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User profile for user: sookite
sookite Author
User level: Level 1
21 points

Mail on my MacBook pro not working

Good morning.

My mail account on my 13 inch MacBookPro has stopped working and I am out of ideas.

I can receive my mail on the iMac, the 15inch MBP and on the iTouch, synchronization is working and I can also receive mail via MobileMe.Also my wife using all the above also can send and receive mail. the Internet work on all machines.

The problem is isolated to mail account on the 13inch MBP. This was working until last night when I attempted send a very large file and half way through the message said can't send it via the server and I stopped it and deleted the outgoing message. I seem to recall that I received and sent messages after that.

I have rebooted and restarted, checked the settings with the iMac and the other MBP, all are the same. I have re set the modem. Also sent messages back and forwards via my wife's e-mail on the 13inch MBP and the iMac. All sent and received ok by the other units. I have sent messages from my account to my wife and myself from the imac. Received on iTouch, Mobileme and my wife's account ok.
The problem is isolated to the 13inch and the mail programme.

The 13inch MBp has a continually spinning wheel or the bell,( seems to alternate) and a file "on my Mac" which shows numerous times a message from me at 7.27 last night with no subject. I have no idea what that is.

I hope that this gives enough info to someone to point me in the right direction as to how to reset this machine and get the mail working.

I appreciate any assistance.

Thanks everyone

Macbook Pro 15inch; iMac, i Touch,Macbook Pro 13inch, IG4, Mac OS X (10.6.2)

Posted on Dec 31, 2009 7:14 AM

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12 replies
User profile for user: babowa
babowa
User level: Level 9
78,097 points

Dec 31, 2009 8:51 AM in response to sookite

Since all your other equipment appears to be working well, one possibility would be that your Mail's preference file has become corrupted. Before proceeding, make sure you have noted/screenshots of all your Mail Accounts settings/windows, you may need them later.

Quit Mail.
Go to Users -> Library -> Preferences and throw: com.apple.mail.plist in the trash.
Relaunch Mail - it will default to the setup screen and you can either let it do its setup automatically or enter your settings manually.

You might want to try this as a first step.
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User profile for user: sookite
sookite Author
User level: Level 1
21 points

Dec 31, 2009 10:30 AM in response to sookite

Thanks for the suggestion. beofre I try that i ahvea couple of follow up questions.

1. Do i have to note all the settings if the other machines are working ok. they have the same settings on them. This "fix' will only affect the 13 inch MBP won't it?

2. Could I not restore Mail from Time Capsule from 2 days ago. Will it bring up the pre corrupted settings or should I follow previous suggestion?

Thanks for any help at all.

Happy New Year to all readers
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User profile for user: babowa
babowa
User level: Level 9
78,097 points

Dec 31, 2009 11:43 AM in response to sookite

+1. Do i have to note all the settings if the other machines are working ok. they have the same settings on them. This "fix' will only affect the 13 inch MBP won't it?+

By trashing the .plist, you will lose the settings only on your MBP; if you know what your settings need to be, you don't have to note them. My memory is less than perfect, so I have a screenshot of all my settings just in case I may ever need them.

+2. Could I not restore Mail from Time Capsule from 2 days ago. Will it bring up the pre corrupted settings or should I follow previous suggestion?+

That I'm not sure of because I do not use Time Machine and do not have a Time Capsule. However, if it wasn't working right before you backed it up, then, yes, the backup settings would also not be working right - that is, if the problem is, in fact, a corrupted preference file.

It's not a big deal to throw out the .plist file and start over - I've had to do it a couple of times when Mail was exhibiting strange behavior.
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User profile for user: babowa
babowa
User level: Level 9
78,097 points

Dec 31, 2009 1:17 PM in response to sookite

I just thought of another way to approach it:

Follow this path:
Quit Mail
Users - Library - Mail - POP-your email address folder (or IMAP if that's what you use).
You should find the following mailboxes (mbox) there:
Deleted Messages
Drafts
Inbox
Junk
Sent
Click on the Junk.mbox - Messages folder and manually drag/throw the offending message into the trash.
Empty trash.
(If you have more than one message there, throw them all out unless you want to keep junk messages because you won't be able to differentiate)

And if that doesn't work,

Graham might have a point - the only way I know of to clear caches is with a utility like Onyx. I just checked my Onyx and under Automation, it mentions clearing out caches as well as rebuilding Mail's envelope index. So, my next step would be to run Onyx and use the Automation tab. If you do not have Onyx, you can download it here (it's free):

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/systemdiskutilities/onyx.html

After you install it, run it (you'll need your password) by running the default set under the Automation tab. You'll have to restart after it is done.

Trashing a .plist file is somewhat like "reloading" because that file contains all the settings for the application, so in essence you are starting over (except for the mailboxes which are still intact).
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Mail on my MacBook pro not working

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