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Can't mail audio files
#32376 01/02/15 03:26 PM
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deniro Offline OP
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When I tried to attach a 10MB .mp4a to Mail, a graphic of what looks like a square lego block with a question mark on it appeared.

Interestingly, my brother tried to send me something two days ago, but instead of the file I received that same blue lego graphic. When I click on the graphic, nothing happens.

Why can't I mail an audio file or receive my brother's file, which I think is video?


Edited by deniro (01/02/15 11:27 AM) ET

Last edited by cyn; 01/02/15 05:33 PM. Reason: Topic moved from the "Mac OS X Applications" forum to the "Networking" forum.
Re: Can't mail audio files
deniro #32377 01/02/15 04:49 PM
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It may have to do with a size limitation that your Email Provider has on attachments. 10 MB is fairly large for some providers. Yosemite has something called Mail Drop. Mail Drop, which eliminates the problem of emailing large file attachments. As I am not using Yosemite, I can't vouch for it, but it sounds good. It will not eliminate receiving large attachments.

Re: Can't mail audio files
MarkG #32382 01/02/15 06:37 PM
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My brother tried to send me a 500K jpg today and I got the same question-mark graphic.

I tried to send the same file and got the same graphic.

Something weird here. I've never seen this before.

Re: Can't mail audio files
deniro #32383 01/02/15 08:28 PM
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Well I'm out of ideas.

Re: Can't mail audio files
deniro #32385 01/03/15 12:43 AM
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I just sent a 10.5MB file using my iCloud account. I was warned on sending that 10.5MB was large and although I received a warning that the SMTP storage limit was reached I actually receive the sent file intact. The point being while 10.5MB is at the limit it can go through the iCloud mail. That would tend to indicate the problem is a limit at your ISP.

I know you have probably mentioned this before, but who is your ISP? Have you received notice of any service changes lately? Have you checked their web site for attachment size limits? SMTP. POP, and IMAP were never intended to be used for bulk file transfer.

In truth Drop Box, iCloud, or some similar cloud based file sharing is more appropriate to an attachment of that size, even the 500MB your brother sent.


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

— Albert Einstein
Re: Can't mail audio files
joemikeb #32386 01/03/15 01:04 AM
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That isn't it.

It isn't just audio files. I was sent more pictures today and still I get the blue lego icon instead of the picture. This must be a problem with Mail. I'll try deleting the preferences.

I can see the picture when I click QuickLook.

Last edited by deniro; 01/03/15 01:06 AM.
Re: Can't mail audio files
deniro #32387 01/03/15 03:13 AM
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That didn't work.

I also hit "rebuild" without knowing what it meant and lost all my mail before Dec 2014. I tried replacing new prefs with the old prefs from my backup, but I didn't get my old mail back.

Re: Can't mail audio files
deniro #32388 01/03/15 08:33 AM
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> I also hit "rebuild" without knowing what it meant and lost all my mail before Dec 2014. I tried replacing new prefs with the old prefs from my backup, but I didn't get my old mail back.

In Snowy, you ought to be able to recreate your old mailboxes by restoring ~/Library/Mail from your backup. (Don't trash the old folder until you know that you've been successful.)


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Can't mail audio files
artie505 #32392 01/03/15 05:33 PM
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Thanks, I got my email back.

But the blue lego block problem remains. Now when I even try to send a .jpg, even a small one, by dragging it onto a new message, I get the same blue lego block question mark icon. Never had that in the past. This one really has me stumped. Weird. Mail doesn't seem to be identifying file types, whether a .jpg or mp4a.

Re: Can't mail audio files
deniro #32393 01/03/15 06:36 PM
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Have you tried logging in to a test user account to see if your issue follows you across account lines?


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Can't mail audio files
artie505 #32395 01/04/15 03:41 PM
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No. Maybe this is something with my ISP, ATT DSL. I even reinstalled the OS and still got the same problem.

I am really puzzled.

Re: Can't mail audio files
deniro #32396 01/04/15 04:46 PM
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Reinstalling OS X wouldn't correct a problem in your home folder (unless, of course, you went all the way back to square one).

Trying a test account is practically mandatory at this point.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Can't mail audio files
artie505 #32397 01/04/15 10:51 PM
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How do I do that?

Re: Can't mail audio files
deniro #32399 01/05/15 07:54 AM
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It would be easier to simply enable your guest account, but I'm not certain that going that route will give you the maneuverability you need, so...

