Level 1

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Mail takes 9 minutes to download and says "resuming interrupted append"

Recently I have begun to have problems getting my mail. After I click "get mail" it takes about 9 minutes to download from msn. This is a real problem as when the download is happening the ball spins and I can do little else but wait -- Safari is extremely slow or will not work when the mail is downloading. The phrase that shows up is "resuming interrupted append." I have rebuilt mail and used disc utility to repair permissions. Thank you.

iBook, Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Posted on May 25, 2006 11:07 AM

57 replies

StephanieA Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 1, 2006 5:43 PM in response to David Gimeno Gost

Contents of HTTPMail-Username@msn.com@msn.com :

INBOX.mbox
Drafts.mbox
Sent Messages.mbox
LMA.mbox
Deleted Messages.mbox

Contents of Mailboxes:

Sent Messages.mbox
Outbox.mbox
Saved general.mbox
LMA1.mbox
Deleted Messages.mbox
Drafts.mbox
Saved general
valerie.mbox

It still will not send.

Should I leave copies of the INBOX and Mail out on the desktop?

As I said, the Drafts folder when you see it when I view my messages has over 1400 items and yet you see nothing when you open it and I have never created a draft.

Jun 1, 2006 7:22 PM in response to StephanieA

Your Mail database is a mess, and I still don't know if this is all because of the HTTPMail plug-in, or because of something else.

1. Quit Mail.

2. Delete every Drafts.mbox, Sent Messages.mbox and Outbox.mbox that you see in either the account folder or in the Mailboxes folder. If you think they may contain messages you wish to preserve, move them somewhere outside the Mail folder instead -- we'll take care of importing those messages back into Mail later.

3. Move the Saved general folder that's in Mailboxes to the Desktop, open it, and paste its contents here.

Should I leave copies of the INBOX and Mail out on
the desktop?

INBOX can be deleted. Keep the Mail folder for backup purposes until we're done with this, though. If you don't want to keep it on the Desktop, keep it somewhere else, but don't delete it yet.

StephanieA Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 2, 2006 7:44 AM in response to David Gimeno Gost

In the Saved General folder is just this:

Herve.mbox

It is not something I want and did not realize it was still anywhere.

Now in Mailboxes are just:

Saved general.mbox
Deleted Messages.mbox

Jun 2, 2006 8:30 AM in response to StephanieA

Now in Mailboxes are just:

Saved general.mbox
Deleted Messages.mbox

Removing *.mbox folders from Mailboxes, other than those related to sending wasn't really necessary. Moving Drafts.mbox and Sent Messages.mbox out of the HTTPMail-Username@msn.com@msn.com account folder, however, may be necessary to solve your sending problems. Have you done that as well? Do the sending problems persist? Doesn't Mail behave differently now in any way?

Also, in the Finder, ctrl-click on the Saved general.mbox that remains in Mailboxes and do Show Package Contents. It probably contains just an Info.plist file. If that's the case, since you don't need the mailbox that was in Saved general, you can get rid of Saved general.mbox as well (quit Mail first).

Let me know what the situation is and whether you need further clarifications. This is becoming somewhat confusing.

StephanieA Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 2, 2006 1:57 PM in response to David Gimeno Gost

Removing *.mbox folders from Mailboxes,
other than those related to sending wasn't really
necessary. Moving Drafts.mbox and Sent
Messages.mbox out of the
HTTPMail-Username@msn.com@msn.com account
folder, however, may be necessary to solve your
sending problems. Have you done that as well? Do the
sending problems persist? Doesn't Mail behave
differently now in any way?

Mail is not behaving any differently and I still cannot send. I only did exactly what you told me to do in the last message -- no more and no less. If you asked me to do it, I have done it.

Also, in the Finder, ctrl-click on the Saved
general.mbox that remains in Mailboxes and
do Show Package Contents.

I did that and this is what Saved general.mbox contains:

mbox.SKindex
content_index
Info.plist
mbox
table ofcontents

It probably contains

just an Info.plist file. If that's the case,
since you don't need the mailbox that was in Saved
general, you can get rid of Saved
general.mbox as well (quit Mail first).

Let me know what the situation is and whether you
need further clarifications. This is becoming
somewhat confusing.

I am trying to keep it as clear as I can. I do what you ask exactly although I have not gotten rid of what you mentioned in the second to the last paragraph above as I was not sure exactly what you meant. Thank you.

Jun 2, 2006 6:51 PM in response to StephanieA

I only did exactly what you told me to do
in the last message -- no more and no less.

I don't understand. You reported first that the following items were present in Mailboxes:

LMA1.mbox
valerie.mbox

I didn't tell you to remove them, but, according to your last report, those items are no longer there. Are you saying that they've disappeared from Mailboxes without you having done anything to them?

Also, don't get rid of Saved general.mbox yet, as it contains more files than I expected. Since there was both a Saved general.mbox mailbox and a Saved general folder in Mailboxes I expected Saved general.mbox to only contain an Info.plist file, and Saved general to contain other mailboxes within it. Does that mailbox show any messages in Mail. Would you expect it to contain any messages? What's the size of the mbox file within Saved general.mbox in the Finder?

I am trying to keep it as clear as I can.

Yes, you're doing it very well, and I thank you for that. I wish everybody I've tried to help here were as diligent as you are. What worries me is that you, not just me, may become confused about what I'm asking and telling you to do.

