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flying.boy

Q: Why does Mail show Downloading Messages of over 15000 when I deleted them all?

I'm new to Mail on the Mac ...  When I start Mail the activity box at the bottom shows an incremental count of downloading messages. The number is currently over 15,000 yet I have deleted all messages from all mailboxes, even the spam and junk.  What am I doing wrong?

Note I am using an iMac with El Capitan, all software up-to-date.  Thanks.

Apple TV, OS X Yosemite (10.10.4), AppleTV version 1

Posted on Jan 17, 2016 5:13 AM

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Q: Why does Mail show Downloading Messages of over 15000 when I deleted them all?

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  • by QuickTimeKirk,

    QuickTimeKirk QuickTimeKirk Jan 17, 2016 5:50 AM in response to flying.boy
    Level 9 (53,134 points)
    Jan 17, 2016 5:50 AM in response to flying.boy

    Did you also empty the Trash folders for all accounts?

  • by flying.boy,

    flying.boy flying.boy Jan 17, 2016 5:52 AM in response to QuickTimeKirk
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 17, 2016 5:52 AM in response to QuickTimeKirk

    Yes.  All folders were treated with SelectAll/Delete.

     

    I'm not a novice with computers, but new to Apple Mail.

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Jan 17, 2016 9:45 AM in response to flying.boy
    Level 9 (71,259 points)
    iTunes
    Jan 17, 2016 9:45 AM in response to flying.boy

    Are the e-mails actually downloading?

     

    Try rebuilding the mailbox.

     

    Rebuild mailbox

     

    If that doesn't work, try re-indexing the mailboxes. This can take awhile if you have a lot of mail.

     

    Reindex messages        For El Capitan, try looking in V3.

     

    Reindex messages (2)        See post by Linc Davis

  • by flying.boy,

    flying.boy flying.boy Jan 17, 2016 10:01 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 17, 2016 10:01 AM in response to Eric Root

    Thanks.  I shall try this later tonight (UK) when I have some time.

  • by flying.boy,

    flying.boy flying.boy Jan 17, 2016 5:27 PM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 17, 2016 5:27 PM in response to Eric Root

    Thanks for the suggestions, Eric.

     

    I tried  'rebuild mailbox' on all defined accounts and it had no effect on the problem.

     

    The suggestion to  'reindex messages' - I don't really understand this. I followed the links, started to follow the instructions, then lost my nerve as I really didn't understand.

     

    During today the number of "new messages downloading" rose from 15,500 to 15,632, though there was a maximum of 20 new emails arriving. I'm wondering if there is some connection to my ISP  (Virginmedia) and their policy for retaining messages on the server, even if I can't access them. ??

     

    Additional data:  I've just bought a MacBookPro, and I've set up the email accounts there too.  Curiously, it does not show the same problem.  Instead, the activity bar flares briefly while it is downloading some messages, then says there are no unread messages.  So there must be something wrong in my iMac configuration.

     

    Off to bed now. If you have more ideas or suggestions I'll pick them up at 10:00 GMT tomorrow. (today)

     

    David

  • by flying.boy,Solvedanswer

    flying.boy flying.boy Jan 17, 2016 5:34 PM in response to flying.boy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 17, 2016 5:34 PM in response to flying.boy

    Stupid to reply to my own post, but I thought I should report this immediately:-

     

    After setting uup the email accounts on the new MBP and finding that Mail behaved correctly, I shut it down and made the previous post. Then before shutting the iMac down I tried closing and re-launching Mail.  The problem seems to have resolved itself.  !!! ???

        

    I don't know if it was anything we did, or whether the fault was self-correcting.

     

    Anyway, I'm very grateful for the interest shown and the help offered.

     

    David  (with apologies for setting the hare running, then shooting my own fox)