# osx email problem



## kunta (Jun 17, 2004)

I am a mac newbie(virgin) . I have a mac os10 that keeps refusing to download email content. It will download the header for the email... ie.. the the name, subject etc... but not the content of the email. weird....

There is another mac osx that is setup the same way using the same pop account that is not having this problem. I rebooted the machine and then everything worked...for a while and then content disappeared again.

When I open an email i get the message that the email needs to be downloaded from the server.

I was gonna ask about antivirus, firewalls, spyware and if I need some software to protect against these?

Power Mac G4
Power PC G4(3.3)
1.25 Ghz
L2 Cache 256kb
L3 Cache 1 mb
memory 768 mb
bus speed 167 Mhz
boot rom version 4.48f2

I am using the mail program that comes with the mac...looks similiar to ms outlook.

1 user on machine

Any suggestions?
Thanks


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## Wet Chicken (Sep 11, 2000)

kunta said:


> It will download the header for the email... ie.. the the name, subject etc... but not the content of the email.


Are they both set up the same? There is a option to just show the headers, but the e-mail should still be there if you click on it. Otherwise you should be able to reinstall the mail program and check for corrupt files.



> I was gonna ask about antivirus, firewalls, spyware and if I need some software to protect against these?


You don't need to worry about antivirus or spyware, although some will try to scare you into buying it. Just make sure your firewall is turned on in preferences and you should be fine


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## kunta (Jun 17, 2004)

Wet Chicken said:


> There is a option to just show the headers, but the e-mail should still be there if you click on it. Otherwise you should be able to reinstall the mail program and check for corrupt files.
> 
> You don't need to worry about antivirus or spyware, although some will try to scare you into buying it. Just make sure your firewall is turned on in preferences and you should be fine


Thanks. when i rebooted everything worked fine for a few minutes then the content disappeared again.

Yes, the other macs are setup the same way. They all download from the same pop accounts. the advanced tab in mail preferences is set to leave mail on the server. that way the other computers can also download the same emails for redundancy.

I am new to the mac.

I assume re-installing the mail program is similiar to the "peecee"?  (I like saying that? Ha!) Just find the cd that came with the computer?

How do I check for corrupt files?


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## Wet Chicken (Sep 11, 2000)

kunta said:


> How do I check for corrupt files?


You won't need to check for corrupt files. When you reinstall the program again it will automatically overwrite any corrupt file for you.

I wouldn't install anything just yet. Wait for someone to give you specific directions on how to do it. Otherwise you might accidentally format your hard drive. There are some options that you need to make sure aren't checked off. I am going to be partitioning my hard drive next week so if someone doesn't tell you how to install the program by then, then I will 

.


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## MSY-Houston (Dec 5, 2004)

kunta said:


> I am a mac newbie(virgin) . I have a mac os10 that keeps refusing to download email content. It will download the header for the email... ie.. the the name, subject etc... but not the content of the email. weird....


Is this pop account at work?

You might check with the server end of things, just to make sure the problem is not on their end (even with two computers setup the same way, they are not using the same lines, accounts, etc.)


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## kunta (Jun 17, 2004)

actually two of the mac are pulling the same accounts for redundancy. a third mac is setup slightly differntly in that it pull different accounts from the same host. I will check with the provider in the morning to rule that out.

Thanks.


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## MSY-Houston (Dec 5, 2004)

kunta said:


> actually two of the mac are pulling the same accounts for redundancy. a third mac is setup slightly differntly in that it pull different accounts from the same host. I will check with the provider in the morning to rule that out.
> 
> Thanks.


Is the "redundant" Mac pulling on the same account actually linked to the account at the exact same time the "problematic" is trying to download? If so, that's may very well be the problem (in which case, this may not be a Mac/PC problem at all. Then you need to consider an alternate way to backup your email system once it is downloaded to the first computer's hard disk.


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## kunta (Jun 17, 2004)

MSY-Houston said:


> Is the "redundant" Mac pulling on the same account actually linked to the account at the exact same time the "problematic" is trying to download? If so, that's may very well be the problem (in which case, this may not be a Mac/PC problem at all. Then you need to consider an alternate way to backup your email system once it is downloaded to the first computer's hard disk.


This way was working fine and still is on 2 out of 3 macs and 1 peecee that is also pulling the same accounts. In the account setup the advanced tab has an option to leave all mail on the server after it has been downloaded. Thats the option that I am using so that the other machines can also download the emails.

I talked to the host and they think the problem is with the machine in question (likely story), since the other computers work fine.

I am stumped , and I don't get stumped often.


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## MSY-Houston (Dec 5, 2004)

Maybe your Preferences file got corrupted. Try pitching it and building a new one.


