smlowry

Q: mail on imac doesn't work

What happened to my Mail on imac? When I open it, I can't click on anything, or send, and when I go to the drop down menu the color wheel comes on and I have to force quit. I can't choose anything. It's essentially dead. This just started today. I might as well not even have the program on my computer.

iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Apr 30, 2015 2:26 PM

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Q: mail on imac doesn't work

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  • by joe_7399,

    joe_7399 joe_7399 May 2, 2015 1:43 PM in response to smlowry
    Community Specialists
    May 2, 2015 1:43 PM in response to smlowry

    Hi smlowry,

     

    Welcome to the Apple Support Communities!

     

    I understand that Mail is not functioning on your Mac the way you would expect. In this situation, I would recommend reading over the attached article to help isolate the issue. Please read over the If the issue occurs in one application only section in the attached article and work through the suggested steps. 

     

    Mac OS X: How to troubleshoot a software issue - Apple Support

     

    Best regards,

    Joe

  • by smlowry,

    smlowry smlowry May 3, 2015 6:59 AM in response to joe_7399
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 3, 2015 6:59 AM in response to joe_7399

    Thanks, Joe - But I'm a computer idiot. My imac didn't come with any discs. So according to the article I should be able to search for mail under the apple menu, but there is no option for searching for apps. Just the software update and no search option there either. But then the article has been archived and not updated so maybe not the most recent info. I don't really use mail (I use gmail through firefox) and right now I'm nervous about reinstalling my whole system because everything else works fine and I don't have any Mac folks nearby to help if I screw things up.

  • by joe_7399,

    joe_7399 joe_7399 May 6, 2015 2:56 PM in response to smlowry
    Community Specialists
    May 6, 2015 2:56 PM in response to smlowry

    Hello smlowry,

     

    A different step I may recommend here, if the only account you are using is a Gmail account, would be to delete the account from the computer and then try to open Mail to isolate the issue. If Mail opens normally, try and add your account back to the computer. 

     

    For instructions on deleting the account, please follow the steps outlined in the following attached article. 

     

    Mail (Mountain Lion): Remove accounts

     

    Have a great day,

    Joe