Re: How to restore my mail?

[Kyle Wheeler <kyle-mutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

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You *might* be able to restore it, *if* you use an alternate temp 
directory (i.e. if you set the $TMP environment variable, or the 
$tmpdir muttrc configuration setting, or maybe if your editor keeps 
draft files in a nonstandard place).

Here, I'll walk you through it:

> today I started to write a mail

At this point, your mail was stored partly in the memory of your text 
editor (vim/emacs/pico, or whatever you use) and partly in a temporary 
directory on your disk (usually /tmp, or $TMP or $tmpdir, if you 
specify one of them in your ~/.muttrc). If your editor keeps draft 
files somewhere, there may have been a version of it there. Most 
editors that use draft files keep them in the same directory as the 
file they're editing (so, by default, with most common editors, the 
draft file would also be stored in /tmp).

> stopped (= postponed)

At this point, your mail was saved to your $postponed folder and 
deleted from the temporary directory. Your editor deleted its draft 
file.

> resumed writing

At this point, the mail was written to a temporary file on your disk 
(the same as composing the message the first time) and *deleted* from 
your $postponed folder. When your text editor loaded, it copied the 
message into memory, and maybe also into a draft file.

> and - experienced a short power outage.

At this point, the message was still technically saved to disk in that 
temporary file, though of course not including any unsaved changes.

> No problem so far, but after booting my machine again, I can't find 
> the mail.

BUT when you booted your machine, your operating system automatically 
deleted the contents of /tmp. This is considered a security feature, 
as well as simply good housekeeping. IF you had $TMP or $tmpdir 
pointed elsewhere, such as ~/.tmp/ or something similar, then your 
mail will still be there, in a file beginning with "mutt-". IF your 
editor keeps draft files somewhere other than the same directory as 
the file being edited (i.e. someplace that wasn't in /tmp), you may be 
able to recover it that way too.

> It's not in the "postponed" file anymore. So my question is:
> Where can I find my mail resp. how can I restore it?

You *may* be out of luck.

Here's hoping you aren't! Good luck!

~Kyle
- -- 
Truth springs from argument amongst friends.
                                                          -- David Hume
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