Mail and Mavericks - Fool Me Thrice, Shame on Me

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A Silverstone Author

Level 1

105 points

Mail and Mavericks - Fool Me Thrice, Shame on Me

Hi

This is the 3rd Mavericks upgrade in a row that has wrecked havoc with my Apple Mail.

I cannot get Mail to remember my preferred mail servers for outgoing mail, as well as my signature preferences.

Each time I send from certain mail accounts I am asked to pick from the list of outgoing servers.

Is there a way to force mail to remember my preferences?

Posted on Jul 10, 2014 2:19 PM

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Answer 1

Jul 10, 2014 2:55 PM in response to A Silverstone

Options:

1) Run Keychain First Aid

Open Keychain Access, located in Applications/Utilities
Choose Keychain Access > Keychain First Aid.
Enter your user name and password.
Select Repair and click Start.
If any problems are found run again to verify all repaired.

Note: some users have had to restort to starting over in a new Keychain.

Resetting your keychain in Mac OS X

2) Run Repair Drive and Repair Permissions using Disk Utility in Recovery. Also run Reset Home Directory Permissions and ACL's.

Boot into the Recovery Drive by holding down Command R when restarting.

Open Disk Utility on recovery and run Repair Drive and Repair Permissions.

On top, in the Menu Bar click the Utilities item then select Terminal.

In the Terminal window, type resetpassword and hit Return.
The Password reset utility launches, but you’re not going to reset the password. Instead, click on the icon for your Mac’s hard drive at the top. From the drop-down below it, select the user account where you are having issues.
At the bottom of the window, you’ll see an area labeled 'Reset Home Directory Permissions and ACLs'. Click the Reset button there. The reset process takes a couple of minutes.

Restart

3) Download and run the combo updater to refresh your OS X files.

OS X Mavericks 10.9.4 Update (Combo)

http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1755

Post Date: Jun 30, 2014

File Size: 958.2 MB

4) Repair Mail

With Mail quit....

Go to your User's Library folder.

**Show Library Folder**

Select the Finder in the Dock. Under Go in the Menu bar > hold down the Option key and you’ll see the Library.

Go to Containers. Drag the com.apple.mail folder to the Desktop

Go to Mail folder.

Select the V2 > MailData folder.

Delete any files in MailData with envelope in the name. (should be 3)

Go to Preferences. If you find any com.apple.mail.plist files, delete these.

Log out under the Apple in the Menu bar

Log in

Open Mail. Mail will reindex your files.

5) Remove all accounts in System Preferences > Internet Accounts.

IMPORTANT: For POP account, be sure you archive all messages in the Inbox before removing the account.

Add back accounts one at a time, verifying that they are working correctly.

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Answer 2

A Silverstone Author

Level 1

105 points

Jul 10, 2014 3:19 PM in response to dianeoforegon

Thanks. For 4) Repair Mail, what do I do with the com.apple.mail folder that I moved to the desktop?

Thanks

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Answer 3

Jul 10, 2014 3:29 PM in response to A Silverstone

You can trash it if there are no problems. I've never seen a case where a user had to put it back, but it's always better safe than sorry when doing a repair.

If you do all the steps you should have a squeeky clean install.

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Answer 4

A Silverstone Author

Level 1

105 points

Jul 17, 2014 6:16 PM in response to dianeoforegon

Hi

I finally got the courage to trash the mail folder I copied onto my desktop.

When I go to delete I am told a mail file ending in .plist is in use and cannot be deleted.

I can't recall the steps to make delete flush everything, presuming it is safe for me to do so.

Thanks

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Answer 5

Jul 17, 2014 7:36 PM in response to A Silverstone

Log Out/in under the Apple in the Menu bar or restart to delete a file in Trash that is still being used.

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