AppleShare IP 6.2: Creating New Mail Database Without Losing Messages

You may export the messages from the old mail database and then reimport them into a new mail database by following these steps:

1. Stop the mail server and quit AppleShare IP Mail Admin.
   
2. Make a backup of your AppleShare IP mail database.
   
3. Open AppleShare IP Mail Tool and export the messages for every account that currently has email messages stored on the mail server. The mailboxes will export to the BSD-standard mailbox format. If you suspect corruption and are familiar with this format, you may edit these with a text editor.
   
4. Move the existing mail database out of the AppleShare IP Mail Folder (for example, to the desktop).
   
5. Start the mail server. This will create a new mail database in the AppleShare IP Mail Folder, but user mailboxes will not yet exist.
   
6. Send a test message to all accounts that were exported. This will create the user mailboxes.
   
7. Stop the mail server and quit AppleShare IP Mail Admin
   
8. Launch AppleShare IP Mail Tool and import the mailbox for every account that was exported.
   
9. Quit AppleShare IP Mail Tool and start the mail server.

For additional information on exporting and importing users, see the following article:

Article 24692: "AppleShare IP 6.x: Importing/Exporting Users & Groups FAQ"