Certain accounts in Mail almost always prompt for a password

[JPigford]

I have about 15 accounts setup in Mail that get checked automatically every X number of minutes. But there seems to be a bit of a problem. Of those 15 or so, 5 specific ones have a problem with frequently prompting me for the password for each. But what's even worse is that it won't accept the password and I'll have to wait 10-15 minutes before it will. All but one of the 15 accounts are on the same server, but only 5 of them keep prompting for a password.

Any ideas on a fix?

 

[fryke]

Are either the user names or passwords longer than other accounts' user names and/or passwords? Because it seems to me that they time out while connecting and then the POP-account is locked for the next retrieval time - and usually, a locked POP-account _looks_ like one whose password is wrong to the E-Mail client. (Man, I _wish!_ they'd change that somehow. Years in supporting computers have taught me to very quickly tell users that a password prompt in E-Mail simply means they have to turn their E-Mail client off for 30 minutes or more and try again afterwards.) 15 accounts also seems like a bit _much_. If they're (almost) all on the same server, as you say, it quite clearly means that the server simply locks up on you. Do you really have to check 15 accounts on _one_ E-Mail client on _one_ computer? Couldn't you work with _one_ account and simply re-route other E-Mail addresses to that one account?

 

[JPigford]

Concerning the length of the names/passwords...they aren't all longer than the others.

As for all those accounts, they're all for different services so yes, I do need to do that. All of them really do have to stay separated.

 

[camgangrel21]

I have had this happen more then oce to me. After I reinstall OS X, what I have found out is that somehow that my keychain that is being syced with my dot mac is massing up my keychain when it recopyes it back to my new install of OS X. What I have found that will make mail stop asking for the password is to, go into keychain access and found the email address that are not remembering there password and delete them then take and start up mail and now when it asks for your password. Put it in and check the box saying save to your keychain. Now mail will make a email password in your keychain, and then it should stay working. I have found that this also happens to my IM software and my log in passwords for my other computers on the network. That is the only work around that I have found to works to get your password remembered. I hope that helps. By the way when you are in there you might want to see if there are any keys hanging around from old software you don't have any more or old sites that you no longer goto. That will help trying to found things in there faster. and it will not take as long for your mac to have look for a password.