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## kunta (Jun 17, 2004)

MSY-Houston said:


> Maybe your Preferences file got corrupted. Try pitching it and building a new one.


how?


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## MSY-Houston (Dec 5, 2004)

You know, the problem could be hardware--the actual Mac CPU, ports or something else--that's causing problems. Having said that, if you want to try pitching prefs, here's what I'd do.

BTW, I've never had to pitch internet connection settings in OSX, but I would try this myself. Look at the list below and pull the items to your desktop. Don't throw them away because these may not be what's causing the problem, and you may need to put them back in. 

After you pull the items to the desktop, restart your computer and the system should automatically create/build new files. I also don't know what software you are using to connect to the POP server, so you may need to find those prefs and pitch them as well.

There are a couple of Libraries listed in different places in OSX. Two of the Libraries contain a Preferences folder. You are NOT to pull anything out of any Library, except from a Preferences folder residing within the Library folder.

1) Root-Hard Disk/Library/Preferences

2) Root-Hard Disk/System/Library/

3) Root-Hard Disk/Users/username/Library/Preferences

Look for the Preferences folder through the path shown in Item 3, specifically:

com.apple.internetconfig.plist
com.apple.internetconnect.plist
com.apple.internetpref.plist

and, depending on your software:

RemoteCapture Pref
Any other Preference files that you think could be connected to this.

Restart.

Good luck. I'm not sure what else to try, so maybe someone else has a suggestion.


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## kunta (Jun 17, 2004)

ok, I still have this problem. I am of the mind to backup everthing and just start over.
Will a "peecee" external hard drive work on a mac?
What do I need to do to reinstal the mac os?

Thanks!


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## Wet Chicken (Sep 11, 2000)

kunta said:


> Will a "peecee" external hard drive work on a mac?


Thankfully hard drives don't come in peecee and Mac versions. How were you going to plug it into the Mac (_firewire is best but USB is OK too_).



> What do I need to do to reinstal the mac os?


Your operating system disk, like OS-X or OS-9... boot up with it in the drive and it should walk you through the set up. There is a good tute on the Apple site about this but I don't have the link. Hopefully somebody else will have it, but it's really very easy to so. If I run across it today I'll post it for you tonight...


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## kunta (Jun 17, 2004)

Wet Chicken said:


> Thankfully hard drives don't come in peecee and Mac versions. How were you going to plug it into the Mac (_firewire is best but USB is OK too_).
> 
> Your operating system disk, like OS-X or OS-9... boot up with it in the drive and it should walk you through the set up. There is a good tute on the Apple site about this but I don't have the link. Hopefully somebody else will have it, but it's really very easy to so. If I run across it today I'll post it for you tonight...


great! so you are saying that a pee cee external hard drive with data on it does not have to be reformatted for the mac? just plug in the usb and go?


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## MSY-Houston (Dec 5, 2004)

While it is true that Macs can read most hard drives, the same is not true for PCs. If a hard disk is formatted for a Mac, not all PCs will recognize the drive.

Also, though the Mac will recognize the drive, it will operate/function better if you format the drive for a Mac system. Only do this if you are sure that you are not going to connect the hard drive to a PC in the future. 

To format the drive for a Mac, use the Apple Disk Utility program.

Houston


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## MSY-Houston (Dec 5, 2004)

To install/reinstall OSX, startup the OSX CD and follow the prompts. Look carefully at all menus and buttons. There will be a couple of Options buttons. If you select new install, it will wipe your disk to install the new program. So be sure you backup everything before you do this.

Also, you do have the option of installing a new System and making a folder with the old system still on the drive, so you can pull extensions to the new system, if necessary. This feature is under one of the Options buttons.

In your case, I'd start from scratch.

Martha


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## Wet Chicken (Sep 11, 2000)

kunta said:


> so you are saying that a pee cee external hard drive with data on it does not have to be reformatted for the mac? just plug in the usb and go?


NO! I am saying that if a person buys a new external hard drive, that they can use it on either the Mac or a peecee. You simply need to format it in the appropriate OS. If you have peecee files on your drive now then you'll need another drive.

Do you have access to a CD or DVD recorder? You could always put the files on a disk....


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## MSY-Houston (Dec 5, 2004)

You know, I reread all of the posts. Were you using a different system when you had both computers linked to the same email account, trying to download files at the exact same time? 

I still have a nagging feeling that there is some connection with that as to why you are experiencing email problems. It just seems to me that two simultaneous connections to a POP account is going to be problematic. Can't tell you exactly why, because I'm just not up enough on servers, etc., to tell you, or to advise you further.

I do wish you luck.

m


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## MSY-Houston (Dec 5, 2004)

If you haven't before, maybe try posting your problem in the email section of this web site.

m


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