I'm currently running V 4.91.1746 on Windows 10 with multiple identities. There are some issues with it that I have not been able to correct (failed connections, not responding during filtering, etc). I have a new computer with Windows 11 where I want to install a new Pegasus with single identity. I will rebuild the POP3 and IMAP connections, filters, etc from scratch on the new install. I want to move only the mail folders from the old system, not the entire PMAIL/MAIL/Admin directory. Can I do that and if so, which ones do I move? Are there any pitfalls to watch for?

Thanks,
Bob

Hi Bob,

There is a whitepaper available here in the Add-ons category that was created back during the transition of Win7 to Win10 when many of us had Pegasus Mail installed in \Program files in Win7 and that do longer worked on Win10. The whitepaper is mostly still relevant so I suggest reading through it and then asking specific questions about anything concerning or unclear. The whitepaper is here:
https://community.pmail.com/index.php?u=/topic/11490/whitepaper-move-pegasus-mail-or-restore-mailbox-data

Hints:

• Early in the 4.91 installation process there is an option for preconfiguring a mailbox. You want to make sure to select this option. It will create the PMAIL\MAIL\Admin mailbox directory.
• Once you get the new installation to the point where it will start-up, copy the entire \PMAIL directory as a backup. As you work through the process of transferring data, don't try to do it all at once. Do it in steps, test, if all is well, back that up (eg: new mail message files (.cnm), then address books and distribution lists, then folder files (.pmm/.pmi) The idea is that if something goes wrong during one of the steps you can just restore the backup and try again.
• IIRC, the following files are not listed in the whitepaper that may exist and you will want to transfer. There may be others so don't hesitate to as about any that you are unsure of.VIEWER.PMMIME-MAP.PMFILETYPE.PM

Good luck, and Happy Holidays.

Brian,

Thanks for the information in the White Paper. I read through it and compared it to files in my old install. Some questions so far:
FYI: W10 = old computer, W11 = new computer

When I copied the .PMM, .PMI, files to W11, they did not separate into the trays that I had them in on the W10 system. They all were listed as a continuous list of folders. Is there another file structure that needed to be migrated?

On the W10 system there were files named WINPMFUP.PM and WINPMFUF.PM in PMAIL/MAIL/ADMIN. Looking at them, they appeared to be file attachment names that had been sent. Should they be migrated and will they be linked up to the right sent mails?

In the PMAIL/MAIL/ADMIN on W10, there are several IMC-3E9 through IMC-3F0 files and an IER-Cache file. What are they and should they be migrated?

In your earlier response you said the VIEWER.PM, MIME-MAP.PM and FILETYPE.PM files should be migrated. Those files exist in the W11 folders. Should they be over written with the W10 versions?

I have nearly completed the migration using the white paper information. All seems well to this point except the points I mentioned above.

Thanks for your help.

Bob

Question:
on windows 10 machine what do you see when you
look at C:\PMAIL\Programs\Pmail.cfg

type C:\PMAIL\Programs\PMAIL.CFG

Is it like C:\PMAIL\MAILC:\PMAIL\MAIL
or like C:\PMAIL\MAIL~NC:\PMAIL\MAIL~N

What does the Windows 11 machine show?

Note: The PMAIL.CFG is a binary file with NULL terminated fields, so don't use a Text editor to modify it. PCONFIG32.exe is program to change it.

If the Windows 10 and Windows 11 have same info in PMAIL.CFG. Don't know problem??
If one doesn't have the ~N and other has ~N your setup is not in correct status.

With C:\PMAIL\MAIL the setup is single user mode, and Mail folders and other files should be in C:\PMAIL\MAIL

If it has the ~N the setup is multi-user mode, the default user mail would be in
C:\PMAIL\MAIL\Admin and other users would be C:\PMAIL\MAIL\<userid>.

If you copied the W10 C:\PMAIL to the W11 C:\PMAIL and then ran install it should have correctly seen the setup, and correctly setup the PMAIL.CFG file and located the files for mail folder.

