965091 - The Local Directory path "H:\P_SeaMonkey\Mail\Local Folders" is not suitable for message storage. Please choose another directory

Status: UNCONFIRMED

(SeaMonkey :: MailNews: Account Configuration, defect)

Description

[mclrhn]

User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 5.1; rv:26.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/26.0 SeaMonkey/2.23 (Beta/Release)
Build ID: 20131210201652

Steps to reproduce:

Seemed to start following attempt to add an IMAP account amongst other accounts
which are all POP. But curiously problem also seemed to spread to second box with
identical local directory path;so problem may have existed earlier


Actual results:

In SeaMonkey-Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings:
With Local Folders path = "H:\P_SeaMonkey\Mail\Local Folders " 
any attempt to access any item in
left pane produces an error message:
"Server Settings
! The Local Directory path "H:\P_SeaMonkey\Mail\Local Folders " is not suitable for message storage. Please choose another directory "


Expected results:

Well since I was allowed to set the Local Directory path to:
"H:\P_SeaMonkey\Mail\Local Folders " and since 
SeaMonkey-mail seems perfectly able to use this path;
why has  SeaMonkey-mail  subsequently changed it's mind ? 
Much installation and de-installation has the problem persisting in most ,
SeaMonkey versions 2.xx suggesting some change in WinXP's registry !

Comment 1

[therube]

Anything here apply, http://kb.mozillazine.org/Dangerous_directories_-_Thunderbird ?

It does mention the Profile directory (which to me seems odd) & it appears you're using that location?
(Does mail not normally store its data within your Profile directory?)

Comment 2

[therube]

For reference:

"Local Directory Path Is Not Suitable For Message Storage"
http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=2750681

Comment 3

[Bell]

Not a programmer here, but a long time user of Netscape/Seamonkey (1996). have kept my mail files in a directory out side of the default. I do so as a security measure.  and ease of backup. I installed seamonkey on this Vista lap top in 2011. Migrated my Mail folders. I used the Mail and News Group Account settings/server settings/Local Directory (browse). To make email directories in C:\doc\mymail folder. not the default path. In 2012 10 17 I was also able to use the Local Directory browse function to change the default path to a folder C:\doc\mymail\acnt20.   2012 10 17 when I added an email account the function was working the. (sorry I don't know what version I was on, but I install upgrades as released) 
2014 02 23 (today) did a complete reinstall of Seamonkey.  
Got the error message --- Local Directory path "C:\doc\MyMail\acnt1\acnt1" is invalid please pick another directory ---(end of error message) the folder acnt1 did exist. I also tried to do make a folder in side the default and got the same error. showing a redundant folder concatenated. I was unable to make the change to the path C:\doc\mymail. 
It is concatenating the destination folder twice. (almost like it has a root directory path problem)
Workaround, I retrieved perfs.js and move it into the new ztws7wqr.default. (made the change from old to new  name.default.) Mail is performing all mail income and outgo to the C:\doc\MyMail\acnt1\acnt1 folders. 
Is still slow and hangs a bit before sending the emails but that is a different bug.

Comment 4

[mclrhn]

To the Rube above:
"http://kb.mozillazine.org/Dangerous_directories_-_Thunderbird"
Yes completely relevant; 
this seems to suggest I am complaining about a 'feature',not a bug.

Like the developers I try to find a safe place for
10 years of precious emails archives; which I do search from time to time!

Unlike the developers I don't consider the boot drive "C:" to be such a place.
My experience of many years is that new reinstalls (ie not just repairs) for different reasons ,
happens often enough to justify a policy of keeping all private data and applications on a physically
separate drives (ie not just a different partitions).
I usually also have 1 or 2 other computers, with identical file systems for when one dies!

"http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=2750681"
Yes this is the same 'bug'
For reference there are two email addresses say "me"@ "isp1" and "me"@"isp2";
in SeaMonkey-mail "Mail&Newsgroups Account Settings:
"me"@ "isp1" has Local directory H:\P_SeaMonkey\mail\pop."isp1" and 
"me"@"isp2"  has Local directory H:\P_SeaMonkey\mail\pop."isp2" and 
both configured to keep sent, archives, drafts and templates in Local folders;
which is H:\P_SeaMonkey\mail\Local Folders