VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Philip Banks · Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2013 6:29 am Post subject: What's eating my emails?

Couple of people called this week .."did you get my mail .." to which I replied no. Problem solved. Emails to friend. 7 out of 8 did not arrive. Invoice to client returned "can't deliver" but content looked like a shuttle launch programme.

This morning open email page a few emails folders missing, not empty ..GONE. Sent email folder... EMPTY.... Inbox EMPTY.

Rob the IT has been investigating and doing stuff to my PC, we have changed security settings but that does not get back certain things I would really like BACK.

Ideas?

Bruce · Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2013 8:23 am Post subject:

Depending on how your email is set up with your host company, all of your incoming emails for some period of time may still be on their server. Worth an ask.

In case the emails are gone forever you'll have another good reason to back up everything on a regular basis.

B
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marcos59 · Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2013 11:10 am Post subject:

If you are using Outlook, do you have AutoArchive enabled? It's also worth checking Rules, Filters (i.e. "Clear Filter") and POP settings if you use more than one device to check emails.

Mike Harrison · Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2013 12:04 pm Post subject:

I've always felt the a Hobo Tounge

should be named Microsoft... Look out!
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Male Voice Over Talent
I have taken leave of my sensors.

heyguido · Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2013 1:59 pm Post subject:

Philip... From your email address, I deduce you're using BT's Talk21, which is the Brit version of what we know here as Yahoo mail.... A joke by any other name would smell as foul.

Are you accessing the web to read and send mail? Or are you using Outlook or a similar program to download and store your email on your local machine?

Additionally, do you use an anti-virus program that filters and quarantines spam or suspect messages? If so, check the quarantine folder.

If you're using the web, check for a deleted messages folder. Also check other folders to see if you inadvertently dragged the contents of your missing folders into another while mousing around.

Unfortunately, what's MORE likely.... Especially considering that some of your outgoing mail disappeared or never arrived.... Is that your provider had a server hiccup, or other, more serious problem, and lost your files, fumbled your outgoing messages, and misplaced your incoming messages, to boot.... If so, they probably rebuilt everything from old backups as best they could, and are hoping nobody notices, so they won't have to admit it publicly.

Either way, my personal recommendation would be to ditch this service for something more dependable and reliable.... Either Outlook or a similar email client that downloads and stores emails on your local machine.... Or go Gmail, and rely on Google's excellent track record of consistent uptime and multiple redundant backup systems.

Either would be preferable to the provider you've got. I wouldn't trust them with my crucial business communications. You shouldn't either.
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"Wait.... They wanna PAY me for this?"

Philip Banks · Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 7:39 am Post subject:

I'm not allowed to tell you that a certain email provider was invoiced by me for my time and effort. I was not angry but admit to being very upset.

Had I invoiced them it would've been for $3,000 and had they paid it would've hit my bank account 5 minutes ago.

They recovered all of my emails and every one of them, including attachments, looked like this ....

4juyhu95yatejh[aejthjh]-aj]-90690f-4juyhu95yatejh[aejthjh]-aj]-90690f-wreambm45=25=4/////////lgeoyiea-h4juyhu95yatejh[aejthjh]-aj]-90690f-wreambm45=25=4/////////lgeoyiea-hjgj0ajeh-aejh0ajeh0jhajha-jth-aetjha-etjhta-tjha9=h9ae-9thaehtje]-aj]-90690f-wreambm45=25=4/////////4juyhu95yatejh[aejthjh]-aj]-90690f-wreambm45=25=4/////////lgeoyiea-hjgj0ajeh-aejh0ajeh0jhajha-jth-aetjha-etjhta-tjha9=h9ae-9thaehtje]-aj]-90690f-wreambm45=25=4/////////jgj04juyhu95yatejh[aejthjh]-aj]-90690f-wreambm45=25=4/////////lgeoyiea-hjgj0ajeh-aejh0ajeh0jhajha-jth-aetjha-etjhta-tjha9=h9ae-9thaehtje]-aj]-90690f-wreambm45=25=4/////////ajeh-aejh0ajeh0jhajha-jth-aetjha-etjhta-tjha9=h9ae-9thaehtje]-aj]-90690f-wreambm45=25=4/////////wreambm45=25=4/////////lgeoyiea-hjgj0ajeh-aejh0ajeh0jhajha-jth-aetjha-etjhta-tjha9=h9ae-9thaehtje]-aj]-90690f-wreambm45=25=4/////////lgeoyiea-hjgj0ajeh-aejh0ajeh0jhajha-jth-aetjha[aejthjh]-aj]-90690f-wreambm45=25=4/////////lgeoyiea-hjgj0ajeh-aejh0ajeh0jhajha-jth-aetjha

31st March this year a very dear friend died and in my folders was the only photo of me and herself together. I got to the point with the Nerds where I said that they should abandon everything else and just find that email and that photo.

