Interesting Yahoo problem

[ata]

I have an interesting problem with one of my yahoo accounts.
Problem: If I read an email, it changes to read and stays that way all day or until I shutdown the computer. When I restart the computer, those emails that were marked as read are now unread.

I have two computers and this happens only on one. I have several yahoo accounts which are setup the same way (POP3) and only one acts this way.

Other than one computer being 64bit and the other 32bit, the one other difference is PP version. The 64 bit is 4.4.0.0 and the 32 bit, which is having the problem is 4.4.1.0

Hope you can solve this.

[mjs]

The problem could be related to whether your "ini file" location is using the "C:\Program files" path on the computer that has this issue (resulting in the occurrence of Windows UAC write-protection).

Check the file path difference between the two computers. To check this; from the main menu, select "Tools" > "Options", then select the "Storage" page. The computer that works probably has a file path something like "C:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming\POP Peeper..." and perhaps the computer that has this problem starts with "C:Program files...".

If this is not the case (that is the computer that has the problem is not using the file path starting with "C:Program files") then ignore the remainder of this post.

If you see the "Ini Location:" starting with "C:Program files" for the computer with this problem then the best way to fix this would be to do the following on the computer with this problem:
1) Exit POP Peeper.
2) Move the ini file from: C:\Program Files (x86)\POP Peeper\poppeeper.ini to: %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\POP Peeper (note: you must manually move the poppeeper.ini file yourself using Windows Explorer/File Explorer).
-----> To do this do the following:
-----> A) Copy the line above (in red) and enter it into the Windows "Run prompt" (from "All apps" > "Windows system" > "Run") to open the correct folder in Windows Explorer/File Explorer.
-----> B) Note: The "POP Peeper" folder may not exist, in which case, you should open the parent folder (%userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\), and create "POP Peeper"; now move (drag) the ini file (poppeeper) from where it is now to this new location (not copy).
3) Restart POP Peeper.
4) Go to "Tools" > "Options" > "Storage" to make sure the "ini location" is now "C:\users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\POP Peeper\poppeeper.ini".
5) Also, while you're at this point, make sure you reset the value in the data path, that is delete the value for the data path so the value is empty and press OK (this will reset it to the AppData folder).

[ata]

Both computers have the same setting. "C:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming\POP Peeper

[mjs]

Both computers have the same setting. "C:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming\POP Peeper

Okay, Windows UAC write-protection is not the problem (the problem as described sounded like this would have likely been the cause ).... let's move along (we'll continue to look into this using to our advantage the fact that except for just one all of your accounts are okay)...

Check to make sure that "Message Retrieval" for the computer with this problem is the same as the computer without the problem. Under "Tools" > "Options" > "Message Retrieval" are the "POP3" settings the same?

Also go to "Tools" > "Options" > "General" tab and make sure that "Advanced options" is enable (checked). Then edit the one account with the problem by doing a right-click on that account and select "Advanced". Is the "Retrieval option" drop-down value set to "Default"? (perhaps this one account has a different setting here than your other accounts that work).

[mjs]

Also, one more question.

To clarify you are saying that both computers have the same accounts setup in POP Peeper and those Yahoo accounts are all setup the same way using POP3 in both computers. And all the accounts work in both computers except one which does not hold the "read" status for this account after a reboot of the computer. If I've got something wrong, please clarify.

Question: do both computers have the same Security software setup? Can you think of any differences between the two computers related to this?

[ata]

Both computers have the "POP3" settings and the account "Retrieval option" is set to "Default".

Your clarify statement is correct.

Both computers have the same Security software setup.

Differences: 64 bit Windows 10 Pro vs 32 bit Windows 10 Pro (Which is the one having problems)
PP Version:
POP Peeper 64 bit - 4.4.0.0 vs 32 bit - 4.4.1.0
Webmail 64 bit - 4.4.4.0 vs 32 bit - 4.4.4.0
SSL 64 bit - 1.0.2.11 vs 32 bit - 1.0.2.11
IMAP 64 bit - 4.4.0.0 vs 32 bit - 4.4.0.0
SendMail 64 bit - 4.4.0.0 vs 32 bit - 4.4.0.0
PPtweaker 64 bit - 4.4.0.0 vs 32 bit - 4.4.0.0

[mjs]

Both computers have the "POP3" settings and the account "Retrieval option" is set to "Default".

To clarify your reply, please confirm these settings for us from the main POP Peeper interface: "Tools" > "Options", "Message Retrieval":

Are the settings here the same in both computers?
Doing a right-click on the account with the "read" status problem and then clicking on "Advanced" (if you do not see "Advanced" then go to "Tools" > "Options" > "General" tab and enable "Advanced options"). What do you see different than the setting pointed out.

[ata]

Both computers are set the same and as shown.

[Jeff]

It sounds like the non-working computer isn't saving the data. You said that they would become "unread" when you restarted POP Peeper, but are they also considered "new"? If PP isn't saving to disk, PP will have to re-retrieve the messages the next time you restart PP, and since you're using POP3, they can only be considered unread/new (POP3 protocol doesn't have read/unread state).

Based on that theory, there are 2 possibilities:
1) PP main menu: Tools / Options; Storage -- make sure that the "Storage" option is set to "Entire message" (or "headers", but definitely not "none").
2) Check if the database file is read-only:
a) On the same storage page from #1, open the "data path" in Windows Explorer
b) Open the subfolder for the account name
c) There is a file named data.db -- right-click it and select "Properties"
d) On the bottom of the 'General' tab, make sure that "read-only" is not enabled (also, if there's an "unblock" button, press it)

[ata]

1) "Storage" is set to Entire message"
2) File was not Read-Only

[Jeff]

If you have some recent messages marked as read and you manually exit and restart POP Peeper:
- are those same recent messages still listed? (or does PP have to retrieve them again)
- are they still marked as read?

[ata]

Yes I do and and they are marked as read.
I did the manual exit and restart POP Peeper.
Those messages upon startup are still there and marked as Read until PP checks and then they appear as new/unread.

I went to my email through my web browser to check the status of these emails.
1 is marked as being read and the other is unread, go figure.

[Jeff]

Ok, I suspect that Yahoo is changing the message IDs (MID aka UID [Unique ID]). I know they did this to their MIDs in webmail, and at one time I tried to account for it but it was an uphill battle and I eventually stopped. It's their own webmail system and they can do what they want without affecting themselves (*why* they do it is another question, seems like it would cause more problems than not, but...). Likewise, why would they do it for POP3 messages...? That's definitely an issue with any email client and my guess is that they assumed that POP3 clients generally delete the messages after retrieving them, so what does it matter if the MID changes. That probably goes to show how antiquated Yahoo's system is because, these days, most email clients are set to leave messages on the server for 14 days (not to mention email notifiers which are designed to leave messages on the server indefinitely).

Anyway, my recommendation: use IMAP instead of POP3. I suspect that imap isn't affected by this situation (they use a different system for UIDs and imap is specifically designed to leave messages on the server) and even if it is affected by it, it's able to sync the read/unread state so at least you won't *notice* the problem (make sure you have imap sync enabled under Tools / PPtweaker / Misc; very bottom).

Lastly, it is possible to check if the UID is changing if you're curious to corroborate that theory -- email me if you are.

[ata]

I am very interest in corroborating the theory. I will email you shortly.

I wonder if Verizon buying Yahoo has anything to do with what is going on.