Eudora Mail: “Not a properly formatted mailbox” Error
So in the process of getting the business set up, I upgraded my Eudora e-mail from my trusty old G3 blue and white Mac that is still running OS 9 to my spiffy new Mac Mini running OS X. Through doing this process, I learned there aren’t very many tutorials out there to help you out when you do this.
So, I’ll tell you what worked for me after fighting it for 5 hours.
First, I upgraded my old G3’s Eudora to the newest version which is Eudora 6.1.1. Next, close out of Eudora — this is very important otherwise you will crash — and grab your data files stored in my “Eudora Folder” which is found in your Documents Folder or sometimes your System folder.
(NOTE: There are two folders, the “Eudora Folder” and the “Eudora Application Folder”. You want to move the “Eudora Folder” only. It is either found in your “Documents” folder or your “System” folder. The Eudora Folder keeps your data files - while the Eudora Application Folder stores the program itself.)
Now, this is the key important point: use Stuffit to compress your files before you move them or back them up. Otherwise you will get broken resource forks and you’ll keep getting the “Not a properly formatted mailbox” error.
Download and install Eudora on your new Mac.
Put your stuffed data file on your new Mac’s Desktop and allow it to decompress. Then, place it in your user specific Documents folder and away you go. (You may need to rename the Eudora folder that Eudora *just* installed in your User specific Documents folder and replace with your data filled one you just unstuffed on your desktop.
The key point here is that you *have* to use Stuffit to compress your data if you move your data folder from a Mac to a non Mac. Because I ftp’ed my data folder to a server as a ‘middleman’ to move data from one point to another, the resource forks got all messed up in the transfer to a “non Mac” environment. Hopefully this will save someone else the trouble I had.