Comment 18 for bug 197290

I have the same problem every 6 months or so. This lame bug has been around since at least 2005. Please fix it.

Ubuntu Gutsy 7.10
Evolution 2.12.1

The best workaround I have found is to use archivemail to archive the old mail in the file, reducing the file size.

install archivemail:

sudo apt-get install archivemail

archive all mail older than 90 days:

archivemail -d90 ~/.evolution/mail/local/yourmailfile

After doing this, the file size is reduced way below 2GB, so it will open the next time you start evolution. If you like you can decompress the archive file and import it into another folder in evolution - takes a while though...

Regards