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Can't open Mail preferences

Just noticed this yesterday. Wasn't happening last time I checked, has never happened before, and I've been running OSX since 10.2.

Mail's preferences simply won't open!! Tried cmd-, shortcut and Mail menu command. Either way I get the normal blue flash over "Mail" in the menubar .. and then nothing. I've tried relaunching the app several times, repaired permissions, returned to the computer after an overnight shutdown, tried replacing the prefs file (com.apple.mail.plist) with several backup copies spread over the past 6 weeks ... No go.

From scouring the forum there seem to have been instances of this behaviour bugging quite a few people several years ago under Tiger. Never happened to me then, but happening now under SL.

Anyone else seen this and/or have any suggestions? Thanks.

P.S. been a while since I ran DiskWarrior, so might just try that .. but not hopeful it will fix this.

macbook2.16 & iPhone 4, Mac OS X (10.6.6), Also on home LAN: G4 macmini 1.5G and eMac 1G, both w/ 10.5.8; one PC with XP

Posted on Feb 15, 2011 6:21 PM

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10 replies

Feb 15, 2011 7:06 PM in response to Lance Lawton

It sounds like your Mail preferences are corrupted. In the Finder, locate the file

/Users/you/Library/Preferences/com.apple.mail.plist

and move it to the Desktop. Quit and relaunch Mail, then try to open the preferences. If you can, you'll have to recreate your preferences from scratch, or if you have backups, you can try to find the most recent backup of the preference file that's not corrupt.

If you still can't open the preferences, quit Mail again, replace the preference file (overwriting the one that was just created), and report back here.

Feb 15, 2011 7:42 PM in response to Lance Lawton

Trashing the preference file is an excellent idea; you just need to be aware of the fact that doing so will make Mail think it has never been opened before and you will therefore have to go through the setup again; should be automatic, but if not, it is helpful to make a note of all the settings you need (incoming/outgoing mail server, etc) in case you have to enter them.

Feb 15, 2011 9:21 PM in response to Lance Lawton

...... Right - well this is just not my day. I trashed the prefs, and created a new set of prefs (using the new account setup interface that you get when starting fresh) with the details for my primary account. Got through that -- mail viewer opened up OK -- but alas, still no go with opening the prefs window.

BTW I ran both Applejack (all tasks) and DiskWarrior before the above, and none of that fixed it either.

What do I try now? ...... Thanks.

Feb 15, 2011 9:37 PM in response to Lance Lawton

Now it gets more complicated.

First, restore your old preference file after quitting Mail.

If you have another user account set up, switch to it and see whether the problem exists in that account. If not, open System Preferences > Accounts and select the Guest account from the list. Select the checkbox to enable the account (you need to be an administrator to do this.) Close the preference pane. You should now be able to log into the Guest account by selecting it from the user-switching menu at the right end of the menu bar. There is no password. Launch Mail, go through the setup process with any data, and try to open the preferences. Regardless of whether it works or not, log out of the Guest account and go back to your own.

If you were able to reproduce the problem as a different user, then it lies in a faulty OS installation. Run the 10.6.6 combo installer and try again. Failing that, you'll have to do a clean install.

If you weren't able to reproduce the problem in the other account, then it lies in your home folder, and more investigation is needed.

Feb 15, 2011 11:24 PM in response to Linc Davis

Interesting you should say that ... I just logged in to report that I have it solved (independently of this thread, just as it happens). After a bit of experimenting with switching from 32-bit mode to 64-bit (can't remember why I had it in 32, but I think there was a reason .... ?), Mail.app crashed on launch, and the crash message mentioned one of the plugins in the Bundles folder.

After more extensive testing with disabling and re-enabling plugins in various combinations, I isolated the problem to one of the plugins which has been updated recently. Disabled that -- all running well -- sent bug report to plugin developer -- very prompt reply -- now all fixed!! 😀 (Short version - involved deleting two pref files for the plugin.)

So all happy, another mystery solved. Thanks for the tips and trouble taken.

Can't open Mail preferences

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