Mac OS X 10.4.1: Mail.app 2.0: Bundles now disabled; Problems with POP accounts, more
Bundles now disabled Under Mac OS X 10.4.0, a number of issues were caused by the presence of Mail.app "bundles" -- add-ons that provide Webmail connectivity, spam protection and more.
Apple has disabled support (without re-installation) for many of these bundles under Mac OS X 10.4.1 as a workaround for issues that were occurring in Mac OS X 10.4.0.
One reader notes "MarketCircle's DayLite Mail Integration (DMI) plug-in is broken after applying the Mac OS X 10.4.1 updater."
Another reader writes: "Mac OS X 10.4.1 has disabled Mail Enhancer. Now if any of my emails goes to any folder other than Inbox, there is no indication of new mail on the mail icon on the dock."
The popular httpmail plug-in, which provides Hotmail connectivity from within Mail.app, is also non-functional under Mac OS X 10.4.1.
The disabling of these plug-ins is noted in Apple's release notes for Mac OS X 10.4.1, with the statement: "(Mac OS X 10.4.1) resolves a potential issue in which Mail could unexpectedly quit, stop responding, or fail to import your previous emails if third-party software were installed in a ~/Library/Mail/Bundles or /Library/Mail/Bundles?this update prevents previously-installed plug-ins from loading."
The solution, in this case, is to re-install any Mail bundles that were previously present.
Problems with POP/IMAP accounts Several readers are noting problems accessing stored mail in current POP or (less frequently) IMAP accounts in Mail.app after upgrading to Mac OS X 10.4.1.
One poster to Apple's Discussion Boards, Albert Cooper, writes:
"Add me to the list of users that are having trouble with mailboxes since updating to Mac OS X 10.4.1. I have tried clicking on Rebuild. I get a spinning wheel beside the mailbox but still cannot view the messages in the mailbox. Messages are displayed in some mailboxes and not others. I can pull up messages by entering a few letters in the search box for the mailbox and open a selected message."
For most users experiencing this problem, mail data is still visible in the Finder in ~/Library/Mail, and messages inaccessible in Mail.app can still be found using Spotlight.
MacFixIt reader Steve Sussmann corroborates and further describes the issue:
"I, too, had problems with seeing mail in my various mailboxes since upgrading to 10.4.1. In some cases, clicking on one of the headers in the mailbox ('From,' 'Sent,' 'Attachment,' etc.( would sometimes show the mail. However in my largest mailboxes, it would not. My Yahoo! mail sub-inbox would show mail, but it wouldn't show up in the general inbox."
MacFixIt reader Byron adds:
"I have been having big problems with Mail after upgrading to Mac OS X 10.4 (first 10.4, then 10.4.1) on my Aluminum PowerBook G4. When I open up mail, the activity viewer shows that it is trying to get mail in four separate accounts I have for me and my family. But then the application freezes and a spinning beach ball appears for the cursor. My only recourse is to Force Quit and restart Mail. Then it shows that 2 emails came through but that is all and it tries to get email again followed by another spinning beach ball."
Potential Solutions
Re-installing the standalone Mac OS X 10.4.1 updater Several readers have reported that re-applying the standalone Mac OS X 10.4.1 updater rather than the version available through Software Update resolves this issue.
MacFixIt reader Steve Siegel, for instance, writes:
"After I updated with Software Update, my mailboxes wouldn't show the contents. They indicated that new mail was there, but it was inaccessible. I downloaded the standalone upgrade to Mac OS X 10.4.1, repaired permissions, and restarted under Safe Mode, did the install and then restarted and repaired permissions again. Now everything works perfectly."
Clearing font caches For some users, corrupt font caches can cause problems when accessing individual mail messages or performing other tasks.
Clearing font caches with a tool like Font Finagler can resolve these issues in many cases.
Archive and Install Failing the above measures, some readers have noted that a full archive and install of Mac OS X 10.4.0, then re-updating to Mac OS X 10.4.1 is required to restore proper Mail.app operation.
One reader writes:
"Deleting the com.apple.mail.plist preference made no difference. The only thing that worked was deleting the Mail.app entirely, emptying the trash, and running an archive and install from my 10.4 disk and running software update. Since doing this, Mail has worked fine."
Index:
Resources
- AFP Issues: Not inheriting permissions, can't set file attributes
- Distorted prints from Preview.app caused by ColorSync changes
- System freezes occurring when in/entering full-screen mode; QuickTime-related
- Problems creating disk images from Mac OS X 10.3.x (Panther)- burned media
- iSync 2.0: Problems synchronizing; potential solution
- Kernel panics when copying large files
- Live spell-checking problem, solution
- Loss of AirPort connectivity/weaker signal, solutions
- Problems with Mac OS 9 system access to Mac OS X Server-stored files
- Mail.app 2.0: Bundles now disabled; Problems with POP accounts, more
- Problems mounting disk images
- Printer Problems: Launching Epson's Printer Utility
- Problems with some internal modems
- Release Notes, difference between Software Update/download versions
- Safari 2.0: Downloads window re-sizing bug
- Problems with sleep; Solutions
- Spotlight: Tips for faster searches, problems with .DAT files; more
- Third-party applications
- Widgets: Conflict with Helvetica Neue; Dashboard crashes
Albert Cooper standalone Mac OS X 10.4.1... Font Finagler archive and install AFP Issues: Not inheriting permissions, can't set file attributes Distorted prints from Prev... System freezes occurring w... Problems creating disk ima... iSync 2.0: Problems synchr... Kernel panics when copying... Live spell-checking proble... Loss of AirPort connectivi... Problems with Mac OS 9 sys... Mail.app 2.0: Bundles now ... Problems mounting disk ima... Printer Problems: Launching Epson's Printer Utility Problems with some interna... Release Notes, difference ... Safari 2.0: Downloads wind... Problems with sleep; Solut... Spotlight: Tips for faster... Third-party applications Widgets: Conflict with Hel... More from Late-Breakers
I hope this observation might tip someone to look in a new direction. Yesterday, I was looking at my Macaroni Daily Unix Maintenance log, and I came across this:
mail:
postqueue: mail: Mail system is down -- accessing queue directly
Mail queue is empty
In addition, re-installing OSX 10.4.1 standalone updater yesterday did me no good with Mail.
Hope someone can get to the bottom of this Mail mess soon!!