If you install PMAIL on W11 machine without the C:\PMAIL directory, it would have used the multi-user PMAIL.CFG, and copying files would not be correctly setup.

Simple solution is to rename C:\PMAIL to a different name.
Copy WIN10 C:\PMAIL to WIN11 C:\PMAIL and the run install of 4.91.

Other option would be to go to C:\PMAIL\Programs and Run PCONFIG32.EXE and change Mail Directory path to C:\PMAIL\MAIL..

It is possible to change to the C:\PMAIL\MAIL\Admin multi-user setup,
but would require moving all files from C:\PMAIL\MAIL to C:\PMAIL\MAIL\Admin except PMAIL.USR that remains there.
Would then need to manually upgrade the PMAIL.INI file to point to correct directory.

I apologize for not mentioning this. The folder list tray structure is stored in a file named HIERARCH.PM. This file can be a source of trouble so is not included in the files recommended for migration but if you have a significant tray structure then it's almost a necessity in lieu of recreating the tray structure. With Pegasus Mail closed, rename the existing one, copy the old one over, then restart Pegasus Mail and see what you end up with.

WINPMFUP.PM holds the list of recently used places to store attachments. Your choice whether to bring it over or just let it recreate itself.
WINPMFUF.PM holds the list of recently used files used as attachments. Same applies regarding migrate or recreate.

IMC* files are IMAP cache files. I don't use IMAP so really don't have a thought about whether it is best to copy or not. I lean towards letting as much be recreated as possible in the new install solely to minimize copying in a trouble.

Overwrite the new ones with the old ones, but only the ones in \Programs and/or \Mail\Admin. Do not touch the ones in \Programs\Resource.

Bob, the source of the file information I provided comes from Han van den Bogaerde who has assembled and made available an extensive and invaluable plethora of information about Pegasus Mail and Mercury. This is that website: https://www.vandenbogaerde.net/han_lkfr.htm

Most valuable to me has been his list of filenames and extension. It is accessible via the "Filenames and Extensions" link on that page.

Tray information is in the HIERACH.PM file, so if it isn't copied correctly the tray information is all lost...

I tried moving HIERARCH.PM file but trays did not break out properly. I manually recreated trays - not that many to do.

Still a couple nagging questions:

On W11 system, I can't get my main mail identity to show in drop down box all the time like in W10. On W10 system, Help/Info shows an entry of "Commandline: -roam -A -ID All_Mail". The -ID is not included on the W11 system. Is that an option that needs to be set somewhere?

When I open Gmail account, the mail transfers correctly but I see a quick message box flash by, too quick to read. I set TCP Trace on and I get this message:

19:51:30.071: [] Setting SNI hostname to 'pop.gmail.com'
19:51:30.119: [] SSL/TLS session established

* messages are transferred

19:51:31.687: << QUIT<cr><lf>
19:51:31.967: >> +OK Farewell.<cr><lf>
19:51:31.984: [!] Warning [Benign]: SSL connection improperly closed by remote host.
19:51:31.986: --- Connection closed at 27 Dec 2025, 19:51:31.984. ---

Any thought why the SSL connection get closed improperly?

Identity information is in the PMAIL.INI file.

That is why it is best to copy the C:\PMAIL directory to a new machine as is.
Then one can do an upgrade to the newer version, and it will take the information from the C:\PMAIL\Programs\PMAIL.CFG and the existing Mail setup in C:\PMAIL\MAIL.
Will also take the information from the PMAIL.INI file or files and multiple users is any.

If one gets these out of sync the WINPM32.exe is looking for things in the wrong places, and the HIERARCH.PM file are out of sync, and manually fixing it it a pain.

Once did a test to change my single user setup to a multi-user setup just to see if it could be done.

