Ubuntu
evolution package

copy email files to flash drive

Asked by Marti-in-Massachusetts

I have to reload Ubuntu Linux on my laptop. I have been able to back up all of my documents and Tom Boy notes onto my USB flash drive, but I can't find a way to copy my email files so that I can restore them once Linux is reloaded. The reason I have to reload is that I wanted to change my user name and a geek friend walked me through several edits in the system. Now when I try to use sudu it says "command not found" I'm tired of trying to bandaid this system. I think the better solution is to just reload Ubuntu and set it up the way I want it to be from the start. But I *really* do not want to lose my email files and folders.

I found an import utility, but there does not appear to be an "export" utility,

Can anyone help me?

Thanks!

Marti-in-Massachusetts
<email address hidden>

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Ubuntu evolution Edit question
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Andre Mangan
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Revision history for this message
Tony Mugan (tmugan) said : 		#1

One option is to create a gmail account IMAP and move all your emails on to that.
Then you have them centralised and accessible wherever you go.

No need to worry about backing up or moving them ever again.

Revision history for this message
Tony Mugan (tmugan) said : 		#2

For Thunderbird, I believe your emails are stored in a hidden directory under your Home folder

~/.mozilla-thunderbird

You could try copying that to another machine to see if it can then be imported prior to blowing your machine away.

Revision history for this message
Best Andre Mangan (kyphi) said : 		#3

Crashing your Ubuntu system when you first start using Ubuntu is what most people do. As you said, reload and start again. Wisdom comes from making a few mistakes.

Here is a complete walkthrough for saving your Evolution emails, storing them on a USB drive and restoring these to your new installation.

To back up the contents of Evolution, emails sent, received and the address book.
Read this whole document through before proceeding.
Pay attention to spaces and capital letters, both are critical.

   1. Create a file in your Home directory and call it Evobackup
   2. Transfer the following files:
      a) ~/.evolution/
      b) ~/.gconf/apps/evolution/
      c) ~/.gnome2_private/Evolution
Notes: Open up your home directory, press Ctrl+h to show all hidden files, locate the 3 files above and
either drag and drop them to the newly created folder or copy and paste them.
Next, in a terminal, use the following 2 commands, one at a time:
gconftool-2 --shutdown <Enter>
evolution --force-shutdown <Enter>
Then, still in the command line:
cd <directory> if you called the newly created file Evobackup, then the command would be
cd Evobackup <Enter>
then type
tar -cvzf Evobackup.tar.gz .evolution .gconf/apps/evolution .gnome2_private/Evolution <Enter>
This will create a file called “Evobackup.tar.gz”. Save that file to a USB stick.

To untar the file Evobackup.
Open the file from your USB stick and save it into your new Home folder on Hardy Heron.
In your home directory use the following commands from a terminal:
gconftool-2 --shutdown <Enter>
evolution --force-shutdown <Enter>
tar xzf Evobackup.tar.gz <Enter>
gconftool-2 --unload evolution_se <Enter>
gconftool-2 --load evolution_sett <Enter>
When you start Evolution in Hardy it will ask you if there is anything to restore and it will ask you for the
path to the restore file. Just follow the prompts.

Revision history for this message
Marti-in-Massachusetts (onederful111s) said : 		#4

Andre, Thanks for this solution to the problem. I was able to back up all my evolution files, although I had to improvise a bit and put a "../" in front of the directory names, and I had to drop the filename for the directory ".gnome2_private/" in the tar command. And it took a moment for me to figure out that the "file" I was to create named "Evobackup" was actually a directory. I am still so new to this, it is only my lack of experience that made it difficult to understand your instructions. In the end, they worked just fine and I have my Evolution email files backup up on my Flash Drive.

Just one question: whenever I'm going to shutdown something, or "force shutdown" something, I like to understand ahead of time the "why" of what I am doing. As it turned out, I did not have to reinstall my Linux kernel, so I didn't have to do that part yet. But if in the future something happens that makes it necessary for me to restore the tar file I have created and copied onto my Flash Drive (I back it up weekly now), I'm hoping you will have the patience to explain these commands to a newbie who knows next to nothing about what she is doing, but is reading and learning as fast as she can.

Thanks again for you help. I am much relieved to know my email files are backed up and safe.

Revision history for this message
Andre Mangan (kyphi) said : 		#5

In an operating system like Ubuntu there are many processes running at any one time, some are "sleeping", that is they are temporarily inactive but may become active at any time as the need arises. So as not to cause any conflicts, you can shut down any process while you are undertaking a bit of surgery - a bit like a short-acting anaesthetic.

Thanks for letting me know that you have been successful.

Revision history for this message
zdl (web-jg2consultoria) said : 		#6

Hi
I followed this thread to to recover my evolution files after a crash upgarding to Ubuntu 8.04
Thing is, halfway through as I now very little of Linux I right clicked those files
a) ~/.evolution/
b) ~/.gconf/apps/evolution/
c) ~/.gnome2_private/Evolution
and created 3 new ones
a) .evolution.tar.gz
b) evolution.tar.gz
c) Evolution
Now I have 8.04 installed, tried to follow the above instructions, but of course it isn't the same thing.
Can anyone help? These 3 files are all I'm left with now. Thanks