I set up Pegasus to download my gmail archive and shortly thereafter experienced a drive failure prior to backing it up on my NAS. I've since reinstalled Pegasus and recovered what I believe to be the relevant directories from the damaged drive, but I don't see a way to import my old mail.

Ideally, I want to merge my old emails and my current emails. If that is not possible, how do I replace my current collection of emails with the larger one I recovered? My current installation's directory structure is different than the old one and so simply copying the old files over the new isn't the obvious secondary solution that I expected. The info button says my current mailbox is stored at "C:\Program Files (x86)\PMAIL\MAIL\Admin", but that directory is empty.

Pegasus Mail for Microsoft Windows
Copyright (C) 1992-2025, David Harris, all rights reserved
Electronic mail to support@pmail.gen.nz.

WinPMail version: Version v4.91.1746, 11 Aug 2025 18:19:07, build ID 1746
Language resources: Standard UK English resources (EN,0,LL)
Extension Manager version: 1.14
Operating mode: Standalone
User name and ID: Admin, 0
Windows version: 6.2
Windows flag word: 0
WINPMAIL.EXE directory: C:\Program Files (x86)\PMAIL\Programs
Home mailbox location: C:\Program Files (x86)\PMAIL\MAIL\Admin
New mailbox location: C:\Program Files (x86)\PMAIL\MAIL\Admin
TMP environment variable: C:\Users\Korval\AppData\Local\Temp
TEMP environment variable: C:\Users\Korval\AppData\Local\Temp
LAN-based SMTP support: N, N, N
NetWare MHS support: N, N, N
Built-in TCP/IP support: Enabled
  - WINSOCK version: WinSock 2.0
  - WINSOCK path: WSOCK32.DLL
Commandline: -roam -A
Active -Z options: 32768
PMR variable: (None)
PML variable: (None)
MAI variable: (None)
NB variable: (None)
Autofiltering folders: 0 (0 active, 0 inactive)
Last new mail count: 3
Message size soft limit: 0 bytes
Message size hard limit: 0 bytes
Attachment size soft limit: 0 bytes
Attachment size hard limit: 0 bytes

I am surprised to see the C:\Program Files (x86) paths. Pegasus Mail will not function correctly on a Windows OS newer than Windows 7 if any of its files are in a subdirectory of C:\Program Files (x86) or C:\Program Files.

As for accessing the mail from a previous installation, the easiest method it to attach it mailbox directory to your current installation as an added mailbox. To do this, open the Pegasus Mail Folders window. Now go to the Folders pull-down menu and select "Add mailbox to list...:. Enter the path to the old mailbox directory and then give it a name.

You will see it appear at the bottom of the Folders list as an additional mailbox. You can leave it attached, or you copy the data to the "My mailbox". Be aware that you can not copy entire folders. You must do copies at the message level. Create a folder in My mailbox and then copy all messages to it from the folder in the attached mailbox. I say "copy" and not "move" so that the source is maintained in the event of a problem.

That was extremely easy and worked beautifully, thank you very much.

As for the installation directory, it was the default directory when I installed 4.91. I've been making do with other email solutions for decades (I think?) while waiting for V5 and I jumped when I saw this newest update. I'd since forgotten most everything I knew about Pegasus, but it seems to have been working fine for me on Win 11. Would you have expected very obvious errors on a newer version of Windows or are there specific features which probably won't work and which I haven't tried to use yet?

I am surprised that you feel it is working correctly. In Win 10 & 11, Microsoft made the Program Files and Program Files (x86) directories "protected" meaning files in those directories can't be modified. Pegasus Mail routinely modifies files as part of normal operation. These include the files that store messages in folder, the folder list itself, configuration settings, desktop state, folder window size/location/layout, and I'm sure others that don't come to mind offhand. It struck me odd that you said the mailbox directory of C:\Program Files (x86)\PMAIL\MAIL\Admin is empty. If that is the case, I don't understand how Pegasus Mail is functioning at all.

Now that I've seen what files Pegasus copied over to set up the additional mailbox, I did a search on C: for "main.pmm" and found my original mailbox is located in C:\Users\Korval\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\PMAIL\MAIL\ADMIN. It's clearly using that directory rather the one listed in the info dump, but I don't know if this virtualization is being done automatically by Windows or if Pegasus has been modernized more than you knew.

Given all the work David has been putting into updating the code to work with modern frameworks and with v4.91 only being released a couple of months ago, it frankly hadn't occurred to me when first d/ling it that it wouldn't be compatible with Windows 10/11. And it evidently isn't bothered by file permissions within \Program Files because it isn't doing any work in there, but, as I said, I don't know who to credit for that.

This is actually done by Windows for compatibility reasons with old-style Software, please see here.

I can assure you that Pegasus Mail does not use AppData intentionally. A default installation is to C:\Pmail with program files in C:\Pmail\Programs and mail data in C:\Pmail\MAIL. Its installer is smart though. I looks at registry keys trying to find the path of an existing installation and if found, offers that path as installation source, normally as an update. So, if you had a Win7 machine that once had Pegasus Mail installed in \Program files, and that machine was upgraded to Win10 or Win11, then a subsequent installation of Pegasus Mail would detect the old location and offer to install there. It is not advanced enough to detect the OS and prevent installation to a protected location, but Win11 appears smart enough to compensate using a feature called Virtual Store, which I only just learned about while researching your condition. I found a good explanation here: https://www.networkinghowtos.com/howto/windows-virtual-store-location/

Your installation will be a challenge from a troubleshooting standpoint. AFAIK, it is the first one we have encountered so you will have to keep this virtualization in mind and adapt support responses accordingly. IMO, moving this installation to C:\Pmail would be worthwhile.

You're right again, Brian. I restarted the installer before posting my previous reply in order to make sure "\Program Files" is the default, but now I realize it's the default for me because the installer knows that's where Pegasus is currently installed to. As you say, it's smart.

I'd forgotten, but you saying that C:\Pmail is the initial default reminded me that I had indeed changed it. I hadn't understood that there was a good reason to install it directly off the root (I've been loath to do that even since my DOS days), but this whole thread has been very instructive.

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I fully understand that. I am the same way. Programs should be installed in Program Files was my thinking. I had to give that up though if I wanted to install and run legacy programs or put portable ones on C:. My compromise was to create the directory of C:\Apps for those. I kept Pegasus Mail in its default location though so that I had a default installation to refer to when responding to support questions.