But required moving all files from C:\PMAIL\MAIL to C:\PMAIL\MAIL\ADMIN except PMAIL.USR. Manually editing the C:\PMAIL\MAIL\Admin\PMAIL.INI to point to the correct directory. The had to add te -I Admin. Ended up just going back to the single user setup.

My C:\PMAIL\MAIL directory has 339 files in it.
Does have a C:\PMAIL\MAIL\ADMIN directory
Has 22 files all with Apr 9 2010 dates

Tell me more about this. In a default, single identity installation, that single identity is named "Default". This is what you should be seeing. If you created another identity then the drop down box should contain it as well as "Default"

Yes. The -ID commandline parameter tells Pegasus Mail to startup as the specified identity. If you created one, and want Pegasus Mail to startup as that identity then add the -ID parameter to the commandline of the shortcut. You don't need the -roam parameter, but it's harmless.

I don't know why it happens, but it is normal.

Did you have Pegasus create a TCPLOG it might show more info.

What is the server address?

I use stunnel for connection and Log level 7?

Looked at my current security log for lines with closed.
cat secure | grep stunnel | grep -i closed | cut -b28-180
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[0]: TLS closed (SSL_read)
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[0]: Read socket closed (readsocket)
stunnel[1503]: LOG5[0]: Connection closed: 47 byte(s) sent to TLS, 68 byte(s) sent to socket
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[0]: Remote descriptor (FD=17) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[0]: Local descriptor (FD=3) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[1]: TLS socket closed (read hangup)
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[1]: Read socket closed (readsocket)
stunnel[1503]: LOG5[1]: Connection closed: 121 byte(s) sent to TLS, 120775 byte(s) sent to socket
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[1]: Remote descriptor (FD=17) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[1]: Local descriptor (FD=3) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[2]: TLS closed (SSL_read)
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[2]: Read socket closed (readsocket)
stunnel[1503]: LOG5[2]: Connection closed: 58 byte(s) sent to TLS, 217 byte(s) sent to socket
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[2]: Remote descriptor (FD=17) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[2]: Local descriptor (FD=3) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[3]: TLS closed (SSL_read)
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[3]: Read socket closed (readsocket)
stunnel[1503]: LOG5[3]: Connection closed: 47 byte(s) sent to TLS, 68 byte(s) sent to socket
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[3]: Remote descriptor (FD=17) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[3]: Local descriptor (FD=3) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[4]: TLS socket closed (read hangup)
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[4]: Read socket closed (readsocket)
stunnel[1503]: LOG5[4]: Connection closed: 51 byte(s) sent to TLS, 142 byte(s) sent to socket
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[4]: Remote descriptor (FD=17) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[4]: Local descriptor (FD=3) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[5]: TLS closed (SSL_read)
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[5]: Read socket closed (readsocket)
stunnel[1503]: LOG5[5]: Connection closed: 58 byte(s) sent to TLS, 217 byte(s) sent to socket
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[5]: Remote descriptor (FD=17) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[5]: Local descriptor (FD=3) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[6]: TLS closed (SSL_read)
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[6]: Read socket closed (readsocket)
stunnel[1503]: LOG5[6]: Connection closed: 47 byte(s) sent to TLS, 68 byte(s) sent to socket
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[6]: Remote descriptor (FD=17) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[6]: Local descriptor (FD=3) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[7]: TLS socket closed (SSL_read)
stunnel[1503]: LOG5[7]: Connection closed: 51 byte(s) sent to TLS, 142 byte(s) sent to socket
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[7]: Remote descriptor (FD=17) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[7]: Local descriptor (FD=3) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[8]: TLS closed (SSL_read)
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[8]: Read socket closed (readsocket)
stunnel[1503]: LOG5[8]: Connection closed: 58 byte(s) sent to TLS, 217 byte(s) sent to socket
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[8]: Remote descriptor (FD=17) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[8]: Local descriptor (FD=3) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[9]: TLS closed (SSL_read)
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[9]: Read socket closed (readsocket)