1. Navigate to /Applications/System Preferences > Accounts.
2. Click on the padlock icon and authenticate with your admin password.
3. Click on the + sign.
4. Fill in the blanks using new full and account names. (To keep things consistent, I'd make the account an Admin account.)
5. Click on "Create Account".
6. Make a note of your e-mail account settings in Mail > Preferences > Accounts.
7. Move a couple of the attachments with which you've had trouble into either /Users/Shared or ~/Public.
8. Log in to the new account.
9. Launch and configure Mail.app.
10. Experiment both ways, i.e. have somebody send you an e-mail with an attachment with which you've had trouble, and try to send e-mails with the attachments you can access in /Users/Shared or ~/Public.
11. Let us know how you make out.

(When you finish experimenting and log back into your regular account you can delete the new one if you like, but it's never a bad idea to keep a test account around in case of emergency.)

Edit: This is a shot in the dark, but if you're running Little Snitch, disable it and see what happens, particularly on the incoming side of things.

Last edited by artie505; 01/06/15 02:03 AM. Reason: Correct red paths

The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Can't mail audio files
artie505 #32401 01/06/15 02:42 AM
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Everything worked fine in the guest account. I wonder why.

I've always used only one account, an admin account under my name. Is that wrong?

Re: Can't mail audio files
deniro #32402 01/06/15 03:13 AM
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> Everything worked fine in the guest account. I wonder why.

Because the root of your problem lies in your home folder in your regular account it wasn't perpetuated in the new one. (Only system files are common to the two accounts.) Now, maybe somebody can suggest what's wrong. Time for some cache clearing, maybe? (For my own benefit, did you use your guest account or create a new one?)

> I've always used only one account, an admin account under my name. Is that wrong?

Your default account must be an admin account, but some people prefer to keep it in the background and work out of a standard account for security purposes.

I maintain two admin accounts and use one to work out of and keep the other in the background as a test account.

Your call, really.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Can't mail audio files
artie505 #32403 01/06/15 05:10 AM
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deniro Offline OP
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I created a new admin account.

Re: Can't mail audio files
deniro #32405 01/06/15 11:10 AM
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I'd just leave it be and forget it exists until I need it.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Can't mail audio files
artie505 #32408 01/06/15 08:03 PM
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deniro Offline OP
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But the mystery remains…

Re: Can't mail audio files
deniro #32409 01/06/15 08:18 PM
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Originally Posted By: deniro
But the mystery remains…

But now it's identifiable...to a degree, at least, as something in your home folder.

Maybe somebody else can zero in on it, but the best I can do is suggest that you d/l the appropriate version of a utility such as TinkerTool System (It's shareware with a trial period.) and run its cache clearing routine.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Can't mail audio files
artie505 #32412 01/07/15 12:20 AM
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I already ran all of Onyx's functions, including clearing the caches. I don't know if TinkerTool System has a different feature than Onyx, but anyway I'm unable to download a legacy version for 10.6.

Re: Can't mail audio files
deniro #32414 01/07/15 04:44 AM
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TinkerTool System Release 2 (Legacy version) has been touted as offering the deepest cache clearing functionality; I've got no idea if it's your answer, but it's worth a try.

I'd also try booting into Safe Mode to see if there's anything to be learned: What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode?

Edit: Did you install any new apps immediately before your issue reared its ugly head?

Last edited by artie505; 01/07/15 07:46 AM.

The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Can't mail audio files
deniro #32421 01/07/15 06:22 PM
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You keep going to clean out caches, which may fix it, but I keep thinking it may have to do with a corrupt preference file in your home library or some other corrupt file in the home library. This could explain why it worked fine in the new account. As Artie said it must be something in there. It could be in Mail, or preferences. I don't have the expertise to suggest which one.

Re: Can't mail audio files
MarkG #32422 01/07/15 06:41 PM
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Unfortunately, Mark, ganbustein (Sorry, no link.) has advised us that the venerable troubleshooting technique of trashing plists not only never really worked, but now no longer works at all. (As a matter of fact, deniro has already trashed his mail prefs with no joy.)

If deniro's problem is a corrupt plist, ganbustein is going to have to kick in and tell us how to find and address the culprit.

Edit: Hmmm... Since deniro is running Snowy, he may still have a shot at resolving his issue by trashing a plist, but which one is beyond me.

Last edited by artie505; 01/07/15 06:49 PM.

The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Can't mail audio files
artie505 #32423 01/07/15 07:11 PM
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deniro Offline OP
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Well, I have a couple programs that I ran to check out the prefs: Onyx and Preferential Treatment. Everything OK.

Not that they are infallible.

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