[Dovecot] File isn't in mbox format - Couldn't open INBOX

[Rich West]

While I saw another thread on the list similar to the issue I was 
experiencing 
(http://dovecot.org/pipermail/dovecot/2005-February/006168.html), I was 
wondering if there was a way around this problem (the thread simply 
suggested upgrading, but are the later version (specifically the 
1.0-test releases) ready for prime time?)...

We're periodically having this with some users (not sure what client 
they are using, but I am pretty sure it is MS Outlook) where the inbox 
is in near perfect shape except for some extra characters at the 
beginning of the file.  POP or IMAP delivery fails with an error stating 
"File isn't in mbox format - Couldn't open INBOX".  It looks like those 
characters are of a previous message that was not completely removed 
from the file, and those characters seem to throw everything out of wack..

It's easily correctable by removing the bogus characters from the 
beginning of the file, but that gets annoying quickly..

-Rich