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Level 1

4 points

Mail application corrupted

Please help! I reloaded Tiger and my Mail app became corrupted as a result of my reload. The reply button and the send button do not work. I have tried a few different fixes without success. However, when I switched user accounts I learned that the Mail app works fine under a diferent user account on same system. How can I transfer the Mail app that works correctly from one user account over to the other user account and dump the Mail app that is corrupted?

This same phenomena occurrs on both my iMac aznd my eMac.

imac g-4, i-book, e-mac, Mac OS X (10.4.10)

Posted on Nov 3, 2007 8:37 AM

Best reply

Ernie Stamper

Level 8

37,591 points

Posted on Nov 3, 2007 9:36 AM

Bob,

First try removing the Mail icon from the Dock, and then launching Mail from the Applications folder -- this is a stretch, but with what you have done, worth try.

If this does not work, the next thing to try, is removing the plist for the preferences if a new one was created, as follows:

Quit Mail, and in the Finder open Home/Library and locate the Mail folder again. Control-click over the Mail folder, and choose Duplicate -- then drag the resulting copy to the Desktop strictly for temporary backup. Next, open Home/Library/Preferences and find the com.apple.mail.plist file and drag it to the desktop.

Relaunch Mail, which will open as though new, and when prompted to import anything DECLINE. Instead, re-enter your account info, and Mail will re-discover the account folders for your accounts, and you can test this again. This will remove corruption that might only be in the preference file.

Ernie

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38 replies

Bob Saylor Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 5, 2007 9:35 AM in response to Ernie Stamper

Ernie:

In any/all of the xxx.mbox folders I found "plist".

I have moved all of the previous system Mail apps to the trash.

I hope to import my original mailboxes, 2 each "received" and 2 each "sent".

I have a few other folders that I stored some specific topic email in and they seem to remian intact within the Mail app.

Bob

Nov 5, 2007 9:46 AM in response to Bob Saylor

Bob,

You only found "plist" or Info.plist, and nothing else?. Did you have several custom, On My Mac mailboxes, formerly?

Ernie

Bob Saylor Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 5, 2007 9:49 AM in response to Ernie Stamper

ernie:

Two questions:

Is there a Mail 3.0 associated with OS 10.4 or is that exclusively OS 10.5?

What did you mean by "we might need to force the freshening of the entire Envelope Index file."

Bob

Bob Saylor Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 5, 2007 10:02 AM in response to Ernie Stamper

Ernie:

I only found: info.plist and a empty folder named "messages" in two folders named Delivered.mbox and Delivered.mbox 1.

I do not think I had any custom mailboxes.

Nov 5, 2007 10:05 AM in response to Bob Saylor

Bob,

I had too many topics going in 10.5 -- Mail 3.0 is only associated with Leopard -- my error.

I assume the Mail application, that is now working, is Mail 2.something?

Insofar as the Envelope Index, I first need to understand what you currently have in the Mail folder for accounts and other mailboxes vs what you expect to still recover from a backup?

Ernie

Bob Saylor Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 5, 2007 10:33 AM in response to Ernie Stamper

Ernie:

Mail app is v 2.1

As far as what I have for accounts - I guess you mean email accounts and I have two: bsaylor@skycablesua.com & rsaylor@skycableusa.com. My expectations are to recover all of the files meaning received mail and sent mail for each.

I have been saying that the Mail app is now performing but I now realize that it is not - some of the previous flaws are fixed but I can observe new ones such as my send and receive preferences keep corrupting.

Everything was fine until I reloaded OS 10.4 (Tiger) Oct 18. I don't even remember what prompted me to reinstall Tiger - just various small anamolies scattered around the system and my thinking was a reinstall would correct.

Surely my pre Oct 18 files remain intact somewhere. Can we go back to that moment and recover prior to Oct 18?

Nov 5, 2007 11:04 AM in response to Bob Saylor

Bob,

When you reinstalled Tiger, what form of Install did you use -- Erase and Install, or something else?

Did you initially try to restore mailboxes from a backup, or did you expect them to have remained on your Mac?

Open your backup again, and this stop at opening the Mail folder, and look for the account folders -- there should be two of them, since you have two accounts, presuming these are POP accounts, the name of each account folder will start with POP. Do you see these, and if you use Get Info on each, do they have some size indicating content? If so, I think we can chart a path to recovery.

