Mail freezes

[ra7ala]

I've been using Mail since I purchased my MBP 2 months ago with no problem at all.

Tonight it started to freeze whenever I launch it.

I did Force quit then relaunch - restarted my mac, but the problem persists.

Any help please

Thanks.

[Magnus]

First, backup - backup especially all your mail, but also everything else. Have you done that?

Then, if you're on Leopard and Mail crashed or is force quit, I believe it will ask you next time it starts if you want to Reset it. Do you get that option?

And does it do this in a new Mac OS X account too, or is it just in your account?

[ra7ala]

Originally Posted by Magnus

First, backup - backup especially all your mail, but also everything else. Have you done that?

Then, if you're on Leopard and Mail crashed or is force quit, I believe it will ask you next time it starts if you want to Reset it. Do you get that option?

And does it do this in a new Mac OS X account too, or is it just in your account?

Hi Magnus.

I can't start the program - The minute it launches and starts to check mail it freezes and the mouse pointer goes round and round for ever. So, I force quit. Even if I leave it for a while it doesn't change or response.

The last thing I did half an hour before it started to act weird was adding a new mail folder to store some emails.

I haven't done any back-up yet of any email - However I have hard copies of important ones.

[Magnus]

And my last question (if you tried it in fresh account)?

[ra7ala]

Originally Posted by Magnus

And my last question (if you tried it in fresh account)?

I have only one user account.
Do you suggest to add a new account ?

[Magnus]

Originally Posted by ra7ala

I have only one user account.
Do you suggest to add a new account ?

Yes, it's a basic Mac OS X troubleshooting technique to create an account that you use for nothing else than to log into and try something when you have a problem.

[ra7ala]

Originally Posted by Magnus

Yes, it's a basic Mac OS X troubleshooting technique to create an account that you use for nothing else than to log into and try something when you have a problem.

Thanks Magnus for clarifying that point
I made an account now and I actually can log on to Mail with no problems
What can I do from here on?

Thanks.

[ra7ala]

Hi again

I was searching the net and got this solution (from mac forums) which I tried and worked fine but there were no messages in there since my settings where to delete them from the server as soon as the program acquire them into my Mac Mail inbox.

try dragging a file named com.apple.mail.plist from the Preferences folder to the Desktop. This will revert your Mail app back to its default settings, losing your customised settings. If it doesn't help, you can put the file back where you found it and retain your old settings. Only move these PLIST files when the app that is using them (Mail) is closed.

[Magnus]

Originally Posted by ra7ala

Hi again

I was searching the net and got this solution (from mac forums) which I tried and worked fine but there were no messages in there since my settings where to delete them from the server as soon as the program acquire them into my Mac Mail inbox.

Okay, some progress So it was one of the settings or one email that screwed things up. You said you copied your emails before, right? So now you can copy them back, perhaps one folder at a time.

One suggestion I'd make is sign up for a Gmail account and once in a while copy all your emails over to there as a backup. It's free and it's basically unlimited space.

[ra7ala]

Originally Posted by Magnus

Okay, some progress So it was one of the settings or one email that screwed things up. You said you copied your emails before, right? So now you can copy them back, perhaps one folder at a time.

One suggestion I'd make is sign up for a Gmail account and once in a while copy all your emails over to there as a backup. It's free and it's basically unlimited space.

Great tip, thanks Magnus.
I'll make sure of that from now on.
Appreciate your assistant all the way.