Mail problem

[dick]

I have had these problems before but didn't print out the fixes:
• I can get into Mail but can't access mail, with the inbox displaying a ~ sign.
• I keep getting a 'please enter your password again' message - must be something to do with preferences (in Mail or System??)
• Some of the mails I get (such as from Macworld) appear to be html code (with a disabled or disarmed message in the sender address.

I have been able to get mail through my ISP's Webmail, but I would rather use Mail. (Also Eudora has generally worked though one of your techs suggested Firefox is better.)

Sorry to be a pain but I have been in hospital and I suspect my eMac decides to do funny things when I haven't used it for a while.

You will notice from my posts that most of my questions have revolved around the same issues. Hope you can continue your impressive advice.

Regards

Dick Garner

 

[MisterMe]

I have had these problems before but didn't print out the fixes:
• I can get into Mail but can't access mail, with the inbox displaying a ~ sign.
• I keep getting a 'please enter your password again' message - must be something to do with preferences (in Mail or System??)
• Some of the mails I get (such as from Macworld) appear to be html code (with a disabled or disarmed message in the sender address.

...

You appear to be trying to manipulate the files in Mail's Inbox folder rather than running the app. Why? To get your messages, you need to properly setup your accounts in Mail, and then allow it to access your ISP's mail servers.

If you need help setting up your accounts in Mail, then you need to give the name of your ISP and state which protocol it uses--POP3, IMAP, etc. Be advised, however, that certain free web-based mail services offer POP access only to premium (paying) users. Others--particularly Hotmail--require you to download a plug-in for Mail.

It occurs to me that you may be trying to access your mail through your hospital's domain. Many businesses restrict access to outside mail servers. This is particularly true of SMTP (outgoing mail) servers. It would not be surprising if some firms also restricted access to outside POP (incoming mail) servers.

The takeaway message is that you need to be clear about what you are trying to do.

 

[Kees Buijs]

• I can get into Mail but can't access mail, with the inbox displaying a ~ sign.
• I keep getting a 'please enter your password again' message - must be something to do with preferences (in Mail or System??)
• Some of the mails I get (such as from Macworld) appear to be html code (with a disabled or disarmed message in the sender address.

The ~ sign indicates that the mailserver is not available. Clicking will force mail to retry connecting to the mailserver.

The 'please enter ...' message appears when the stored password for the account (stored in the keychain) is not correct. Just enter the correct password and tell mail to update the keychain. This should solve the problem.

The later is caused by the way the sender sends the email and does not want to let you know who send the message (not wanting you to reply in general). You can activate HTML support in mail.


Maybe the mailserver setup is incorrect (like using MAIL in stead of MAIL.provider.com). Some providers make this possible, but it causes problems when connecting through another provider. So always use the FULL name including the provider PART.


Good luck, Kees