Home Directory is Full - moving envelope index not working

Hoping someone can help! I am getting the popular "your home directory is full" message and am unable to open Mail. I searched prior discussions and it looks like most people were able to move the envelope index from home>library>mail to the desktop and it resolved it. No such luck for me - in fact I can't move the envelope index at all. It won't move or be deleted. Any suggestions out there?
Thanks!
Amy

Hi Allan,
I finally realized that I couldn't move any folders or objects (not just mail related folders) and figured out that all of this started when I connected my laptop to my desktop via firewire (target) and perhaps it was not properly ejected. So I connected again, ejected and voila - then I could move objects again. I moved the envelope index and it worked perfectly - mail is working again.
Thank you for your efforts!
Amy

Similar Messages

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    Hi There:
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    No thanks
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    Hello Aaron.
    With the Mail.app quit and using the Finder, go to Home > Library > Mail > Envelope Index.
    Delete the Envelope Index file and empty the Trash.
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    Launch Mail and you will be prompted to import all mailboxes available within the Mail folder at Home > Library > Mail.
    Select OK and allow the import process to complete. It really isn't importing anything but replacing the deleted Envelope Index file and re-indexing (so to speak) all messages.
    When completed and after confirming all mailboxes and messages are available, you can delete the copy of the Mail folder from the Desktop.

  • Mail account cannot update because home directory is full. But I can not get into mail without freezing. Is there a back door entry?

    mail account cannot update because home directory is full. But I can not get into mail without freezing. Is there a back door entry?

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    Try this:
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    Hi Snog,
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    Hi There:
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    Thanks
    W

    Hi Cyclops Images.
    Corruption of ~/Library/Mail/Envelope Index is known to cause this bogus error message in Mail, even when there is enough space available on disk.
    Verify/repair the startup disk (not just permissions), as described here:
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    Note: For those not familiarized with the ~/ notation, it refers to the user’s home folder, i.e. ~/Library is the Library folder within the user’s home folder.

  • Mail "Home Directory is Full" again

    Allan Sampson said on 6th July 2006 "With the Mail.app quit and using the Finder, go to Home > Library > Mail > Envelope Index. Move the Envelope Index file to the Desktop.
    After doing so, copy the Mail folder and place the copy on the Desktop for backup purposes.
    Launch Mail and you will be prompted to import all mailboxes available within the Mail folder at Home > Library > Mail.
    Select OK and allow the process to complete. This isn't really importing anything but replacing the Envelope Index file and re-indexing all mailboxes.
    This should resolve the problem
    After confirming all mailboxes and messages are available, you can delete the copy of the Mail folder and the old Envelope Index file from the Desktop."
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    Mac mni   Mac OS X (10.4.7)   I have five macs and two PCs

    Verify/repair your disk first (not just permissions), as described here:
    The Repair functions of Disk Utility: what's it all about?
    After having fixed all filesystem issues, if any, try the following variation of the procedure to re-create the index (it could be that you didn't also get rid of Envelope Index-journal, for example):
    1. Quit Mail if it's running.
    2. In the Finder, go to ~/Library/Mail/. Make a backup copy of this folder, just in case something goes wrong -- e.g. by dragging it to the Desktop while holding the Option (Alt) key down.
    3. Locate Envelope Index and move it to the Trash. If you see an Envelope Index-journal file there, delete it as well.
    4. Move any "IMAP-", "Mac-", or "Exchange-" account folders to the Trash. Note that you can do this with IMAP-type accounts because they store mail on the server and Mail can easily re-create them. DON'T trash any "POP-" account folders, as that would cause all mail stored there to be lost.
    5. Open Mail. It will tell you that your mail needs to be "imported". Click Continue and Mail will proceed to re-create Envelope Index -- Mail says it's "importing", but it just re-creates the index if the mailboxes are already in Mail 2.x format.
    Note: For those not familiarized with the ~/ notation, it refers to the user's home folder, i.e. ~/Library is the Library folder within the user's home folder.

  • Mail message telling me 'home directory is full'????

