Abstract: Local capacity threshold values for a user e-mailbox and costs are stored for overflow storage devices accessible on a network. The costs provided a ranking of the overflow storage devices. E-mail's are processed responsive to increases in accumulated storage of the e-mails beyond the respective local capacity threshold values to reduce storage space of the e-mails. An e-mail is received that increases the accumulated storage volume of the user's e-mails beyond the maximum local capacity threshold value. A subset of the overflow storage devices is selected by reference to the costs. One of the overflow storage devices of the subset is selected responsive to availability of storage space on the overflow storage devices of the subset and cost ranking among the overflow storage devices of the subset. The received e-mail is sent for storing on the selected overflow storage device, instead of storing the received e-mail in the user's mailbox.

Abstract: A computing system connected to a remote e-mail server through a network and a network adapter includes a basic input/output system (“BIOS”). The computing system accesses e-mail information by the BIOS accessing the remote e-mail server through the network during the booting of the computing system using the network adapter and downloading, during the booting of the computing system, e-mail headers from the remote e-mail server on the network. The BIOS parses the e-mail headers during the booting of the computing system and extracts an e-mail count for a user. The BIOS displays the e-mail count for the user in a defined format during the booting of the computing system.