StephanieA Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 3, 2006 12:30 PM in response to David Gimeno Gost

Maybe it would help if I copied the whole thing. In Mail are:

Signatures.plist
HTTPMail-username@msn.com@msn.com
MessageSorting.plist
Mailboxes
MessageSorting.plist.backup
Bundles
DefaultCounts
LSMMap2

Then in each of those . . .

Signatures.plist
This is one of those documents where when I try to open it says there is no default application specified to open the document

In HTTPMail-username@msn.com@msn.com are:
Deleted Messages.mbox
LMA.mbox
INBOX.mbox

MessageSorting.plist
is another one of those unopenable documents

In Mailboxes are:
Deleted Messages.mbox
Saved general.mbox (has 32 messages in it and I don't how to tell how big the mbox is)
Outbox.mbox

MessageSorting.plist.backup
is another one of those unopenable documents

Bundles
httpmail_panther.mailbundle
[inside httpmail_panther.mailbundle is contents -- inside contents are MacOS
Resources
Info.plist ]

DefaultCounts
LSMMap2
Those are both those unopenable documents.

On the desktop I have a Mail folder and a Saved General folder. There is nothing in the Saved General folder.

I checked the trash and LMA1.mbox and Valerie.mbox are in there so I must have thrown them away. I guess because they are so outdated. I apologize and feel awful that I did this without telling you. From now on I will do nothing that you do not tell me to do. The status quo is above. Thanks.

Jun 3, 2006 5:44 PM in response to StephanieA

OK. Your Mail database seems to be in good order now, except maybe for the LMA.mbox mailbox that remains in the account folder:

1. Quit Mail.

2. Move LMA.mbox out of the account folder. You can move it to the Mailboxes folder if you want to keep it available as a custom "On My Mac" mailbox, or delete it if there is nothing there you wish to preserve, or move it to the Desktop just in case.

3. You can also delete the empty Saved general folder that's on the Desktop if you wish.

Note that it could very well be that it's OK for LMA.mbox to be in the account folder, and it may even reappear there the next time you open Mail; let me know if that's the case.

At this point, if Mail still cannot send, we'll have to look at other things:

1. Go to Apple Menu > System Preferences > Accounts, and create a new user account for testing purposes.

2. Either log out of your main user account or just quit Mail so that it does not interfere with the other user account.

3. Log in as the newly created user and set up Mail anew there. You'll have to install the HTTPMail plugin there as well. Proceed as if you had never used Mail before. Be sure you install the latest version of the plugin for the version of Mac OS X you're using:

http://www.automagic-software.com/httpmail/httpmailpanther1.46.dmg.gz

You should be able to get Mail to work properly in the new user account. Otherwise, I encourage you to start a new thread either in this forum or in Mail & Address Book - Panther, asking for help on setting up Mail for your MSN account, as I don't have the knowledge to do it myself.

Note that there is no need to scare people willing to help you there talking about this thread 🙂. For all intents and purposes, you'll be setting up a new MSN mail account in Mail using the HTTPMail plug-in, and what we've done so far here should be irrelevant there.

Post back with your observations.

StephanieA Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 4, 2006 5:33 PM in response to David Gimeno Gost

2. Move LMA.mbox out of the account folder.
You can move it to the Mailboxes folder if you
want to keep it available as a custom "On My Mac"
mailbox, or delete it if there is nothing there you
wish to preserve, or move it to the Desktop just in
case.

Threw it away as I don't need it.

3. You can also delete the empty Saved general
folder that's on the Desktop if you wish.

Done.

At this point, if Mail still cannot send, we'll have
to look at other things:

Mail still does not send.

1. Go to Apple Menu > System Preferences >
Accounts, and create a new user account for
testing purposes.

Did that.

2. Either log out of your main user account or just
quit Mail so that it does not interfere with the
other user account.

3. Log in as the newly created user and set up Mail
anew there.

Where do I go to log in? I have not logged in before. I don't quite understand.

You'll have to install the HTTPMail

plugin there as well. Proceed as if you had never
used Mail before. Be sure you install the latest
version of the plugin for the version of Mac OS X
you're using:

Thanks for the link. This will take a while as I don't know what a plugin is. I did not set up my Mail program so am completely at square one here.

Again, thank you.

Jun 4, 2006 6:15 PM in response to StephanieA

In the Finder, open Mac Help from the Help menu, and read about user accounts and "Fast User Switching". If this is all new to you, you may feel somewhat overwhelmed by all that information, but I encourage you to learn about it anyway as it will prove useful in the future. Ask for any clarifications or if you need further info.

StephanieA Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 5, 2006 6:53 PM in response to David Gimeno Gost

Thanks. It looks like this is going to take a fair amount of time and I will address it when I have some free time. BUT as soon as I can as it is creating so many problems and causing me to make so many inconvenient accommodations to the situation.

Is there any chance I could just reinstall Mail?

Jun 6, 2006 2:13 AM in response to StephanieA

Is there any chance I could just reinstall Mail?

I don't think so. Note that your sending problems started as a result of something that happened at the server.

Moreover, properly reinstalling Mail is harder than it seems. It would require using a piece of software to extract it from the Panther installation packages, and reinstall the Mac OS X 10.3.9 Combo Update afterwards. It looks to me like adding yet more complexity to this for no apparent benefit.

What you may want to try is reinstalling just the HTTPMail plugin. This is simpler and has a greater chance of success -- but don't hold your breath either.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Mail takes 9 minutes to download and says "resuming interrupted append"