I just lost 7 years of email.... POOF!

[TraceyS/FL]

I have email from 3:48pm today onward, but the rest is gone....

Support can't find it, they can't restore it, it's just gone... forever.

They say there are no events in the logs showing a mass deletion on there end or mine.... no server crashes, nothing. Just faded away in the cloud....

I have it on my laptop thru October, but had quit using that computer to pull it down.

I can't believe this - my mom poofed her email and they did a restore on it 2 weeks later!!!

So all i get is a "sorry"....

Crap.

 

[RafaelT]

I realize that this does not help you at all with your current situation however you should NEVER trust someone else with the only copy of your data. You always need to have at least two copies and ideally these copies will be stored at two different physical locations.

On a maybe possibly slightly more positive note... with all the iCloud stuff happening and it being the weekend there is a chance they could just be doing some work on the servers and your stuff may reappear.

 

[TraceyS/FL]

I realize that this does not help you at all with your current situation however you should NEVER trust someone else with the only copy of your data. You always need to have at least two copies and ideally these copies will be stored at two different physical locations.

On a maybe possibly slightly more positive note... with all the iCloud stuff happening and it being the weekend there is a chance they could just be doing some work on the servers and your stuff may reappear.

well, i was without home internet and had no choice but to rely on the cloud from October-January. Then my computer is running Tiger and mobileme doesn't play well with it right now - i have a bunch of calendars syncing with it so i just didn't want to sort it out post nasty divorce.

SO, i know it is my own fault.... but still.... for awhile i was thinking it was related to my mom's account (she is the master on the family pack). Last week when she got her iphone she couldn't get email to work - told her it was invalid for email on ANY iOS device. She had a senior level tech call in on it as no one could figure out what was wrong. I guess it could still be related to that - but she says hers is all there.

They sent it up higher, he didn't seem anymore optimistic than the first lady though. They flat out said there was nothing to restore.... they don't keep them after they are deleted.

BUT, they couldn't tell me what happened. I didn't delete them - i was on my ipad/iphone today and not at a computer. Something happened on their side...... it was over 6000 emails too.

Hey, at least my inbox is cleaned out right??

Never mind the email I actually need from the last few weeks. Crap.

:::banghead:::

I guess i will pull it down to the kids computer.....

 

[TraceyS/FL]

ON an "interesting" note - the only mail going to my sent mail folder is the stuff i'm sending from my iPhone. The stuff from safari is either hanging in draft (but yet my mom said she got it) or sending but not adding to sent.

This is the kind of crap I dealt with at work.... I had my own personal Exhange Server Senior Tech assigned to me, with his direct phone number.... i don't miss that old day job at all.

Oh and i wanted to add that I use mac.com as my addy....

 

[WillEH]

May I ask why you need 7 year old emails? lol

 

[maclaptop]

Everyone uses a different work flow. Personally I never have more than between 20 - 40 emails saved & backed up, even though on average I receive 80 each day. My style is such that I just get them done and deleted.

Yet that said I do know people that keep between 100's & 1,000's. But the one thing we all have in common is multiple backups. On and off site. Hopefully this experience has made it clear you will benefit from backing up daily.

 

[maflynn]

Unfortunately you're experience is not completely unheard off

I question the use of iCloud/MobileMe for this very reason. I can't say that I hear other email providers losing emails - maybe they do, but I can't recall seeing anything on the net. With MobileMe I see posts/threads about this from time to time

 

[jellybean]

I understand your frustration but there is really no need to resort to homophobia

 

[TraceyS/FL]

May I ask why you need 7 year old emails? lol

Some of them were actually helpful in my recent nasty divorce. I'm in an all volunteer organization with ties to the Air Force, I had some from last year that were going to be pertinent to an IG investigation.

Suffice it to say, you never know what you may need in the future, and lucky you if you never do need to fnd that out.

Everyone uses a different work flow. Personally I never have more than between 20 - 40 emails saved & backed up, even though on average I receive 80 each day. My style is such that I just get them done and deleted.

Yet that said I do know people that keep between 100's & 1,000's. But the one thing we all have in common is multiple backups. On and off site. Hopefully this experience has made it clear you will benefit from backing up daily.

I've yet to read one of your posts the last week that was actually helpful or nice. Maybe I'm confusing you with someone, but I don't think so.

I'm well versed in backups and the need, my life circumstances dictated I needed to put a bit of faith in the cloud.... And it swiftly kicked me in the ass. It won't happen again.

That said, I'd like a reasonable explanation as to where they went. I understand drives crash (it's why we had 24/7 support at work), servers crash, people screw up. But data in accounts just don't go POOF. Thank God I still have my contacts - I was scared to death to open that, the MobileMe person told me not to worry, it was a separate spot and was fine. I'm ASSuming she knows exactly what happened to my email data and wasn't sharing.

