Mail VERY slow downloading attachments...

Question

Level 1

8 points

Mail VERY slow downloading attachments...

I'm using .mac with Mail... Why is it, if I get an email with a large attachment (say 5MB) it takes a very long time for the attachment to download? A 5MB file may take 15-20 minutes. If I go to my .mac account via the web and download the attachment, it takes seconds. But anytime a large attachment is being downloaded by mail it takes significantly longer than it should.

Any ideas?

Jeff

Powermac G5 DP 2ghz 4.5G RAM, Mac OS X (10.4.3)

Posted on Apr 25, 2006 11:24 AM

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Answer 1

Apr 25, 2006 1:08 PM in response to jsinger

This is a known problem with Mail 2.0 when an IMAP or .Mac account is setup to keep local copies of all messages. The problem can be avoided by changing the settings in Preferences > Accounts > Advanced to reduce the amount of work Mail has to do to keep the local data synchronized with the server.

Set Keep copies of messages for offline viewing to Only messages I've read or, if that doesn't work, to Don't keep copies of any messages. Also, Automatically synchronize changed mailboxes should be disabled.

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Answer 2

Sijmons

Level 4

2,095 points

Apr 25, 2006 11:49 AM in response to jsinger

Jeff, no obvious reason why it takes that long, on a fast connection it should take seconds also from Mail.

Upgrade to 10.4.6. and you will get a new Mail version as well, might help.

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Answer 3

jsinger Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 25, 2006 11:52 AM in response to Sijmons

My profile is out of date.. I am on 10.4.6.

Jeff

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Answer 4

Sijmons

Level 4

2,095 points

Apr 25, 2006 12:14 PM in response to jsinger

OK, next question,
do you have any plugins installed?

Pop up the Activity Monitor and see if the download really keeps Mail busy or something else?

Any anti-virus software running?

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