stunnel[1503]: LOG5[9]: Connection closed: 69 byte(s) sent to TLS, 89949 byte(s) sent to socket
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[9]: Remote descriptor (FD=17) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[9]: Local descriptor (FD=3) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[10]: TLS socket closed (SSL_read)
stunnel[1503]: LOG5[10]: Connection closed: 51 byte(s) sent to TLS, 142 byte(s) sent to socket
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[10]: Remote descriptor (FD=17) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[10]: Local descriptor (FD=3) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[11]: TLS closed (SSL_read)
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[11]: Read socket closed (readsocket)
stunnel[1503]: LOG5[11]: Connection closed: 58 byte(s) sent to TLS, 217 byte(s) sent to socket
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[11]: Remote descriptor (FD=17) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[11]: Local descriptor (FD=3) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[12]: TLS closed (SSL_read)
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[12]: Read socket closed (readsocket)
stunnel[1503]: LOG5[12]: Connection closed: 69 byte(s) sent to TLS, 6715 byte(s) sent to socket
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[12]: Remote descriptor (FD=17) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[12]: Local descriptor (FD=3) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[13]: TLS socket closed (SSL_read)
stunnel[1503]: LOG5[13]: Connection closed: 51 byte(s) sent to TLS, 142 byte(s) sent to socket
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[13]: Remote descriptor (FD=17) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[13]: Local descriptor (FD=3) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[14]: TLS closed (SSL_read)
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[14]: Read socket closed (readsocket)
stunnel[1503]: LOG5[14]: Connection closed: 58 byte(s) sent to TLS, 217 byte(s) sent to socket
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[14]: Remote descriptor (FD=17) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[14]: Local descriptor (FD=3) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[15]: TLS closed (SSL_read)
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[15]: Read socket closed (readsocket)
stunnel[1503]: LOG5[15]: Connection closed: 47 byte(s) sent to TLS, 68 byte(s) sent to socket
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[15]: Remote descriptor (FD=17) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[15]: Local descriptor (FD=3) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[16]: TLS socket closed (SSL_read)
stunnel[1503]: LOG5[16]: Connection closed: 51 byte(s) sent to TLS, 142 byte(s) sent to socket
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[16]: Remote descriptor (FD=17) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[16]: Local descriptor (FD=3) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[17]: TLS closed (SSL_read)
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[17]: Read socket closed (readsocket)
stunnel[1503]: LOG5[17]: Connection closed: 58 byte(s) sent to TLS, 217 byte(s) sent to socket
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[17]: Remote descriptor (FD=17) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[17]: Local descriptor (FD=3) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[18]: TLS closed (SSL_read)
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[18]: Read socket closed (readsocket)
stunnel[1503]: LOG5[18]: Connection closed: 47 byte(s) sent to TLS, 68 byte(s) sent to socket
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[18]: Remote descriptor (FD=17) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[18]: Local descriptor (FD=3) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[19]: TLS socket closed (SSL_read)
stunnel[1503]: LOG5[19]: Connection closed: 51 byte(s) sent to TLS, 142 byte(s) sent to socket
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[19]: Remote descriptor (FD=17) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[19]: Local descriptor (FD=3) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[20]: TLS closed (SSL_read)
stunnel[1503]: LOG6[20]: Read socket closed (readsocket)
stunnel[1503]: LOG5[20]: Connection closed: 58 byte(s) sent to TLS, 217 byte(s) sent to socket
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[20]: Remote descriptor (FD=17) closed
stunnel[1503]: LOG7[20]: Local descriptor (FD=3) closed

msetzerii,

I'm sure your way of migrating PMAIL to a new computer is much simpler and faster than what I did but there were underlying reasons to do it piece meal like I did. There were some connection and filtering issues on the W10 system that couldn't be corrected. I worked with Brian for a long time to try to resolve them but to no avail. I decided to start with a clean slate on the new W11 system. So far, even though it has been a longer and more complicated migration, it seems to be working .

