Today I went back from my short trip to the country. First of all I decided to check my mail, and when I did it, I got the following error in my E-mail client: !25.07.2008, 19:20:39: FETCH -ERR [IN-USE] Mailbox in use. That’s not the first time when such an error happens and I already know the solution – I think it’ll be useful for all server administrators (By the way, It’s Sysadmin’s day today).
When you get the message that mailbox is used, you must have some lock files, that prevent using locked mailboxes. It is not so easy to find out the reason why these files appear (If you know, just write about it in comments). The solution is obvious – to find and destroy these files.
Mailbox lock files are usually located at /var/spool/virtual/. You fill find domain name folders there and your e-mail account lock files should be right there. Just check them. I usually use locate to find these files – their number shouldn’t be big.
After you delete these files, your mailboxes will start working as usual.