Frequently Asked Questions

How much space is available for storing my email?
See the page on Personal File Storage Space (disk quota) to find out your maximum allowable file storage space and follow the procedure for determining how much of it is currently allocated for your email and other files. You can subdivide your storage space yourself and allow more for email, as long as the overall total for email and other files does not exceed your maximum. The same page also provides information on purchasing email storage in excess of your maximum.

What happens if I use up the storage space I've allotted for my email?
Whether you use Webmail or some other IMAP-compliant email program at NC State, if you exceed what you've allotted for email, your account will stop receiving new mail, though you should still be able to send messages. If you've missed receiving a message because your storage space is full, the system will keep trying to send it to you at 30-minute intervals for up to three days. If your space has been full continuously for 30 days or more, the system will return the message immediately and advise the sender that your account is not being used. In order to begin receiving mail again, you will need to do one of the following:

• Delete or archive enough messages to free up part of your existing email storage.
• Create more email storage by re-allocating your total file storage space.

How do I delete messages when my email storage space is full (over quota)?
Under Squirrelmail's default setting, when you delete a message, it doesn't actually disappear but goes instead to your Trash folder, where it uses up part of your email storage space, just as all your other folder contents do. The same may be true for another program that you are using for your campus email. Consequently, when you exceed your email storage allocation, you cannot send items to the Trash folder, even if it is empty. You can remedy this in one of two ways:

• Allow more room for email by re-allocating your total file storage space. You may need to allocate less for your other files. Your new email space should be available within 24 hours.
  
  
• Free up part of your existing email space immediately by temporarily changing your Trash folder options and permanently deleting some messages. Here's the procedure:
  1. Log in to Squirrelmail (http://webmail.ncsu.edu).
  2. In your Folders list (to the left or right of the main window), click on "(Check mail)."
  3. If you then see the word "(purge)" next to the name of the Trash folder, it contains messages. To permanently delete them, click on "(purge)." This will recover some of your email storage, but it may not be enough to allow you to delete more messages. Check to see how your email space is distributed by doing this:
     1. Go to http://sysnews.ncsu.edu/
     2. On the right hand side of the page, under "System Tools," select "login now."
     3. Enter your Unity ID and password when prompted.
     4. From the System Tools menu on the right, select "Email Tools."
     5. Choose "IMAP Usage Query."
     6. You will see a table entitled "IMAP Quota Check" showing the number of messages, mailbox size, and percent of space used by each of your email folders. This will help you decide which folders to select for message removal.
  4. If you don't see "(purge)" next to the name of the Trash folder, or if purging the Trash did not free up enough space, you'll need to permanently delete some messages from other folders. To do this, you'll need to change your Trash folder preferences temporarily as follows:
     1. At the top of the SquirrelMail screen, select "Options."
     2. Choose "Folder Preferences."
     3. In the Special Folder Options section, you will see a Trash Folder option.
     4. From the drop-down menu next to "Trash Folder," select "[Do not use Trash]."
     5. Save your changes by scrolling to the bottom of the window and clicking on the Submit button in the lower right corner.
     6. Return to your Inbox by clicking on its link in your Folders list.
     7. Select one or more of your folders and delete enough messages to free up part of your email storage space. Your recovered space will be available immediately.
        NOTE:These messages will be permanently deleted, not transferred to the Trash folder.
     8. Reload the page and check the "current usage" bar (at the top of the frame that contains your Folders list) to see how much of your email storage you're now using. It may take a while for the changes to show up there.
  5. Restore your Trash folder preferences by going back into Special Folder Options as described in step 4 above and selecting "INBOX.Trash" instead of "[Do not use Trash]." If you prefer, you can select a different folder for storing deleted messages.
     CAUTION: If you skip step 5 and keep the "Do not use Trash" option, Squirrelmail will permanently delete any messages as soon as you delete them from a folder. You won't be able to review them later in the Trash folder.

Why can't I login to Webmail?

• If you are getting an error message about login, even though you are already logged in, make sure that your Web browser has cookies enabled and that you are not using a proxy.
• There may be a problem with your Unity ID or password. In this case, contact the NC State Help Desk at 515-HELP(4357) or help@ncsu.edu.

How can I find someone's email address?
To search through your own address book, select "Addresses." To search for the campus email addresses of NC State students, faculty and staff, go to the online Campus Directory and enter the person's name.

Where can I get other questions answered?
Contact the NC State Help Desk at help@ncsu.edu or 515-HELP (4357).

Go to Webmail Tutorial main page

Last modified on August 24, 2006 by cawalker