my Mail data from one Tiger installation to another with 2 easy steps:
1. Using .Mac Sync I was able to bring over all my Mail accounts/rules/sigs etc. to the new computer.
2. Copied the Mail folder from ~/Library.
That was it. I really didn't have a clue if it would work or not so I was pleasantly surprised when it did. 
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Clinically Insane
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: yes
Status:
Offline
|
|
I'd suggest moving our mail up to your IMAP server, and starting Mail from a virgin state pulling down your mail from the IMAP server and recreating your cache. The mail cache format (and POP mailbox format) was revised in Tiger to accommodate Spotlight.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Clinically Insane
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: yes
Status:
Offline
|
|
IMAP is much nicer than POP for this sort of reason.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Moderator Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Arizona
Status:
Offline
|
|
Alrighty.
I migrated the .com.apple.mail file over and then opened Mail. Everything went well and Mail downloaded my new messages.
My mailboxes were all present but unfortunately there was nothing in them. So I told Mail to import my boxes and it did... but they are empty again.
???
|
|
I like chicken
I like liver
Meow Mix, Meow Mix
Please de-liv-er
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: FFM
Status:
Offline
|
|
I don't think you can downgrade your mailboxes from Tiger to Panther. The storage format changed to accommodate Spotlight.
IMAP is the way to go. On Tiger copy all your messages into folder on the IMAP server and you can access them with Panther (or any other OS) as well.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Clinically Insane
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Los Angeles
Status:
Offline
|
|
So you're committed to returning to Panther? You'd have to convert your mail back to the regular mbox format. I know there's a utility that does it.
|
"The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground." TJ
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 
|
|
|
Forum Rules
|
|
|
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
|
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Top
