Windows:
How to recover your UVM Mail folders
(This is for use with ALL folders other than your Inbox)
This process will only work for email and folders which have been backed up by the server overnight. This means that files and folders which were created and deleted in the same day, cannot be recovered.
Lets get started!
If you already have PuTTy installed click HERE
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The first step is to download and install a program called PuTTy. PuTTy connects to UVM in a way that allows you to enter the necessary commands to restore your
Folders and Files.
To get PuTTy, open a web browser and go to this address: www.uvm.edu/software
You will be asked to login, use your UVM NetID and Password (the same information you use to login to your UVM email).
It should look something similar to this: (see below)
After logging in you will see a few links where you can select which platform you are using. You will want to click on the “Microsoft Windows” link.
You should now be at the UVM Software page for Windows. The software is listed alphabetically, you’ll want to scroll down to “PuTTy”
click on the “Download PuTTy now” link
After clicking the “Download PuTTy now” link, a dialog box similar to this one will appear. You will want to click “Save File” button.
When the download completes you should be able to start the installation by double clicking on the link.
A dialog box similar to this one may appear, click “Run” to start the installation.
A dialog box will apear (similar to the one below). This is a message letting you know that this version of PuTTy has been customized for UVM.
Click “Yes” to continue with the install. It will only take a few moments to complete the installation. The dialog boxes will disappear when the installation completes.
Now you are ready to run PuTTy. Click the Start button in the lower left corner of your computer screen.
In the search field type: “putty”
The PuTTy program should appear as one of the search results. Click on the PuTTy icon to launch the program.
After PuTTy opens, it will look like this (below). You’ll want to select the “zoo.uvm.edu” option and then click the “Open” button.
After clicking the “Open” button, a black box will appear. It will ask you to:
“login as: ENTER YOUR UVM USER NAME” then press Enter
“YOUR UVM USERNAME@zoo.uvm.edu’s password: ENTER YOUR PASSWORD HERE” then press Enter.
NOTE** when entering your password the cursor will not move, this is normal.
The next step is to use the “recovermail” command.
The “recovermail” command puts us in a recover mode that enables us to retrieve past backups of our mail.
Example:
recovermail
then press Enter (as seen in the image below)
The next step to recovering mail folders is to use the “changetime” command.
The “changetime” command allows us to change the date to a recent backup that contains our accidentally deleted folders.
You can use the “changetime” command in multiple ways, here are a few examples…
Examples:
changetime 08/05/2010
this changes the time to a specific date.
or
changetime yesterday
this changes the time to whatever day “yesterday” was.
or
changetime last thursday
As far as our tutorial goes, we will be using “changetime yesterday”
Now that the backup from 07/20/2010 (yesterdays date) has been retrieved we will need to list the folders that were available from that backup.
To list your folders use the “ls” command (LS)* then press Enter.
From the list of folders that appear, we will need to select the folder we wish to restore from the backup. To do this we us the “add” command.
The “add” command marks a file or folder for recovery.
In this example we are adding our “Sent Messages” folder.
Example:
add “Sent Messages”
then press Enter
Note** You muse use quotations around folder names with _spaces_ or CAPS in the name.
After a file has been marked for recovery, you are ready to use the “recover” command.
The “recover” command initiates the recovery process.
Example:
recover
then press Enter.
(Your screen should look similar to the image below)
The final step is to use the “exit” command.
After you get some feedback “Recover completion time: Mon Jun 21…” letting you know that the
recovery has completed.
It is now time to enter the “exit” command, then press Enter.
***You must enter the “exit” command for the recovery process to complete!***
After entering the “exit” command, you should see a message letting you know that your folders have been restored.
(similar to the image below.)
Login to Webmail webmail.uvm.edu and check to make sure that your folder(s) have been restored.