Help: mail thinks i'm a new user

[Hobbit]

My latest trouble with Leopard which is really testing my nerves to the limits.

I clicked on the mail app icon to open it as usual to be faced with a dialogue box "Welcome to mail" and setup up new account. I have done nothing differently at all. The last thing i installed on the computer was the latest apple software update this morning.

I checked the mail folder in user>library>applications>mail and folders for my mail accounts and old messages are there. I have no idea what happened and certainly don't like the idea of having to setup all my accounts again (I have about 10 different mail accounts).

Has anyone faced a similar problem? any idea why this has happened?

 

[gauchogolfer]

Have you changed your user folder name recently?

 

[Hobbit]

no I haven't done anything different at all. Just carrying on with my normal life!

 

[stevo1]

Had you recently done a software update?

I've just got off the phone to my Mum - she's just recounted the exact same problem to me, which happened to her copy of Mail last Thursday (a couple of days after I'd installed Apple's Security Update 2007-2009). She's been without email since then.

She did say there was some 'update' window that popped up last week, and she can't remember what she clicked (parents, eh? Lol!)

Anyway I talked her through setting her POP account back up (luckily she only has one) and re-customising the icons as she had them. Was surprised to hear all her original messages were still there.

Curious to know what happened though, as I'd turned off 'automatically check for updates' in the Software Update controls, and I can't think of anything that she could have accidentally clicked.

 

[Eraserhead]

Curious to know what happened though, as I'd turned off 'automatically check for updates' in the Software Update controls, and I can't think of anything that she could have accidentally clicked.

Why? The updates keep you secure as they fix security flaws and should be applied when they are available.

@The OP I suspect you've just lost your preferences for Mail, backup your email folder in user>library>applications>mail and run with it to recreate the preferences, or if you are using Time Machine go to user/library/preferences and restore them.

She did say there was some 'update' window that popped up last week, and she can't remember what she clicked (parents, eh? Lol!)

It was probably for another application with auto-update .