Netscape 4.8 Messenger - Illegal Operation - Can't open

[eager to learn]

Hi,

I have Netscape 4.8 on Windows 95. One day I tried to open Messenger to read my messages in it and I got "Illegal Operation"

I clicked on Details and it said NETSCAPE caused an invalid page fault in module NETSCAPE.EXE at 0137:0050e20d.

It was metnioend that maybe I should re-name my Inbox and my Inbox.smn (I don't know what SMN stands for or does but I think I have to be careful with it.)

Long ago when I had a problem with Netscape I re-named my Inbox as Inbox.old and Inbox.snm as soemthign else.

Should I re-name both thes folders again?

Is it ok to re-name the Inbox as Inbox.txt?

Is it OK to re-name Inbox.smn as Inbox.sn2? Or is there a better name?

Is that all the folders I need to re-name?

I don't need to re-name my Sent Box which has 1.400 messages in it? Or how about my Inbox Keep where I was saving certain messages?

I uninstalled Netscape and then downloaded 4.8 again from this Silly Dog and installed it but it dididn't solve that illegal operation message prevetenting me from reading my e-mail messages or using Messenger to download or send more.

If I do re-name them, do I need to uninstall Netscape?

Do I need to re-boot after I re-name?

Thanks so much.

[This post is best placed in the Netscape Communicator Forum where I will now move it. profman, 5/1/2007]

UserAgent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Win98; en-US; rv:1.8.0.11) Gecko/20070312 Firefox/1.5.0.11

[leonidasjones]

We are in a time machine here.

The .snm files in Netscape Communicator are summary files. The let the program know how to list the mail in the files without extension. The files without extension are where our mail is stored.

You can actually delete the snm files, they will be rebuilt on opening Netscape. You can rename them to be on the safe side. It does not matter whet you rename them too, as long as you remember what they are. It has been a long time since I have been on the user side of a Win 95 computer.

With Netscape closed, rename the snm files. Then open Netscape, and see if the mail appears. Do not rename Inbox just yet.

Do you really need the messages in your Sent Folder? Most people just let it build up. If you don't need to access these mails, it would be just as well to delete the Sent folder, and Sent.snm.

You should not need to reboot after the renaming. If Netscape is closed when you rename, you should just restart Netscape to see if things have worked.

It won't hurt to reboot, but it should not be necessary.
Well, lets see where we are so far.

Lee

UserAgent: Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; U; PPC Mac OS X Mach-O; en-US; rv:1.8.1.2) Gecko/20070219 Firefox/2.0.0.2

[Fulvio]

With Netscape closed, rename the snm files

. Lee's directions were perfect, excpt that the .snm files should be deleted.
May be Lee took along the original message.
One question, which was brought up by Lee's reply. How large is the Inbox? You should be able to tell by looking at the properties in Windows Explorer. Large (roughly 1 GB or more) Inbox or Sent files can cause all sort of problems. But. I don't know if this would lead to the type of error described.

UserAgent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8.1.2) Gecko/20070222 SeaMonkey/1.1.1

[eager to learn]

Hi Folks,

Thank you both so much forr al your help.

I renamed my Inbox.snm to Inbox.sno and volia! Messenger works again.

What a relief.

There was metnion of deleting the .snm folders. I thought they were Index files so that I would need them?

It seesm like I've got an .snm for Inbox, Sent, Unsetn, Drafts, etc.

Can I safely delete them all?

Each night delete them or weekly?

Thanks so much for all your help and generosity.

UserAgent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Win98; en-US; rv:1.8.0.11) Gecko/20070312 Firefox/1.5.0.11

[leonidasjones]

They are index files, but they do get corrupted easily. If Netscape detects that they are not there, it rebuilds them, so deleting them can never hurt anything, and can often help. Just be sure to do so with Netscape closed.

Lee

UserAgent: Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; U; PPC Mac OS X Mach-O; en-US; rv:1.8.1.4pre) Gecko/20070502 Firefox/2.0.0.3 Navigator/9.0a12

[eager to learn]

Hi Lee,

Thanks so much for explaining.

So, would you suggest that beofre I open Netscape 4.8 every day to first open Windows Explorer and delete ALL my .snm files?

Including Inbox.snm, Sent.snm, Unsent.snm, Drafts. snm and Trash.snm?

Or should I wait and delete them weekly?

But, I should only do that in Windows Explorer NOT while I'm in Netscape?

I'm curious what "snm" stands for? Is it an acronym for something?

Thank you again for all your help and great generosity.

UserAgent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Win98; en-US; rv:1.8.0.11) Gecko/20070312 Firefox/1.5.0.11

[leonidasjones]

I always thought it was Summary Netscape Mail, but I don't remember where I learned that, so I won't swear to it. The equivalent in newer versions is msf. Mail Summary Files.

There is usually no reason to delete these files. Most of the time when a problem occurs they be rebuilt automatically. You might see a message in the status bar "building summary file for inbox".

Basically, ignore them, unless you run into a problem. If you do, deleting the snm files can never hurt, and may help. Yes, if you do so, Netscape should be completely closed.

Lee

UserAgent: Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; U; PPC Mac OS X Mach-O; en-US; rv:1.8.1.4pre) Gecko/20070502 Firefox/2.0.0.3 Navigator/9.0a12