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RADumas

Q: how to fix a corrupt mail account

Symptom: I select a message in a 'sent' folder. The item is correct in the list view, but the actual message that comes up is an unrelated very old one. The list and the detail view are disconnected. Randomly, things get crossed up and I can't see a message I just sent.

I rebuild mailbox, and old messages get new dates. New messages disappear.

Questions:
Is there a better fix than rebuilding?
Is there a way to prevent this?

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.5)

Posted on Dec 15, 2010 12:32 PM

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Q: how to fix a corrupt mail account

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  • by juonamacbookpro,

    juonamacbookpro juonamacbookpro Dec 15, 2010 10:03 PM in response to RADumas
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 15, 2010 10:03 PM in response to RADumas
    I am having exactly the same issue.
  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa Dec 15, 2010 11:22 PM in response to RADumas
    Level 7 (32,259 points)
    iPad
    Dec 15, 2010 11:22 PM in response to RADumas
    Since you've already rebuilt the mailboxes, there is only one other troubleshooting step I can think of and that is to delete Mail's preference file - Note: you will need to set up Mail again from scratch. You might want to take screenshots of all your account windows so you can easily copy server entries and other information if necessary when setting it up again. It does not delete any of your emails.

    To delete the .plist file, quit Mail. Go to Users -> Library -> Preferences and throw the following in the trash: com.apple.Mail.plist.
    Restart Mac.
    Open Mail and go through account setup.

    Hopefully it now works as it should.
  • by RADumas,

    RADumas RADumas Dec 15, 2010 11:24 PM in response to babowa
    Level 2 (299 points)
    Mac App Store
    Dec 15, 2010 11:24 PM in response to babowa
    If I kill the plist, will it kill all my accounts and the mail I have organized into folders?
  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa Dec 15, 2010 11:27 PM in response to RADumas
    Level 7 (32,259 points)
    iPad
    Dec 15, 2010 11:27 PM in response to RADumas
    It will kill the accounts (that's why I suggested that you take screenshots of the account windows - I've done that and used them as a reference when setting up the accounts again), but NOT folders or emails. The folders/emails are in a different location.