Brian,

I think I mislead you on the identity issue. The All_Mail identity that I created does in fact show in the drop down box of the mail reader screen. What I meant to ask was why doesn't that identity always show as the "selected" identity in that box when I restart PMAIL, like it does in the W10 system. As you said, the answer is the -ID option has not been set in the W11 shortcut.

The bottom line is that I may not even need that extra identity at all. I rarely, if ever, change identities. The W10 system always runs on the All_Mail identity. When I first installed PMAIL years ago, I confused multiple identities with multiple POP3 email connections. I never changed that structure even though now I know they're not the same thing. In the W11 system, I could probably just use the <Default> identity with my multiple POP3 sites and accomplish what I want to do - send and receive email. Does that sound reasonable?

Thanks for all your help.

Bob

Yes, I started the TCPLOGs. The information I posted earlier is a partial view of that. The server I connect to is pop.gmail.com (OAUTH2) - port 995 - Via direct SSL.

My gmail transactions always end with the same improperly closed connection warning. Others have reported the same which is why I said that is is normal.

This is from a log created minutes ago.

08:37:33.933: << QUIT<cr><lf>
08:37:33.965: >> +OK Farewell.<cr><lf>
08:37:33.997: [!] Warning [Benign]: SSL connection improperly closed by remote host.
08:37:33.997: --- Connection closed at 28 Dec 2025, 8:37:33.997. ---
08:37:33.997:

OK, so far so good. I have 5 POP3 definitions with filtering that seem to be working correctly! Keep your fingers crossed!

Now, hopefully my last question for a while. If you want me to start a new thread for it I will do that.

I get lots of emails with embedded pictures, displays and other html-like stuff. To see those images, I have to right click and open the email in a browser. Can they be displayed within the Pegasus environment without going to a browser? If so, how do I set it up?

Thanks,

Bob

It is certainly an option. The advantages that I see to having different
Identities are:

• each can be configured differently
• If you are retrieving mail for different email addresses, having a unique Identity for each of those addresses allows you to reply to each as if you were replying from that address. There is a level of complexity to this but I think once you wrap your head around the concept, the complexity goes away and it just part of the thought process of replies.

With a single Identity, your sending email address is always what is configured in the General tab of Tools > Internet Options, although, IIRC, when sending via Gmail SMTP, the From: address is replaced with whatever email address is used to authenticate.

I hope this makes sense, or perhaps makes the premise for a new discussion. :-)

Here's the deal... IERenderer is add-on included with Pegasus Mail that handles HTML rendering. It, like Pegasus Mail, is very security conscious so will only display images that are included with a messages. That is rare these days. Most images now are stored remotely, linked to by the HTML code. Remote graphics are potential malware vectors hence them not being retrieved and displayed automatically.

Options:In Tools > Options > Incoming mail > Message reader there is a configuration option for the display of remote-linked graphics. The is an 'automatic' option however that is not recommended due to the security concern associated with them. The default is the manual right-click option.

• Right click in the body of an HTML message > Show pictures. This works on a per message basis.
• Right click in the body of an HTML message > Add sender's address from > Allow remote graphics list. This enables remote graphics in all messages from that sender.

Note: IERenderer is routinely updated. It has an automatic version checker that will notify you by placing a red exclamation point over its toolbar icon. It also has its own configuration options accessible by clicking that icon. There are a lot of options there. Look for the "Configure IERenderer" option for more.

In an early post I stated about not having a thought about copying IMC* files to a new installation. I have since educated myself on this. Important points are:

• They are folders, not files. Those folders contain files that hold IMAP header cache and the display state of folders.

• Each one is linked to an IMAP profile. This means they are worthless when new IMAP profiles are created in the new installation.

• Cached data is "inherently disposable without notice" (quote from David Harris). His recommendation is that it is best to let this data be recreated on the new installation.