I am still having problems getting KMail to use my data from before my desktop died. I have now successfully copied an intact copy of the Mail folder ~/Mail) from a backup to my present setup. I have checked, and my folders and emails at least are there. But KMail won't use them/doesn't see them. This is the method I have always used before, that has always worked before. I am desperate to be able to use KMail again, but daren't just set it up because I am then going to be faced with losing everything that I do now, if I ever succeed in restoring the stuff from the past. I thought of purging and reinstalling KMail and starting again, but that would remove 383 packages, and I am somewhat chary therefore of doing it. ~/.kde/share/apps/kmail/mail in the new set-up has: file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/mail/drafts file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/mail/.drafts.index file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/mail/.drafts.index.ids file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/mail/inbox file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/mail/.inbox.index file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/mail/.inbox.index.ids file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/mail/outbox file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/mail/.outbox.index file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/mail/.outbox.index.ids file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/mail/sent-mail file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/mail/.sent-mail.index file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/mail/.sent-mail.index.ids file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/mail/templates file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/mail/.templates.index file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/mail/.templates.index.ids file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/mail/trash file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/mail/.trash.index file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/mail/.trash.index.ids There is now no error message about indices, but it looks to me as though this directory is at the root of the problem. I have renamed it and started KMail, and it just regenerates it the same, and still doesn't use the available data, but kmail gives: file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/autosave file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/autosave.index.ids file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/$name%40gmail.com:%40pop.gmail.com:995 file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/$name%40googlemail.com:%40pop.gmail.com:995 file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/$name:%40pop.gmail.com:995 file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/dimap file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/$name%40gmail.com:%40pop.gmail.com:995 file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/$name%40googlemail.com:%40pop.gmail.com:995 file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/elizabeth.reisz:%40pop.gmail.com:995 file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/$name%40googlemail.com:%40pop.gmail.com:995 file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/imap file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/kmmainwin.rc file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/lisi%40$name.myzen.co.uk:%40mailhost.zen.co.uk:110 file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/lisi.reisz%40gmail.com:%40pop.gmail.com:995 file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/lisi.reisz:%40pop.gmail.com:995 file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/lisi.t155:%40pop.gmail.com:995 file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/lock file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/mail file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/mail.old file:///home/lisi/.kde/share/apps/kmail/search Help!! I really need my KMail stuff! How do I persuade KMail to use it? Lisi