[Keyboard Cowboy]

My MacNazi father just had his iBOOK's hard drive die on him. It has bad sectors. Currently I managed to get harddrive working in a USB Enclosure where i am copying any thing that is useful accross to another mac.

Question is where is the email store on the harddrive?

And what I can I do about making regulare back up of his email?

[Qiranworms]

What email software? If it's Apple Mail, look in /Users/~username/Library/Mail. They're in the Mbox format, which is pretty portable and reliable.



As for regular backups, I'm not totally sure, you could probably spend a few minutes setting up SuperDuper or Deja Vu to do scheduled backups of the email folders (and others) regularly...

Problem is I don't think either of those are free. I thought there was some free backup software around...gotta figure out where that was...


Alternatively, you could write a simple script (language of your choice, be it Bash, Python, Applescript, or if he's got OS X Tiger the Automator program) to do that yourself. Someone might have even written one that you could alter for the appropriate mail folders, Google around.

Edit: Quick Google search found me a list of more backup shareware/freeware options

[Keyboard Cowboy]

The email client is Apple Mail.

Sound like i might need to copy that directory onto CD from time to time as it all my dad's ebay stuff.


So after I install the next hard drive on this power book, it is just a simple case of drag and drop the contents of that directory. Or it there some thing more that I need to do?

[Qiranworms]

I don't see why that wouldn't work, but I think it'll do the same thing automatically if you just insert the backup media on the system, open the fresh Apple Mail, and go to file>import mailboxes. I *think* it'll look through the whole folder. I really can't tell you which is the better option, I've done this before and I can't remember what I actually did.

Note that (forgot last post) your contact list is not part of that mail folder. It's in /Users/~username/Library/Application Support/Address Book. You might want to copy over that folder as well while you're doing this.


I take it there's no way to just image the entire drive instead of copying individual folders? One more thing, in case you haven't, be SURE to get the documents folder, and pictures folder (which, unlike Windows, is not contained within the documents folder, but alongside it in the home directory) if he uses his computer for that at all.