Can't import mail after restoring from TM backup -

[RedTomato]

I put a new SSD in my MacBook Air yesterday (running Mojave 10.14.1 fully updated). Before doing so, I did a full TM backup from scratch to an external SSD. Installed new SSD, installed Mojave from scratch, restored all files from the TM files on the external SSD. All went well or so I thought so.

Open Mail.app, it says I need to import mail. A bit odd but whatever. Roughly 138,000 messages to be imported, expected time 12 minutes (the new SSD is fast). After 30 minutes, it is stuck at 132,541 messages imported with roughly 5,000 messages to go.

I have tried it several times, and the number of messages to be imported changes each time.

Looking at console gives me Mail two error messages, both repeated several times:

Mail Error checking original data directory <private>: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=260 UserInfo={NSURL=<private>, NSFilePath=<private>, NSUnderlyingError=0x600000a80ea0 {Error Domain=NSPOSIXErrorDomain Code=2 "No such file or directory"}}

Mail Error checking backup directory (null): Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=260 UserInfo={NSURL=<private>, NSFilePath=<private>, NSUnderlyingError=0x600000aaf810 {Error Domain=NSPOSIXErrorDomain Code=2 "No such file or directory"}}

Any ideas?

 

[chown33]

Mail Error checking original data directory <private>: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=260 UserInfo={NSURL=<private>, NSFilePath=<private>, NSUnderlyingError=0x600000a80ea0 {Error Domain=NSPOSIXErrorDomain Code=2 "No such file or directory"}}

The file where it's expecting to read something, or the directories leading to it, don't exist or are inaccessible or empty for some unspecified reason. The geek summary is "the errno variable is ENOENT (2); see man intro 2".


The path to the file or directory should be given in the NSFilePath shown, which is showing here as <private>. So you should check for the existence of that item, by pasting the path into a Finder > File menu > Go... window. If the item truly doesn't exist, then remove directories from the end until you get to a directory that does exist.

Seeing the NSFilePath and/or NSURL might offer some diagnostic clues, so if it's not really private, you could post the file path.


You might try copying the entire backed up system to the SSD, which should restore it as it was, in contrast to installing a completely new system and then restoring parts from the backup. Then boot to the restored system and check your mail. If it's all there, then maybe the problem is in Mail's restoration process. If Mail is using an IMAP account, and the mails are still on the server, they should be recoverable. If POP or no longer on the server, then probably not recoverable.

 

[RedTomato]

The file where it's expecting to read something, or the directories leading to it, don't exist or are inaccessible or empty for some unspecified reason. The geek summary is "the errno variable is ENOENT (2); see man intro 2".


The path to the file or directory should be given in the NSFilePath shown, which is showing here as <private>. So you should check for the existence of that item, by pasting the path into a Finder > File menu > Go... window. If the item truly doesn't exist, then remove directories from the end until you get to a directory that does exist.

Seeing the NSFilePath and/or NSURL might offer some diagnostic clues, so if it's not really private, you could post the file path.


You might try copying the entire backed up system to the SSD, which should restore it as it was, in contrast to installing a completely new system and then restoring parts from the backup. Then boot to the restored system and check your mail. If it's all there, then maybe the problem is in Mail's restoration process. If Mail is using an IMAP account, and the mails are still on the server, they should be recoverable. If POP or no longer on the server, then probably not recoverable.

Thanks for your thoughts. What you're seeing is the entirety of the error message. I haven't taken any paths out. Where it says <private>, that's what it says in the original error message. So I don't have any file paths I could post here or paste into a Finder window.

Re copying the backed up system, do you mean something like putting the old SSD back in, using SuperDuper to clone th whole system to the external SSD, installing the new SSD, and then cloning to it? Or just copying over the Mail folder via the external SSD rather than restoring via Time Machine?
[doublepost=1541551715][/doublepost]Now getting some new errors:

Mail Message ID mismatch (iRQ8T+jlUcFa, 1m8AAijaCwtZ) for libraryID 120797
This repeats x 20, x3, x15, etc for various libraryIDs.

Mail cannot open file at line 42249 of [95fbac39ba]
Mail os_unix.c:42249: (1) open(/Users/RedTomato/Library/Preferences/com.apple.LaunchServices.QuarantineEventsV2) - Operation not permitted
The above pair of error messages repeats several hundred times.

Other repeating mail-linked error messages:
sandboxd Sandbox: lsd(293) System Policy: deny(1) file-read-data /Users/RedTomato/Library/Mail/V6/1F255B47-16B4-4AC2-A879-C7DBE5EFD7A7/Import.mbox/Mail.mbox/V2.mbox/Mailboxes.mbox/Archives.mbox/Archive Sent Messages 2004-12.mbox/82C4595B-4C98-4DE6-83EB-7CD5A6AF1A4F/Data/8/7/Attachments/78699/2/Installation (SPL)
Violation: System Policy: deny(1) file-read-data /Users/tom/Library/Mail/V6/1F255B47-16B4-4AC2-A879-C7DBE5EFD7A7/Import.mbox/Mail.mbox/V2.mbox/Mailboxes.mbox/Archives.mbox/Archive Sent Messages 2004-12.mbox/82C4595B-4C98-4DE6-83EB-7CD5A6AF1A4F/Data/8/7/Attachments/78699/2/Installation (SPL)

accountsd "Method \"<private>\" called on ACAccount without a valid ACAccountStore!"

 

[chown33]

Re copying the backed up system, do you mean something like putting the old SSD back in, using SuperDuper to clone th whole system to the external SSD, installing the new SSD, and then cloning to it? Or just copying over the Mail folder via the external SSD rather than restoring via Time Machine?

I wouldn't change where the drives are located until after you resolve the problem. That is, keep the external SSD external, but boot from it after it's connected. You should be able to verify that your Mail works as expected when booted from the external SSD.

Any cloning or copying of folders should work with the drives in their current location. I see nothing to gain by temporarily moving the old SSD to be internal. On the contrary, every installation or removal cycle adds to the risk of physical damage, such as to a cable, connector, or circuit board. Then you'll have a potentially expensive repair to deal with, in addition to the current software problems.


I don't know what to make of any of the new error messages, so I have no advice there.

 

[RedTomato]

I wouldn't change where the drives are located until after you resolve the problem. That is, keep the external SSD external, but boot from it after it's connected. You should be able to verify that your Mail works as expected when booted from the external SSD.

Any cloning or copying of folders should work with the drives in their current location. I see nothing to gain by temporarily moving the old SSD to be internal. On the contrary, every installation or removal cycle adds to the risk of physical damage, such as to a cable, connector, or circuit board. Then you'll have a potentially expensive repair to deal with, in addition to the current software problems.


I don't know what to make of any of the new error messages, so I have no advice there.

It appears to have resolved itself. After another couple of rounds of Mail freezing / hanging on import / refusing to quit, I did this:

- turned off all Mail accounts in System Prefs / Internet accounts
- opened Mail
- Mail imported some of my old mail archives no problem.
- Closed Mail and rebooted
- opened Mail again and activated one of my lesser used accounts. Mail imported some mail then froze again.
- Annoyed, I activated all my Mail accounts, turned off laptop sleep, and left my laptop running through the night.

In the morning Mail had imported everything and was running fine

With modern OSes we’re too used to getting feedback on progress. Sometimes they still need a few hours to munch on things without giving much indication that progress is being made.

Thanks for your help.