"Didn't you keep a back up?"

"Yes on your secure server at additional cost"

Mike Harrison · Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 8:21 am Post subject:

SO sorry to hear that, Philip.
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Mike
Male Voice Over Talent
I have taken leave of my sensors.

sirmelja · Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 12:06 pm Post subject:

Oh no, Philip, what a nightmare! And to lose such priceless memorabilia... my heart goes out to you.
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Philip Banks · Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 7:55 am Post subject:

Well, here's the update. Nothing recovered, not a single item. From my own records (accounts, bank statements, tax returns) I've repaired my financial records which I am legally obliged to keep for 7 years. Other stuff, all gone.

I changed my "paid for" service and downgraded to the lowest which costs £1.50 per month as the high cost service, when I really needed it, proved worthless.

I do not mind paying for a vintage Chablis but if you then serve me a plastic tumbler full of Walmart cola you'll forgive me if I kick up a fuss..

Ed Fisher · Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 9:25 am Post subject:

This saddens me to hear.

My own experience includes having lost 6 months worth of my records and work at one point. Then spending a considerable amount of time and energy, plus missing a memorable trip with my daughter, trying to recover it. All to no avail.

The way I have come to look at computers in general is...they are EXTREMELY powerful and also EXTREMELY fragile. What they do with constant error correction and number crunching is a looming disaster that can happen to you at any moment.

One point. Should anyone be using Microsoft outlook. If you are like me (or in particularly my "can't get rid of anything" wife), it was never designed to deal with large files. Once ANY of your folders gets beyond 2 gigs you can depend on it to crash. Losing all (or most) of the information in that folder. (usually the "in" box or the "sent"....since they tend to grow the largest and since people don;t take the time and trouble to create other folders to organize their precious email.

I have the wife's computer (guess who is the computer technician at my house) set up with a program called Acronis. Every night at 8pm it automatically backs up not only all of her data but her operating system and everything else. Each night is done in increments so that she can return her computer to the state that it existed on any given day before that. Then when the backup medium gets filled, I have her delete all of the daily files (except for the first and largest) and the cycle continues all over again. This way you protect not only your Data but also your computers vital programs should anything "viral" or otherwise nasty happen to your operating system. (side note: before Acronis I used the original program to do this called "Ghost," but I now find Acronis easier)

(There are many other backup solutions. This just happens to be mine.)

After you have lost irreplaceable photos or data it is poor consolation. But, Backup, Backup has become my mantra.

Frank F · Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 10:23 am Post subject:

So that is why I keep getting emails addressed to Banksey lately. Thanks for the gig's Phillip. Oh, I digress....

Had a similar problem with the "paid for" service and dropped it quite rapidly. Problem solved.

Sorry to hear about your troubles PB. I will forward any additional emails I get for you which land in my SPAM folder.

F2
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Philip Banks · Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2013 12:46 am Post subject:

A phone call, an ACTUAL REAL PERSON PHONE CALL from them to me!

Opener was a 2-3 minute monologue buried in corporate-speak, no apology, no admission of liability. I listened and I understood.

My response?

"One day people like you in positions of responsibility and large corporations will step out from behind the legal department and say - I'm sorry and on behalf of my company I can honestly say we're sorry. When you took my money we didn't enter into a contract, you made me a promise and you broke it. Should anyone ask you if you are proud of what you do in your job and proud of the company you serve? you have my permission to say, no not today."
I did not raise my voice, I was not rude. He put the phone down.

I'm going to print the above and stick some where I can see it, seriously. Needless to say I'll be pointing a finger at me as I say it out loud.

It all boils down to the fact I lost one photo but gained so much more.