Unfortunately you're experience is not completely unheard off

I question the use of iCloud/MobileMe for this very reason. I can't say that I hear other email providers losing emails - maybe they do, but I can't recall seeing anything on the net. With MobileMe I see posts/threads about this from time to time

My mom is the only one I've heard of having things disappear, and hers was partly her own doing, however, they were able to recover some email for her via backups going back a year or so. I guess they axed that part of the "service".

My main concern is the last 4 months mail.... I have some legal and medical emails i truly need, and the ones with my special needs DDs school. Ugh.

I'm hoping I can call to get my library card number - because, last week I discovered I could sync notes and did.... And now I don't have it to borrow ebooks, the plus being last time i checked i was 35 out of 36 for the book I was waiting on. Since the card is from another county it's not easy to be-bop up in person and get it.

Welcome to cutting the cord with the computer....

I understand your frustration but there is really no need to resort to homophobia

I have no clue what you are referring too. Sorry I offended somehow unknowingly, if you are trolling, you aren't going to get me to be in an uproar because obviously I'm clueless.

The list of things this morning that I've lost is growing..... And when I sit down to make the list, I'm going to need more chocolate.

 

[jellybean]

I have no clue what you are referring too. Sorry I offended somehow unknowingly, if you are trolling, you aren't going to get me to be in an uproar because obviously I'm clueless.

No worries, just a lame joke on my part!

Urban Dictionary: Poof

 

[TraceyS/FL]

No worries, just a lame joke on my part!

Urban Dictionary: Poof

Ahhhhh, see, I'm old and clueless (at least that is what my teenager thinks!!)

I wonder I used poof to my British friend last night when I was ranting? LOL!!

So I lost my kindle special offer for the tools, and am going to have to pay full price for my replacement battery for my cordless drill, instead of saving $30

And the gift card $10 for $20 offer I hadn't used yet....

 

[Nielsenius]

I'm sorry you lost all that data Obviously, computers and the internet have their flaws. So, thanks for making this thread. Situations like this really make you realize the importance of backups. I assume that Time Machine backs up emails?

 

[ugahairydawgs]

Unfortunately you're experience is not completely unheard off

I question the use of iCloud/MobileMe for this very reason. I can't say that I hear other email providers losing emails - maybe they do, but I can't recall seeing anything on the net. With MobileMe I see posts/threads about this from time to time

Ditto. If Google and Apple could work out the syncing issues between Google Contacts and the Mac's Address Book I would be much less inclined to use Me/iCloud. There have been WAY too many people on here in the past couple of months complaining about e-mail data just disappearing.

 

[TraceyS/FL]

Ditto. If Google and Apple could work out the syncing issues between Google Contacts and the Mac's Address Book I would be much less inclined to use Me/iCloud. There have been WAY too many people on here in the past couple of months complaining about e-mail data just disappearing.

Crap, i haven't been hanging out here - otherwise i'm sure i would have dealt with the crap that is what i'm trying to do now in syncing to my kids computer.

I think i did just get my contacts exported - or was that a calendar? I use Google Calendar because when i started using Pocket Informant it couldn't sync to the internal. YEs, it was the address book i exported.

I hate giving google any of my info, which is why i only use my gmail account for yahoogroups and such. But i guess the paranoid me needs to go figure out how to export/backup my google calendar.

I'm still feeling like i'm going to puke over the whole thing..... AND, when i go to my case (which they failed to email me a transcript of - thankfully i printed it), they CLOSED the case instead of escalating it..... i feel a vent session to Customer Relations coming on tomorrow.

 

[ugahairydawgs]

Crap, i haven't been hanging out here - otherwise i'm sure i would have dealt with the crap that is what i'm trying to do now in syncing to my kids computer.

I think i did just get my contacts exported - or was that a calendar? I use Google Calendar because when i started using Pocket Informant it couldn't sync to the internal. YEs, it was the address book i exported.

I hate giving google any of my info, which is why i only use my gmail account for yahoogroups and such. But i guess the paranoid me needs to go figure out how to export/backup my google calendar.

I'm still feeling like i'm going to puke over the whole thing..... AND, when i go to my case (which they failed to email me a transcript of - thankfully i printed it), they CLOSED the case instead of escalating it..... i feel a vent session to Customer Relations coming on tomorrow.

I'd raise ten kinds of hell myself too if all of my data just disappeared and they tried to just say "my bad".

 

[rdowty]

The title should be changed to "I haven't backed up my email in 7 years"

 

[acurafan]

get a real mail hosted solution, that kind of excuse from them is a joke. yeah, you as the end-user should of backed up; but they should of also - unless it's stated on their license agreement when you signed up.

