[Jan Van Boghout]

I have about a year's mail in my inbox, and I have Mail set to delete messages from the server after a week. The email accounts I use are all POP, so all my mail is snuggly on my HD after retrieval.

Now, I search back in my inbox for some old mails, find the right message title, click the message… What do I see? This mail wasn't retrieved from the server, please set this account to online, bla bla bla. WTF? Why did it suddenly decide that my old messages weren't downloaded? What makes it weirder is that not all emails show the message, but the majority.

Why would this be happening? Can I somehow check if the actual messages are still there and Mail is just screwing up?

[gif32]

Originally posted by Jan Van Boghout:
I have about a year's mail in my inbox, and I have Mail set to delete messages from the server after a week. The email accounts I use are all POP, so all my mail is snuggly on my HD after retrieval.

Now, I search back in my inbox for some old mails, find the right message title, click the message… What do I see? This mail wasn't retrieved from the server, please set this account to online, bla bla bla. WTF? Why did it suddenly decide that my old messages weren't downloaded? What makes it weirder is that not all emails show the message, but the majority.

Why would this be happening? Can I somehow check if the actual messages are still there and Mail is just screwing up?

Same exact thing for me... but even worse: after I get the yada yada about "This message has not been downloaded from the server. You need to take the account online in order to download it," mail crashes if I then exit and try to look at it again. It's done this both times I've had to install Jaguar, and in 10.2.6 as well as 10.2.8, but I only have one POP account to try it with. I figured the "leave mail on server for ___" setting was to blame so I set it to delete messages immediately since the beginning of this install.

Any ideas?? Very frustrating that I can't read my old mail...

-gif

[Angus_D]

I take it you've tried rebuilding your mailbox?

[Love Calm Quiet]

[FWIW, I'm still on Jaguar, so still have its version of Mail app ]

Coincidentally, just yesterday (before this thread appeared) I went into to .mac mail via Apple's webmail and DELETED all the the last five mails from server (350) because a bunch of huge attachments were on verge of filling my mail box limit.

Like Jan Van Boghout, I was not concerned, because some 400+ were safely(?) on my Hard Drive. [It never occurred to me that the "synchronization" process performed when I'd get online was wiping out my Inbox of whatever had expired/been deleted from server]

So I check my mail this morning, and all but the five I did not remove from Apple's server are NOT on my HD according to Mail app.

Only other messages still existing are those that I manually dragged to "On My Mac" folders. Guess I was dumb - should have known it worked that way. But (like most Mac users) I never read a manual on Mail app. Shouldn't there be some warning that mail that "expires" on or is deleted from server will disappear fm HD as well (i.e., that "In" box is not independently secure on my HD).

BTW: I had never set a length of time for mail to be deleted from server (I assumed that it was after a while but didn't worry about it since I "had a copy on HD" (ha!).

[Also, I don't readily find in the mail preferences in Mail option as to when to delete/store "read" mail from server [ drafts, sent, junk, and trash -- yes; read -- no ]. Where do you find it? Should it not be more obvious? [ Jan says "I have Mail set to delete messages from the server after a week." Doesn't look to me like that applies to "read" mail? ]

:not amused: with apple this morning

[gif32]

A possible insight into my problem:

My POP server only lets me check mail every 120 seconds. (In windows I would get an error that said this if I tried to check it more frequently; on the Mac I just get asked for my password again.)

What exactly does "going online" mean to Mail? Maybe this is the root of the problem. Is there a way to permanantly stay "offline?"

Thanks!
-Andrew