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mail invisible after mavericks update

I have upgraded my Mac Pro 2009 to Mavericks. Mail is now invisible. When I click on the icon in the dock, the application menu appears at the top of the page, but it is not possible to view anything, zoom to anything, or open any new windows, folders, mailboxes or mail. One time only, the icon in the dock showed the number of unread emails (which I read from a web email client on a different device. Since then, no mails are retrieved.


My only email account is an ISP account (not gmail etc)


Any thoughts? Thank-you, anyone, for your help.


Leon

Mac Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.2), GTX570 w/ dual 1920 x 1080 monitors

Posted on Apr 1, 2014 1:48 PM

Reply
29 replies

Apr 2, 2014 3:44 PM in response to LRivchun

We're getting far afield from the original question.

Please follow these directions to delete the Mail "sandbox" folders. In OS X 10.9 there are two sandboxes, while in 10.8 there is only one. If you're running a version older than 10.8, this comment isn't applicable.

Back up all data.

Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:

~/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail

Right-click or control-click the highlighted line and select

Services Reveal

from the contextual menu.* A Finder window should open with a folder named "com.apple.mail" selected. If it does, move the selected foldernot just its contents—to the Desktop. Leave the Finder window open for now.

Log out and log back in. Launch Mail and test. If the problem is resolved, you may have to recreate some of your Mail settings. You can then delete the folder you moved and close the Finder window. If you still have the problem, quit Mail again and put the folder back where it was, overwriting the one that may have been created in its place. Repeat with this line:

~/Library/Containers/com.apple.MailServiceAgent


Caution: If you change any of the contents of the sandbox, but leave the folder itself in place, Mail may crash or not launch at all. Deleting the whole sandbox will cause it to be rebuilt automatically.

*If you don't see the contextual menu item, copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. In the Finder, select

Go Go to Folder...

from the menu bar and paste into the box that opens (command-V). You won't see what you pasted because a line break is included. Press return.

Apr 2, 2014 4:35 PM in response to LRivchun

This procedure is a diagnostic test. It makes no changes to your data.

Please triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:

ls -@Oaen L*/Con* | pbcopy

Copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C.


Launch the built-in Terminal application in any of the following ways:


☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)


☞ In the Finder, select Go Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.


☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.


Paste into the Terminal window by pressing the key combination command-V. I've tested these instructions only with the Safari web browser. If you use another browser, you may have to press the return key after pasting.


Wait for a new line ending in a dollar sign ($) to appear below what you entered.


The output of the command will be automatically copied to the Clipboard. If the command produced no output, the Clipboard will be empty. Paste into a reply to this message.

The Terminal window doesn't show the output. Please don't copy anything from there.

Apr 2, 2014 6:04 PM in response to Linc Davis

Library/Containers:

total 16

drwx------ 23 503 20 - 782 Apr 2 19:14 .

drwx------ 59 503 20 - 2006 Apr 1 17:47 ..

-rw-r--r--@ 1 503 20 - 6148 Apr 2 19:12 .DS_Store

com.apple.FinderInfo 32

drwx------ 4 503 20 - 136 Mar 30 14:32 com.apple.BKAgentService

drwx------ 4 503 20 - 136 Mar 30 14:24 com.apple.CalendarAgent

drwx------ 4 503 20 - 136 Mar 30 14:44 com.apple.DataDetectorsDynamicData

drwxr-xr-x 3 503 20 - 102 Jan 24 2013 com.apple.Notes

drwx------ 4 503 20 - 136 Jan 23 2013 com.apple.PassXPCService

drwx------ 5 503 20 - 170 Mar 30 15:23 com.apple.Preview

drwx------ 4 503 20 - 136 Aug 7 2013 com.apple.QuickTimePlayerX

drwx------ 5 503 20 - 170 Mar 30 14:31 com.apple.ShareKitHelper

drwx------ 5 503 20 - 170 Feb 12 23:25 com.apple.TextEdit

drwx------ 4 503 20 - 136 Mar 30 14:31 com.apple.appstore

drwx------ 4 503 20 - 136 Mar 30 14:31 com.apple.appstore.PluginXPCService

drwx------ 4 503 20 - 136 Mar 30 20:54 com.apple.corerecents.recentsd

drwx------ 4 503 20 - 136 Jan 18 17:46 com.apple.iPhoto

drwx------ 4 503 20 - 136 Mar 30 14:24 com.apple.internetaccounts

drwx------ 4 503 20 - 136 Apr 2 19:14 com.apple.mail

drwx------ 4 503 20 - 136 Mar 30 14:33 com.apple.photostream-agent

drwx------ 4 503 20 - 136 Mar 31 20:21 com.apple.quicklook.ui.helper

drwx------ 4 503 20 - 136 Mar 30 14:31 com.apple.soagent

drwx------ 4 503 20 - 136 Dec 14 15:42 com.evernote.Evernote

drwx------ 4 503 20 - 136 Mar 30 14:31 com.evernote.EvernoteHelper



Library/Contextual Menu Items:

total 0

drwxr-xr-x 3 503 20 - 102 Dec 4 2004 .

drwx------ 59 503 20 - 2006 Apr 1 17:47 ..

drwxr-xr-x 3 503 20 - 102 Dec 4 2004 ToastIt.plugin

Apr 2, 2014 7:16 PM in response to Linc Davis

Both other accounts were my own. One was from two or more machines ago, and was never used on this machine. The other was recently started while I was having another issue with Boot Camp. I had not used it for several months, and only deleted it during the current situation, after verifying that Mail did not work in that account either.

Apr 2, 2014 7:20 PM in response to LRivchun

Please read this whole message before doing anything.

This procedure is a diagnostic test. It’s unlikely to solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.

The purpose of the test is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party software that loads automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.

Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. You must hold down the shift key twice: once when you turn on the computer, and again when you log in.

Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a Fusion Drive or a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.

Safe mode is much slower to start up and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal startup may also be somewhat slow.

The login screen appears even if you usually login automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.

Test while in safe mode. Same problem?

After testing, restart as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of the test.

Apr 2, 2014 8:12 PM in response to Linc Davis

Mail still acting exactly the same.


An odd thing: going into safe mode I was asked for my password, which I have intentionally kept blank for this machine. Clicking in the password field and typing return, I was prompted for the password again, with the hint for the password from my previous machine. But it wouldn't take that password either. When I clicked outside the password box, then on my Login icon, the password challenge went away. Then, I was able to go into Safe mode by clicking the login icon again, with the shift key down.


Both is safe mode and normal, when I go to Mail Accounts and click on my account, I get an alert with "

Mail cannot send your password securely to the server. You can continue without a secured password, which could put your password at risk.

Do you want to continue without a secured password?"


If I click continue, nothing else appears to happen. If I click cancel, I am prompted for my email password (internet accounts preferences), then it looks like it is signing in, then I get the "Password could not be sent" dialog again, and then nothing else happens.

Apr 2, 2014 8:28 PM in response to LRivchun

So you have the same problem in two different login accounts, in safe mode, and after a reinstallation. That rules out everything except a problem with the mail account on the server or a bug in Mail. There isn't much you can do about either one. Your options are to contact the ISP, use a different mail service provider, or use a different mail client that may interact better with that server.

mail invisible after mavericks update

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