mac mail madness

[alan tabb]

I can't believe my Mac has a virus, but... for the last few days my mac mail account on my MacBook Pro has been behaving strangely! At first, it was automatically uploading triplicate copies of every e mail I've received since February... I was racing to delete 2500 emails a day... Today, before I left for work, I deleted around 2500. When I returned home, my mailbox says I have 120,209 un read emails and my entire computer is running slow. What is going on? Any ideas?

Today, it has been duplicating(!) to the tune of 30 copies of each email! I cannot empty the mail trash fast enough to stop this.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hi Alan,

A couple of questions for you to help diagnose the issue:

-You are using the Apple Mail app, correct?
-What kind of email account - Gmail, HotMail, etc?
-Do you have more than one account setup?
-If using Apple Mail, I assume it only does the replication when the Mail app is open and running?
-If you view the email account on the Internet via a web browser, does the issue occur there as well?

We'll see if we can correct this issue for you.

C

 

[alan tabb]

I can't believe my Mac has a virus, but... for the last few days my mac mail account on my MacBook Pro has been behaving strangely! At first, it was automatically uploading triplicate copies of every e mail I've received since February... I was racing to delete 2500 emails a day... Today, before I left for work, I deleted around 2500. When I returned home, my mailbox says I have 120,209 un read emails and my entire computer is running slow. What is going on? Any ideas?

Today, it has been duplicating(!) to the tune of 30 copies of each email! I cannot empty the mail trash fast enough to stop this.

It only happens in Mac Mail.... my internet mail does not do this... it happens constantly, even when my computer is off... and after I close Mac Mail.... usually, right after I delete the last of the duplicated emails, it starts immediately to repopulate preparing to upload 2489 (or something similar) all over again. Is something in the software causing this? This is the not the newest application because I cannot update any more; I have a MacBook Pro from 2007

 

[Cory Cooper]

OK.

-What is the domain of the email address - i.e. @gmail.com, @hotmail.com, etc.?
-Which version of Mac OS X and Mail?
-How is the email account setup - IMAP or POP (we can help you determine if your aren't familiar)
-Do you have any Mail Rules setup? Mail > Preferences > Rules

It isn't possible for the issue to continue if the computer is powered off or the Mail app is not running. If you clear all the emails out, are you actually quitting the Mail app, or just closing the message viewer window?

Yes, it is definitely a software issue, but we need more information to determine what is causing it.

C

 

[alan tabb]

OK.

-What is the domain of the email address - i.e. @gmail.com, @hotmail.com, etc.?
-Which version of Mac OS X and Mail?
-How is the email account setup - IMAP or POP (we can help you determine if your aren't familiar)
-Do you have any Mail Rules setup? Mail > Preferences > Rules

It isn't possible for the issue to continue if the computer is powered off or the Mail app is not running. If you clear all the emails out, are you actually quitting the Mail app, or just closing the message viewer window?

Yes, it is definitely a software issue, but we need more information to determine what is causing it.

C

Actually, before I can close anything, as soon as the last item is deleted, it automatically starts uploading more emails... i just opened mac mail again today and I have 11065 (and counting) they come from today back through may 18 and fourteen copies of each email; I checked the rules and there are none that I can see, only a message from Apple... right now incoming is showing 550 of 3030 under mail activity... using Mac mail 4.6 and running 10.6.8 OS X... IMAP.charter.net (internet provider)
I've tried quitting Mail, then shutting down, I tried Restart, In the mailboxes window I hit cancel to stop the incoming mail so I can catch up and delete... I have two email accounts and now the second one is similarly being affected... Thanks for looking into this, but don't spend all day on it... I appreciate your help but dont want to monopolize your time

 

[Cory Cooper]

***NOTE: I edited your message above to remove your email addresses. It isn't a good idea to post them in a public forum post, as they can get harvested by SPAM bots.

No worries about the time, that's why we are here. It is good that it is setup as IMAP, as that stores your email messages on the server.

Additional questions
-Do you have any emails saved in folders on your Mac? It sounds like most are still in your Inbox?
-Do you have any email you cannot lose?

Possible fix
-Read this old CNET article that has another troubleshooting step:
Multiple copies of Mail messages miff much maligned Mac users

If you have a current Time Machine or other backup and we could try these
-You could always delete the accounts in Mail, then re-add them. It sounds as if you have a corrupted file within the Mail preferences folder.
-Move the entire Macintosh HD > Users > yourusername > Library Mail folder to the Desktop and restart Mail.