Ernie

Bob Saylor Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 5, 2007 11:34 AM in response to Ernie Stamper

Ernie:

I did a normal install - no erase. I did not try to restore anything - I expected all to remain and much did including my mail histories. It is since the re-install that I have lost the mailboxes (histories). The POP accounts are in the folders. The folders appear to have sufficient size (983 MB & 314 MB repectively).

Bob

Nov 5, 2007 12:23 PM in response to Bob Saylor

What version of OSX 10.4 was on the Install disks for Tiger that you used? What version of OSX 10.4 were running before the install?

Ernie

Bob Saylor Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 5, 2007 1:06 PM in response to Ernie Stamper

Ernie:

What version of OSX 10.4 was on the Install disks for Tiger that you used? Answer is 10.4.3

What version of OSX 10.4 were running before the install? Answer is 10.4.10.

After re-installing 10.4.3 I went to Software Update and downloaded the only update offered which took me to 10.4.10. I wondered if there was any significance to not doing the in-between updates from 10.4.3 to 10.4.10. Regardless only 10.4.10 was available thru Software Update

Bob

Nov 5, 2007 1:51 PM in response to Bob Saylor

Bob,

At the very least you should have downloaded the Combo Upate (165 MB) at the link below, assuming you are only using a PPC Mac:

http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosx10410comboupdateppc.html

I am under the impression that once you update to more higher versions than on the Install Disk, that you only have two choice of reinstalling, and they do not include Upgrade -- see:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301270

In particular the note that reads: "Note: If you've updated Mac OS X 10.4 or 10.5 to a later version than what is on your Install disc, you can't use this option, but you can use others described below."

I am well aware that when doing a custom install of individual applications from the Install disk, the Combo Update must be used, and not Software Update. Otherwise you get the application out of sync with the rest of the OSX. I think this may have gotten you into trouble, and I don't know exactly where you are.

If you were to redo an install, then as far as Mail, you would only need the com.apple.mail.plist file from Home/Library/Preferences, and the Mail folder itself (Home/Library/Mail backed up and replaced when the new installation is stable.

Ernie

Bob Saylor Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 5, 2007 2:52 PM in response to Ernie Stamper

ernie:

I did not do the Combo - I did the Update (which had also been done previously).
I'm downloading the Combo now but not sure what I do with it. Do I re-install 10.4.3 and then do the Combo and then retrieve from Previous Systems folders the Mail stuff? Or do I install the Combo as the system is right now (10/4/3 updated to 10.4.10)?

I've downloaded and have read the article but it doesn't seem to address precisely my predicament. I tells me the right way to do it but I don't see where it tells me how to fix my mnistake.

Too bad when re-installing the Apple system doesn't disallow the kind of mistake I made.

Bob

Bob Saylor Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 5, 2007 2:57 PM in response to Bob Saylor

Ernie:

Also it seems to me that my most valuable Previous System folders are the ones created when I first commenced this fiasco as opposed to any I may create at this time. Do you think I have this correct?

Bob

Nov 5, 2007 4:32 PM in response to Bob Saylor

Bob,

I cannot say that any of them are valuable, but I get concerned that the wrong version of the programs will be found by the Installer, vs the right one.

A Combo Update is simply installed over the existing system, and should update and correct many things. Previous system folders are an indication of having used Archive and Install -- that must be the type of Install you did from the install disk and therefore if you only used Software Update, you have a bastardized system, and not really 10.4.10. As I said, the cited support document basically says you can not, and could not, have done a simple Upgread install.

It is very hard for me to guess exactly where you are. What do you have to save any backup copies, including those you have? I think you may need to do another Archive and Install, and this time apply the Combo Update you have downloaded, although might should be put an external HD if you have one.

Ernie

Bob Saylor Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 6, 2007 6:54 AM in response to Ernie Stamper

Ernie:

I'm on the verge of doing another Archive and Install. I have copied the appropriate Previous System files to an external HD. I have the Combo Update downlaoded.

What is and how to regarding "freshening of the entire Envelope Index file"?

It takes much time to copy and move thiese files to the external but I feel like I'm getting closer to resolution.

Much thanks for the support.

Bob

Mail application corrupted