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The connection to the server "X" on port 143 timed out.

My Mac is running MacOS X 10.6.2,
and Mail 4.2 .

I'm using Mail from my work connexion and it is running without problem.
Today I use it from home connexion and Mail doesn't synchronize any of
my E-mail accounts. I get the following error message:<pre>The server returned the error: The connection to the server “imap.free.fr” on port 143 timed out.</pre>

I tested the said server (from a Terminal window):<pre>telnet imap.free.fr 143
Trying 212.27.48.2...
Connected to imap.free.fr.
Escape character is '^]'.
* OK [CAPABILITY IMAP4REV1 X-NETSCAPE LOGIN-REFERRALS AUTH=LOGIN] IMAP4rev1 Free</pre>
and it is replying perfectly correctly.

I also tested my accounts synchronization with Thunderbird (of course
with the same home connexion), and it is working without a trouble.

Hence there isn't any problem with my Mac, my connexion, my imap server,
my account.
But something is deeply corrupted within Mail.

How may I analyze this serious bug (the application is totally unusable)?
How may I turn Mail in a debug mode to provide any kind of trace so as to
make a usable bug report?
<pre>--------
As long as you'll see students making graphics with pen on paper,
you'll see the missing keystone of the software empire.
--
dan</pre>

Posted on Apr 28, 2010 2:35 PM

Reply
4 replies

Apr 28, 2010 10:39 PM in response to Ernie Stamper

Ernie Stamper wrote:
Click on Window in the menubar of Mail, and choose Connection Doctor -- what does it report?


Connection status: <green bullet> Mail was unable to connect to the Internet.

And for all of my accounts, Mail is displaying the rotating wheel,
and in the column says: Connecting to server…

My connexion is OK:
I'm posting this reply from the same Mac,
and I'm collecting my E-mail on the same accounts with Thunderbird.

As the rotating wheels were still rotating 2 minutes later,
just to be sure I made a check of what's going on my connection
with tcpdump. "Mail Connection Doctor"
isn't doing any connection attempt.

Just to be sure of what my eyes refused to believe,
I just restarted Mail, started a tcpdump and opened the "Mail Connection Doctor".
I see some standard trafic (IPP, http…) but nothing on port 143.
This "Mail Connection Doctor" is plainly lying to me.

Hence my original conclusion seems to stand:
there's something corrupted within Mail.
<pre>--------
As long as you'll see students making graphics with pen on paper,
you'll see the missing keystone of the software empire.
--
dan</pre>

Apr 29, 2010 6:23 AM in response to daniel Azuelos

Create a New User Account, and as that New User set up this one IMAP account. If not familiar with setting up a New User Account, see:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.5/en/8235.html

This will be a useful test, and it not meant to suggest a permanent switch to the New User Account, but rather a test of the Mail application outside of your normal User Account and its existing setup data.

Ernie

The connection to the server "X" on port 143 timed out.

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