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Emails won't delete
#35402 08/05/15 09:25 PM
Joined: Sep 2009
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Hi Guys: It's been awhile. Now that my mac has no more Applecare coverage, it's deciding to do weird things. After I delete my emails and then empty the trash, they hop right back into my inbox. Any ideas? I really don't want to rebuilt my mailboxes because I may lose stuff I have saved for a reason.

Thanks.

Rita


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Re: Emails won't delete
plantsower #35403 08/06/15 12:14 AM
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Rebuilding your mailboxes simply rebuilds the index to the messages that are currently in the mailbox. Any messages that might get lost are already lost. The deleted messages reappearing in your mailbox is a different issue. This could be a glitch in your account settings or a glitch in the account POP or IMAP server. First some questions to narrow the solution space:
  • is this happening in more than one email account?
  • Is/are the account(s) POP or IMAP?
  • Assuming there is a online portal the the account(s) have you logged onto the portal to see if the messages are actually in the trash on the portal?
  • After emptying the trash have you checked the portal to see if the messages were actually deleted?


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Emails won't delete
joemikeb #35404 08/06/15 03:05 AM
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Originally Posted By: joemikeb
Rebuilding your mailboxes simply rebuilds the index to the messages that are currently in the mailbox. Any messages that might get lost are already lost. The deleted messages reappearing in your mailbox is a different issue. This could be a glitch in your account settings or a glitch in the account POP or IMAP server. First some questions to narrow the solution space:
  • is this happening in more than one email account? Yes. I have four email accounts, three in mail.com and one in Yahoo.


  • Is/are the account(s) POP or IMAP? Imap.


  • Assuming there is a online portal the the account(s) have you logged onto the portal to see if the messages are actually in the trash on the portal?
  • By portal, if you mean Yahoo and Mail.com, I logged in after you said that. Everything is still in their inboxes, too.


    After emptying the trash have you checked the portal to see if the messages were actually deleted?

    There is nothing in the trash in my Mac email nor in Yahoo or Mail.com. I delete it in Mac Mail and it looks like it goes away but it comes back when I go into my inbox again. Nothing ever goes into my trash lately. Weird.


    Thanks for your help.

    Rita


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Re: Emails won't delete
plantsower #35425 08/07/15 06:30 PM
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BUMP!!!


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Re: Emails won't delete
plantsower #35427 08/07/15 09:09 PM
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Sorry I took so long getting back to you, things have been a bit hectic around here.

I have seen this in the past, but it has always been traced back to the email server. Specifically the email server crashing and being reloaded back to a state before the messages were deleted. Since this is happening in four accounts that is highly unlikely. That would tend to point the finger at settings in Mail.

In Mail > Preferences > Accounts
  1. Select the first account on the list of accounts
  2. Click on the "Mailbox Behaviors" tab.
  3. Down near the bottom of that window you will see a Trash can icon and to the right of that check boxes for..
    1. Move Deleted messages to the Trash Mailbox — this should be checked
    2. Store Deleted messages on the server — You choice on this one, but I would recommend it be checked
    3. Permanently erase deleted messages when they are {a time limit} — Pick an interval that fits your work style. personally I use one month but its your call
  4. Click on the next account
  5. when prompted to "Save Changes" be sure and click on SAVE or you will lose any changes you just made. NOTE even if the proper boxes were checked uncheck one, save the changes, recheck the unchecked box. The point is to force an update to the property list file.
  6. Repeat the process for each of the other three accounts.
To test whether this is working or not..
  1. Delete a message in Mail
  2. log onto the portal (mail.com or Yahoo.com)
  3. Check to see if the deleted message is in the Inbox on the portal
  4. Assuming you chose to store the trash on the server, check to see if the message is in the Trash folder there
  5. Check to see if the message is showing in the trash folder in Mail
Report any anomalies you observe.

Last edited by joemikeb; 08/07/15 09:11 PM. Reason: clarify

If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Emails won't delete
joemikeb #35429 08/07/15 10:12 PM
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OK, I did what you said. I had to uncheck some boxes, save and recheck and save. Then I deleted some emails. They stayed in my inbox and nothing was in my trash. I went to the mail.com portal (the one I am having to deal with today), and the same emails were in the inbox and the trash!




Originally Posted By: joemikeb
Sorry I took so long getting back to you, things have been a bit hectic around here.

I have seen this in the past, but it has always been traced back to the email server. Specifically the email server crashing and being reloaded back to a state before the messages were deleted. Since this is happening in four accounts that is highly unlikely. That would tend to point the finger at settings in Mail.

In Mail > Preferences > Accounts
  1. Select the first account on the list of accounts
  2. Click on the "Mailbox Behaviors" tab.
  3. Down near the bottom of that window you will see a Trash can icon and to the right of that check boxes for..
    1. Move Deleted messages to the Trash Mailbox — this should be checked
    2. Store Deleted messages on the server — You choice on this one, but I would recommend it be checked
    3. Permanently erase deleted messages when they are {a time limit} — Pick an interval that fits your work style. personally I use one month but its your call
  4. Click on the next account
  5. when prompted to "Save Changes" be sure and click on SAVE or you will lose any changes you just made. NOTE even if the proper boxes were checked uncheck one, save the changes, recheck the unchecked box. The point is to force an update to the property list file.
  6. Repeat the process for each of the other three accounts.
To test whether this is working or not..
  1. Delete a message in Mail
  2. log onto the portal (mail.com or Yahoo.com)
  3. Check to see if the deleted message is in the Inbox on the portal
  4. Assuming you chose to store the trash on the server, check to see if the message is in the Trash folder there
  5. Check to see if the message is showing in the trash folder in Mail
Report any anomalies you observe.


MacBook Pro - M2, Ventura 13.6
Safari Tech Prev 17.0
Safari 16.6
Firefox 116.0.2
iPhone 7 Version 15.8




Re: Emails won't delete
plantsower #35436 08/08/15 11:58 AM
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That is definitely anomalous behavior! confused

If you have an iPhone or iPad do you get the expected results when you delete an email there?

To verify the Mail.com mail is operating correctly, log onto the portal and delete an email from there and see if it correctly moves to the Trash folder.

If that works, then to narrow the solution space still further, try logging onto another user account on your computer and try deleting an Email while logged onto that account. NOTE You may have to setup one of your email accounts in the new logon account, but this will provide valuable information for problem solving purposes.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Emails won't delete
joemikeb #35442 08/08/15 05:09 PM
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Sorry, I don't have an iPhone or any smart phone nor a tablet. I will try your suggestions when I have a problem later today. Earlier it didn't want to work, but now everything is fine.

I checked mail.com and it was fine there, too.

One thing I noticed though. When I delete an email and it sits in my inbox in mail, it grays out. When I click on it, it just shows a gray screen. If that's a clue, great. If not, I will try your suggestions when things screw up.

Thanks so taking the time. I didn't mean to nag you when you were so busy. I just thought maybe I'd fallen through the cracks as happens sometimes. smile

Rita




Originally Posted By: joemikeb
That is definitely anomalous behavior! confused

If you have an iPhone or iPad do you get the expected results when you delete an email there?

To verify the Mail.com mail is operating correctly, log onto the portal and delete an email from there and see if it correctly moves to the Trash folder.

If that works, then to narrow the solution space still further, try logging onto another user account on your computer and try deleting an Email while logged onto that account. NOTE You may have to setup one of your email accounts in the new logon account, but this will provide valuable information for problem solving purposes.


MacBook Pro - M2, Ventura 13.6
Safari Tech Prev 17.0
Safari 16.6
Firefox 116.0.2
iPhone 7 Version 15.8





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