Chris in NY
Level 1 (124 points)

Q: Just upgraded and Mail crashes =(

I'm using a MacBook Pro with Retina Screen and was using Yosemite with not one problem. I was excited to upgrade to El Capitan and did so today.

 

But immediately after restart, I found the Mail app cannot open. When invoked it crashes after just a few seconds. Any ideas how to fix this?

 

I have the error report but it is rather lot of text to throw into this post (or is it)?

 

Thanks Mac Community!!!

Chris =)

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X El Capitan (10.11)

Posted on Oct 2, 2015 2:19 AM

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Chris in NY

Q: Just upgraded and Mail crashes =(

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  • Helpful answers

  • by alex_h1,

    alex_h1 alex_h1 Oct 2, 2015 12:13 PM in response to Chris in NY
    Community Specialists
    Oct 2, 2015 12:13 PM in response to Chris in NY

    Hello Chris,

    Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.

     

    I understand from your post that Mail is quitting unexpectedly soon after you open it.  I know this must be a very frustrating issue, so to start off troubleshooting I suggest first trying to open Mail while holding the shift key:

     

    Mail may quit when you view an email message that is malformed or damaged, and it may continue to quit as long as the message remains selected. Resolve the issue by following these steps to delete the message:

    1. Open Mail and immediately hold the Shift key until Mail opens. This causes Mail to open without any message or mailbox selected.
    2. Hide the message viewer portion of the window by carefully dragging the thin separator bar between it and your list of messages. Keep dragging until Mail shows only the list of messages, not the message viewer. In this view, you can see messages only by double-clicking to open the message.
    3. Click the affected message once to select it without opening it. Then press Delete or choose Message > Move to > Trash. 

    If Mail unexpectedly quits when viewing certain messages - Apple Support

     

    If Mail continues to crash, then the next step I suggest is by booting into Safe Mode:

     

    Follow these steps to start up into safe mode.

    1. Start or restart your Mac. 
    2. Immediately after you hear the startup sound, press and hold the Shift key.
    3. Release the Shift key when you see the Apple logo appear on the screen.

    After the Apple logo appears, it might take longer than usual to reach the login screen or your desktop. This is because your Mac performs a directory check of your startup disk as part of safe mode.

    To leave safe mode, restart your computer without pressing any keys during startup.

     

    If an issue doesn't happen in safe mode

    If an issue doesn't happen when your Mac is started in safe mode, try restarting again without pressing any keys at startup. If the issue appears to be resolved when you start up normally, it was possibly caused by a cache or a directory issue with your startup disk that safe mode fixed.

    If you restart your Mac normally and an issue comes back when you reach your desktop, try disabling any login items that automatically open when you log in.

    Try safe mode if your Mac doesn't finish starting up - Apple Support

     

    Take care.

  • by Chris in NY,

    Chris in NY Chris in NY Oct 2, 2015 5:56 PM in response to alex_h1
    Level 1 (124 points)
    Oct 2, 2015 5:56 PM in response to alex_h1

    Alex,

    Thank you for your help.

    I tried both your suggestions:

    First, safe mode to open Mail -- this didn't work. Same result.

    Then, boot in safe mode. It did take longer to boot but it did successfully. I then re-booted normally and tried Mail again. Same result.

     

    I've also disabled (through System Preferences) the Google Gmail account. Some other posts seem to think that helped.

     

    And also tried:

    to remove the folder: "com.appe.mail"

    at: /Users/Home/Library/Containers/


    also to remove the MailData folder from ~/Library/Mail/V3


    Hmmmm. Yes, frustrating but like a puzzle. =)

    Any other suggestions for me?


    thx in advance!

  • by alex_h1,

    alex_h1 alex_h1 Oct 3, 2015 6:05 AM in response to Chris in NY
    Community Specialists
    Oct 3, 2015 6:05 AM in response to Chris in NY

    Hey Chris,

     

    I'm sorry to see the previous information didn't help.  Honestly since the previous information didn't help, and given your other troubleshooting, I think your best support will come through another one of our support channels.  Please use the link below to get in contact:

     

    Apple - Support - Product Selection

     

    Take care.