 

[thunderbunny]

The title should be changed to "I haven't backed up my email in 7 years"

How many people have just backed up their mail after reading this? (like me)

 

[TraceyS/FL]

How many people have just backed up their mail after reading this? (like me)

Good! That was partly my point..... BACK IT UP (and i chanted this to my mom last week. Sigh.)

And backed up or note (and I SHOULD have until last September on my laptop my DD is using for school, but I cant be sure it didn't vaporize either at this point, hence I'm ASSuming I lost it all), the attitude they had of oh so caviller is what is making it worse. Coupled with the lack of not emailing me the transcript and then closing the call out..... I'm not in a good mood at all.

However, part of what I need for legal stuff is now gone.... Hopefully the judge's decision is binding at this point, or my 2 lawyers can produce what i would need if it came up.

Life got in the way of my backups, coupled with a few of apples choices. I truly hope no one has the personal crap to go thru that i have in the recent past.

But mainly, BACK UP YOUR EMAIL!!!!! (and calendar and contacts)

 

[0007776]

How many people have just backed up their mail after reading this? (like me)

I don't have too much that is super important, mostly just recent stuff so I didn't. If something is important I'll be sure to have it downloaded on a couple devices less important stuff stays in the cloud, but I'd never trust something really important to the cloud.

 

[TraceyS/FL]

I was able to get into my laptop - and so i have those for now. I just kinda can't log in when it is online for fear it will sync and away they go.... "lucky" for me, it is suffering a problem that every time it wakes up, it isn't on the wifi. The "Genius" couldn't solve that problem.

I found the directions to manually backup the files, and I will do that later (child had to jump back on to take a test).

Because, you know.... when she asked me to log her into the account - the computer appeared to have died... the screen was white, I had to hold the power button down to hard shut down. Cue laptop crashing with only old (September and older) email backup.... maybe i need another brownie!

(and I have numerous externals to throw a backup on)

 

[wordoflife]

Wait, was the email saved on your HDD or on their servers?

How many people have just backed up their mail after reading this? (like me)

I have my email running through Gmail so i don't know how to do that ...
but at the same time, I'm fairly confident Gmail wont crap out


Sorry to hear about that Tracy. Hopefully it just comes back as it disappeared

 

[TraceyS/FL]

I had been downloading it using the mail app on my Mac, which keeps it in the cloud AND a local copy. Life intervened in September, and that stopped happening. I haven't been up to dealing with the computer issues to pull it local again, so I've just been using my iPad and trusting the cloud.

Tonight i was able to get on the MBP and it looks like I still have those messages. I was hoping the kids hadn't done something when they jumped on it yesterday and caused it to sync, thereby erasing it. Luckily it has this stupid wifi connection problem going on.....

So as of tonight, the missing has narrowed down to Sept-current.... Which unfortunately contains everything leading up to my divorce trial in late October (it was a nasty 23 mo divorce) and the stuff afterwards, including all communications with my 2nd lawyer. Ugh. I'm hoping I had it set to pull attachments and those are sitting there.

Now add in the computer deciding to croak.... At least SuperDuper got the image made before the fans freaked out again and shut it down.

I got an email tonight from the Senior MobileMe guy, he says he is still working on it. The case is still showing closed online, I'm not sure where they are going with it, I have no faith they will be able to restore it at this point.

And you can pull gmail local too, and never say never at this point!!

 

[r0k]

Sorry to hear you lost it all. That's a bummer. I prefer a multiple approach. I have email at yahoo, gmail and mobile me. If any 2 of them goes down, I still have it all. I also have it in mail.app on my macbook. When I consider an email provider, my first priority is imap and my second priority is free storage. I can check email on my iPad, iPhone, Mac or even in a browser and any changes are reflected on all the other devices.

You might be able to get the law firm to re-send you the stuff you really need. They are required to keep copies of correspondence. I suggest you get a gmail account and import everything there so it isn't only sitting in mobile me. Oops. That's right. Mobile me already lost it all. Darn. Well you can still import it to gmail from your home machine. You mention no internet at home? You need to get your internet up and working again so you can back your stuff up before your local machine dies and takes your only copy with it.

There are two competing extremes on email: Keep everything and keep nothing. Since purchase receipts are routinely sent via email, I opt for the former and keep everything. Sure it means I'm paying to store some spam but I've got receipts for apps I've purchased going back to my Palm Pilot days (not that receipts that old do me any good now).

 

[wordoflife]

You might be able to get the law firm to re-send you the stuff you really need.

Even if they were able to do this, I can't imagine what they'd charge