Occasionally using our Linux server your mailbox can become corrupted.  This can be due to a Pop-lock or just a corrupted  file in general being sent, or even a spam message. If you have asked us to fix your mail on a Linux server and have logged in to an empty mail box, have no fear, there is a way to retrieve your lost mail.

1.  Download an FTP client. You can get these free by Googling, "ftp client." One that we use here at AIT is Filezilla

2.  Once you have installed the FTP client Log into your server.  If you do not have your server information, feel free to contact us and request it.

3. Once you have the server username and password you can login and navigate to your var folder.

4. From here you should see a symlink to the mail directory. If you do not see this you can navigate through the spool directory to access the mail directory.

5. Inside the mail directory, locate the username you wanting to check the mail for. It will normally have an extension attached to it  (ex .bak .old (or date of backup))

6. Drag the that file to your local machine side in the FTP program. Please pay attention to the location that is selected on your local side.

7. Use a text editor, such as word pad, to open and read all the messages that were in the previous mail box

Author: Michael Roberts