[Users] randomly parts of claws configuration get corrupted

[Little Girl]

Hey there,

Brian Morrison wrote:
> Steve Litt wrote:
> 
> > Where can I find out more about the Ext4 data corruption issues?
> > Like I said, both my main box and my backup server are
> > exclusively ext4.
> 
> Look for ext4 data loss on Google. When I did this, I saw that all
> of the articles about it were from 2009/2010, so it seems that
> current discussion has died out suggesting that workarounds have
> been put into newer kernels.

It surely has been taken care of. The Ubuntu team chose ext4 for its
LTS release, which shows confidence in its stability since they
must support that release for a long while. My son uses Ubuntu and I
use Kubuntu and we've both been using the ext4 file system since
April of 2010. We use our computers in different ways, and neither
one of us has experienced any data loss. 

I suspect the original poster's issue is either a hardware problem
(as others have pointed out - the drive going bad) or a software
setting somewhere in another program that interferes with Claws Mail's
files during a clean-up or something.

I'd probably test the problem this way:

1) I would make a backup of everything on the computer and put it in
a very safe place somewhere other than on the computer in question.

2) I would ponder as to the time and date that this first began
happening and determine if there was another program I made changes
in at about that time (like a clean-up program) or if there was an
unfamiliar command I tried out in a terminal at the advice of someone
else without first examining it to determine what every part of it
does.

3) If I'm certain I made no changes and ran no commands, I would
leave all the files in place and reinstall Claws Mail over itself to
see if that fixes any default files that may have been corrupted
somehow.

4) If that doesn't fix it, I'd uninstall Claws Mail, delete all
its files, reinstall it, and run it for a while to see if the
corruption occurs again.

5) If the corruption doesn't occur again, I'd copy my backed up mail
into the new, working installation and check to see if all is still
well. If so, I'd write it off as gremlins and go about my merry way.
(:

6) If the corruption does occur again, I'd test my hardware
thoroughly and replace any that fails or is suspect. Then I'd
reinstall Claws Mail again and run it for a while to see if the
corruption occurs again.

7) If the corruption doesn't occur again, I'd copy my backed up
mail into it and check to see if all is still well. If so, I'd
consider it a job well done.

8) If the corruption occurs again I'd run screaming into the street,
and once I calmed down, I'd file a Claws Mail bug report. (: (: (:

-- 
Little Girl

There is no spoon.