I think the CNET article could cure it, even though it is mostly for POP not IMAP.

C

 

[alan tabb]

Hi Alan,

A couple of questions for you to help diagnose the issue:

-You are using the Apple Mail app, correct?
-What kind of email account - Gmail, HotMail, etc?
-Do you have more than one account setup?
-If using Apple Mail, I assume it only does the replication when the Mail app is open and running?
-If you view the email account on the Internet via a web browser, does the issue occur there as well?

We'll see if we can correct this issue for you.

C

yes, when using the app. Doesn't occur in my charter.net email. just charter email, not hotMail or GMail... the replication seems to be running constantly...retrieving old email as well as current... I usually use Safari, but my charter.net provider says my safari version is not supported... but I cannot upgrade my MacBookPro...too old I guess... so I used Chrome to navigate... could something have infected my mail app through that browser?

 

[alan tabb]

***NOTE: I edited your message above to remove your email addresses. It isn't a good idea to post them in a public forum post, as they can get harvested by SPAM bots.

No worries about the time, that's why we are here. It is good that it is setup as IMAP, as that stores your email messages on the server.

Additional questions
-Do you have any emails saved in folders on your Mac? It sounds like most are still in your Inbox?
-Do you have any email you cannot lose?

Possible fix
-Read this old CNET article that has another troubleshooting step:
Multiple copies of Mail messages miff much maligned Mac users

If you have a current Time Machine or other backup and we could try these
-You could always delete the accounts in Mail, then re-add them. It sounds as if you have a corrupted file within the Mail preferences folder.
-Move the entire Macintosh HD > Users > yourusername > Library Mail folder to the Desktop and restart Mail.

I think the CNET article could cure it, even though it is mostly for POP not IMAP.

C

Ill try it. thanks

 

[alan tabb]

Ill try it. thanks

Well, I cannot get this worked out...today I have 125,000 new emails (58 copies of each dating from Feb 1, 2015)... Ironically, this only happens on my MacBookPro (circa 2007); my email on my iMac (2013) is fine. Is there a way to get rid of my mac mail app and get another one for the MacBookPro? Is it too old? I know that I cannot upgrade much of anything anymore unless I get a newer OS... but the new ones don't run on the 2007.
I tried the CNET approach, but couldn't get it to work.... I cannot figure out how to restart my MacMail app.... Or should I just delete the account and start over? Can I use the same address? Or will it revert to the same problem? It appears to be the software, so can I upload a new/unaffected copy of MacMail for the 2007?

when I followed the strategy to restart mail, I got a message saying the "index" was damaged and that Mail would repair it when it was re-opened.... Well, I hit the continue button and re-opened mail...only to find it automatically uploading some 3347 incoming messages....so apparently that did not work

 

[Cory Cooper]

Sorry that didn't work.

It's not the Mail app itself, so there;s no need to delete/reinstall it.

If you have all the mail from the two accounts on your iMac, and you are sure you won't lose any, then we can go to a more invasive reset of the Mail app.

Let me know and I will give you the steps.

C

 

[alan tabb]

Sorry that didn't work.

It's not the Mail app itself, so there;s no need to delete/reinstall it.

If you have all the mail from the two accounts on your iMac, and you are sure you won't lose any, then we can go to a more invasive reset of the Mail app.

Let me know and I will give you the steps.

C

Im waiting with bated breath.... I tried finding the mail folder and leaving it on the desktop and restarting mail... although I deleted everything first... and now it appears to be working...? That is, I am not immediately receiving thousands of emails at once... should I throw that folder in the trash and get rid of it? When I go to Mac HD and look under the files, there is a new(?) Mail folder with fewer items in it. Is that the reboot? Or the rebuilt MacMail program? It almost seems like I can junk/trash the other folder that I put on the desktop before...but there are an awful lot of files in it....

 

[Cory Cooper]

Part of the process I mentioned was exactly what you did:

Move yourusername > Library > Mail folder to the desktop and relaunch Mail.

Mail will recreate this folder and re-sync with the mail server. The corruption that was causing the issue should be in that Mail folder.

I would leave that Mail folder on the Desktop until Mail finishes syncing, just in case you are missing any emails. If you are sure they are all on your iMac, you can trash the Mail folder immediately.

C