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Level 1

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[SOLUTION]Mail does not quit or show old messages after 10.4-10.5 migration

I work for an Apple Specialist in California and have found a solution to this relatively common issue. There is an interesting bug with mail I found that happens occasionally in a 10.4 (Tiger) to 10.5 (Leopard) migration. This bug will cause Mail to be unable to quit and all your messages will not appear in the mail window. I don't know if this problem manifests in any other situation but a 10.4-10.5 migration. I have seen this problem more than once since the release of 10.5.6. To fix this issue:

1. Navigate to your Library folder inside your home folder.

2. Locate the Mail folder and drag it to your desktop.

3. Launch the Mail application.

4. Mail will now ask you if you want import your messages. DO NOT HIT CONTINUE YET.

5. Navigate back to your Library folder inside your home folder. Notice there is a NEW mail folder that was created. You cannot delete this folder yet because it is in use by mail so we will just rename this folder Mail2.

6. Drag your OLD mail folder located on your desktop to your Library folder located in your home folder.

7. Go back to the Mail application and click continue. Your messages and settings should import fine now.

8. Verify that your messages and settings imported correctly and quit Mail. Navigate back to your home Library folder located in your home folder and delete the Mail2 folder.

9. Launch the Mail application again and make sure everything functions correctly.

I found a fix to this by just messing around with the issue for awhile. I have found NO good resolutions online for this bug. Good luck to you all.

Macbook Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.6)

Posted on Jan 2, 2009 3:29 PM

146 replies

Jan 7, 2009 9:57 AM in response to nolanz14

This fix didn't work for me, but something I noted that might be relevant is that when I tried to import mailboxes the import failed at exactly the same point several times in a row.

wwdguy

Level 1

0 points

Jan 10, 2009 5:01 PM in response to adamast

Wonderful, wonderful. It worked. Thanks you. I tried all sorts of stuff and nothing worked.

zzappa

Level 1

0 points

Jan 10, 2009 7:03 PM in response to adamast

Oh Yaaaaa - Worked for me! Saved hours of frustration trying on my own and finally locating this solution.

Jan 10, 2009 8:22 PM in response to adamast

Thank You Brother. Upgraded my old G4 and was pulling my hair out for most of the day. Worked like a charm.....

Jan 11, 2009 12:13 PM in response to adamast

Add me to the list of people who found this helpful!

Just did an upgrade from 10.4 to 10.5.6 and encountered this problem on only one of two user accounts on our MacBook Pro. (I didn't tell my wife that I "broke" her email!) Being pointed here from another thread, I used the simple recipe and got everything back into her account.

Many thanks!
Rob

adamast Author

Level 1

0 points

Jan 11, 2009 10:52 PM in response to adamast

Apparently his problem is far more widespread than I thought. I'm so happy this could help so many people! I'll definitely be posting more of my bug fixes to this very grateful community.

rarubio

Level 1

19 points

Jan 12, 2009 1:58 PM in response to adamast

It helped me with this exact problem. Thank you very much. Unlike some of the others, I found this thread pretty quickly and didn't have to fidget much past the initial "Uh-oh."

RR

nrcarter

Level 1

4 points

Jan 15, 2009 11:53 AM in response to adamast

Thanks so much, I've managed to get back my sent mail (plus a folder that I had set up) by following your instructions. However the old inbox is still lost in the ether. I'm not unduly worried about the loss but would like to get stuff back if I can. I upgraded from 10.3.9 to 10.5.6 on the Mini. On my iBook G4 I upgraded from 10.4.can't remember without a problem.

handyj

Level 1

1 points

Jan 15, 2009 10:31 PM in response to adamast

I am going through the same thing. I just upgraded to 10.6 from 10.5. However, after following your fix, although Mail will now launch, I have no old messages nor any of my old mailboxes. Any suggestions? I am at wits end!

jaf2001

Level 1

4 points

Jan 18, 2009 3:20 PM in response to adamast

adamast - One more happy user. I had this problem after upgrading and was struggling to figure it out. Apple should put it in their trouble shooting HELP. Your suggestion worked like a charm.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Tabascom

Level 1

0 points

Jan 18, 2009 4:09 PM in response to adamast

I just wanted to toss in my thanks as well. A migration from 10.4.11 to 10.5.6 left my Mail program with the exact symptoms you've described, and I was fortunate to find your solution within 5 minutes of searching. I too lost my rules (including, apparently, any learning about what is and isn't junk), and there were a number of already-read messages that got marked as unread, but my flags survived (very important). So, thanks adamast!

huskero

Level 1

0 points

Jan 18, 2009 8:25 PM in response to adamast

I had this problem after upgrading from 10.4 to 10.5. The fix did not work at first, because I have my computer set up for multiple users, and I moved the Mail folder in the top level Library folder. Once I realized that I needed to move the Mail folder in the User/Library folder, then it worked. Thanks.

Jan 19, 2009 1:27 AM in response to adamast

Oh thanks much ! Works great there in France with a French 10.4 to 10.5 upgrade. But what is Apple doing about it ? Ain't we 10.5.6 yet ? Mail should work, no ?

Jan 19, 2009 11:45 AM in response to adamast

Hey Adamast. Many many thanks for this. You are a real saviour. Just updated intel imac from 4.11 to 5.6 and had this problem. Took me 5 mins to find your great solution and saved me what could have been a long night!!

Jan 19, 2009 2:28 PM in response to Peter Leitner

Didn't work for me either. I still have emails I can't delete. They just won't go in the Trash!

[SOLUTION]Mail does not quit or show old messages after 10.4-10.5 migration