Imported email messages missing

[aspac]

Greetings all,
I've been lurking as a casual reader since being kindly - and successfully - helped with icon and desktop clock problems (now history, touch wood) a few months ago. However, I have a brand-new self-inflicted difficulty. I'm hoping someone will say it's just that I've forgotten to click something or other. I enjoyed using Thunderbird for email. However, ISP "improvements" - confirmed by their "help" line - meant I could no longer send emails using Thunderbird and only receive them. I therefore switched to Eudora. [I know it's no longer updated but the latest version available for download worked fine.] Meanwhile, my ISP has sorted out the glitch and I decided to revert to Thunderbird. Version 3.0.3 downloaded and installed with the efficiency expected of Mozilla products. I opted to import all folders from Eudora. Thunderbird did this successfully, so it said, and I've no reason to doubt this.
But here's the problem: the "inbox" and "sent" folders display messages from when I formerly had Thunderbird and, while I don't mind having these (even though I wonder where they've been kept while Thunderbird was uninstalled), my "inbox" and "sent" folders don't contain any of the newly imported stuff. Where's it gone? How do I get it back? I clicked on "Archive" but that didn't do it. I can't go back to Eudora, by the way, because I uninstalled it after Thunderbird said it had successfully imported all folders. I don't really need the "inbox" or "sent" folders but having the address book from Eudora would be useful.
Any help will be much appreciated.

[BOAC]

Have you had a good look around in your electronic cupboards for 'Eudora' or 'mbox'? I think 'nndbase.txt and nndbase.toc' is where the address book is held?

I don't know what the Eudora uninstall does to the folders, but I think uninstalling it before you retrieved your emails/address book was a touch unwise!

[aspac]

Many thanks, BOAC - those suggested locations couldn't be found. But it seems all the address book is there so I can manage without the disappeared "inbox" and "sent" stuff.

[Capetonian]

I had the same problem during my brief flirtation with Thunderbird. I came to the conclusion that there is something inherently unstable about it as it kept losing mails, settings, and addresses.

I went back to Windows Live Mail for Win 7 on my laptop - don't like it as much as Outlook Express but that doesn't work with W7, and I've stayed with Outlook Express on XP on my PC. I'm dreading buying a new PC and having to start all over again.

[aspac]

Thanks, Capetonian. I used Outlook Express quite happily until a reluctant Vista upgrade. Then it was either the full version of Outlook, as I recall, or Windows Live. I opted for Thunderbird and, by and large, am happy with it (except for the brief Eudora interlude). So far, except for that import hiccup (which hasn't mattered much since the address book is there) all is well. So, yes, overall I'm still a Thunderbird fan . . . but only a moderately happy one! Haven't yet found anything better - though I'm willing to try.

[Tarq57]

If you stick with Thunderbird, This backup tool is a must have. A profile (including all messages and settings) can be easily made, and stored anywhere. Flash drive, another partition, wherever you want.
The same program can be used to restore a backup in case of Bad Things Happening. (Basically restores Thunderbird to the day you made the backup. Subsequent messages will be downloaded again as new mails, if they haven't been deleted from the server.)
I do it every week. More often if there are very important emails that I want a backup of.

[aspac]

Many thanks, Tarq . . . sounds like a must-have - will install in the AM!