# Mac Mail Help **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 23, 2009, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-mail-help/494054 "2009-04-23T02:44:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![shelbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@shelbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shelbo)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-mail-help/494054/1 "2009-04-23T02:44:28Z")
I recently upgraded my OS to Leopard, and now my mail box won’t retrieve messages from the server. Everything seems to be connected, the account info box shows 86 messages on the server ready to be sent to my computer, but I can’t get the mail program to retrieve them. Any suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-mail-help/494054/2 "2009-04-23T03:40:12Z")
Are you sure that your account information is configured correctly, especially your POP server and password? What, if any, error messages are displayed? ---
**Author:** ![Soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-mail-help/494054/3 "2009-04-23T04:54:53Z")
Make sure your POP or IMAP are set up and ready to go on BOTH ends. Damn near went insane trying to figure out why I couldn’t get mine to work until I realized that Mac Mail was set up perfectly…I just never turned it on on the web-based part. ---
**Author:** ![Tyrrell\_McAllister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tyrrell_mcallister/32/16772_2.png) [@Tyrrell\_McAllister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tyrrell_McAllister)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-mail-help/494054/4 "2009-04-23T06:39:08Z")
Just throwing out an idea: Might mail be configured to leave “read messages” on the server? And might it be somehow misidentifying the messages on the server as “read”? ---
**Author:** ![St.Urho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@St.Urho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Urho)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-mail-help/494054/5 "2009-04-23T07:20:23Z")
I had this same problem when I upgraded a few days ago. You need to delete a couple preference files, then rebuild your mailboxes. I’ll post the details when I get home from work. ---
**Author:** ![St.Urho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@St.Urho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Urho)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-mail-help/494054/6 "2009-04-23T10:04:24Z")
[Here is the link on the Apple Support site I followed](http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2537). From the Mail Folder, in the Library Folder, I moved these files to the desktop: MessageRules.plist MessageRules.plist.backup MessageSorting.plist MessageSortling.plist.backup It worked fine after moving those files, so I trashed them. If you do that, you may need to redo your junk mail rules. I didn’t have any, so I can’t say. Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-mail-help/494054/7 "2009-04-23T11:31:01Z")
it is a simple thing, but I tripped up on it. Have you checked to make sure your account is online? preferences/accounts/advanced. Check the online box. I believe the default is online, but it is possible to have it turned off by mistake… ---
**Author:** ![shelbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@shelbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shelbo)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-mail-help/494054/8 "2009-04-23T16:43:42Z")
Thanks everyone (esp. St. Urho). I’ll try those steps when I get home tonight. ---
**Author:** ![St.Urho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@St.Urho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Urho)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-mail-help/494054/9 "2009-04-23T17:19:38Z")
You’re welcome. Also, I forgot a step- after you’ve removed the files, you need to rebuild your mailboxes. If you select a mailbox, the bottom option on the “Mailbox” menu is "rebuild. That will bring back all your archived messages.