    Hello There, I have been happily using mail (with a gmail email account) for about a week now, but today I received a message and when I went to reply I get a message "Mail cannot update your mailboxes because you home directory is full" It then tells me to free up space in my home folder before using Mail. Delete unneeded documents or move to another volume. - I don't understand what it wants me to do or why!! I have 30 Gbs of free space on my hard drive so what's it's problem?? Any solutions?? Thanks in advance

    Hello zeetog.
    Corruption of ~/Library/Mail/Envelope Index (which in turn might be caused by some filesystem corruption) is known to cause this bogus error message in Mail, even when there is enough space available on disk — but you must make sure first that there is actually enough space available (a few GB) and that the error message is indeed bogus.
    Verify/repair the startup disk (not just permissions), as described here:
    The Repair functions of Disk Utility: what's it all about?
    After having fixed all the filesystem issues, if any, and ensuring that there’s enough space available on the startup disk (a few GB, plus the space needed to make a backup copy of the Mail folder), try this:
    1. Quit Mail if it’s running.
    2. In the Finder, go to ~/Library/Mail/. Make a backup copy of this folder, just in case something goes wrong, e.g. by dragging it to the Desktop while holding the Option (Alt) key down. This is where all your mail is locally stored.
    3. Locate Envelope Index and move it to the Trash. If you see any other “Envelope Index”-named file there, delete it as well.
    4. Open Mail. It will tell you that your mail needs to be “imported”. Click Continue and Mail will proceed to re-create Envelope Index — Mail says it’s “importing”, but it just re-creates the index if the mailboxes are already in Mail 2.x format.
    Note: For those not familiarized with the ~/ notation, it refers to the user’s home folder. That is, ~/Library is the Library folder within the user’s home folder, i.e. /Users/username/Library.

  • Mail tells me my home directory is full,

    When I start up Mail, I get the following message.
    Mail cannot update your mailboxes because your home directory is full.
    The only option is a quit button.
    However, I have emptied every mail folder in the home directory, and moved a bunch of stuff off the hard drive (there is now over 7 gigs free). I have reinstalled mail from the install disk, and repaired permissions with Tech Tool.
    Running 10.4.11 and WAS using mail 3. Any suggestions?

    Hi David, and a warm welcome to the forums!
    Couple of things to try...
    In your home folder, try moving this folder to the Desktop...
    /Library/Caches/Mail
    http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/02/08/rebuild-your-database-and-speed-up-mailapp/
    Move Envelope Index to the Desktop in...
    /Library/Mail
    Oh wait... are you using FileVault?

  • Mail wont open says home directory is full. HELP?

    I dont know what happend but i restarted my powerbook today and when i got back to the desktop and tried launching mail it gives me the following message.
    MAIL CANNOT UPDATE YOUR MAILBOXES BECAUSE YOUR HOME DIRECTORY IS FULL.
    You must free up space in your home folder before using mail. Delete unneeded documents or move documents to another volume.
    what happend to cause this and what can i do to fix it.
    Thanks

    If your hard drive has at least 5GB of free space available, quit Mail first and using the Finder go to Home > Library > Mail > Envelope Index. Move the Envelope Index file to the Desktop.
    Afterwards, copy the Mail folder and place the copy on the Desktop for backup purposes.
    Launch Mail and you will be prompted to import all mailboxes available in the Mail folder at Home > Library > Mail.
    Select OK and allow the import process to complete and a new Envelope Index file will be created automatically by Mail within the Mail folder.
    After confirming all mailboxes were successfully imported and are available, you can delete the copy of the Mail folder and the old Envelope Index file from the Desktop.
    This should resolve the problem.

  • On 10.4.11 Mac Mail I get this: Mail cannot update your mailboxes because your home directory is full. You must free up space in your home folder before using Mail. Delete unnedded documents or move documents to another volume. I can't open mail.

    On 10.4.11 iMac Mac Mail I get this message: "Mail cannot update your mailboxes because your home directory is full. You must free up space in your home folder before using Mail. Delete unneeded documents or move documents to another volume." I can't open mail to do this. I have reinstalled software but no effect. How do I get into Mail to delete?

    Found this on the "more like this" Worked like a charm!
    With the Mail.app quit and using the Finder, go to Home > Library > Mail. Copy the Mail folder and place the copy on the Desktop for backup purposes.
    Go to Home > Library > Mail > Envelope Index. Move the Envelope Index file to the Desktop.
    Launch Mail and you will be prompted to import mailboxes. Select OK and allow the import process to complete.
    After confirming all mailboxes were successfully imported and available, you can delete the copy of the Mail folder and old Envelope Index file from the Desktop and this should resolve the problem.

  • Unable to open Mail.  Home directory is full.

    Suddenly I can no longer open my Mail program. The error message I am confronted with is:
    "Mail cannot update your mailboxes because your home directory is full.
    You must free up space in your home folder before using Mail. Delete unneded documents or move documents to another volume."
    I have gone in to my home folder and deleted a ton of stuff. But I am still unable to open my Mail application.
    Any assistance would be much appreciated.

    What is your hard drive capacity and available free space after deleting a ton of stuff?
    Try the following.
    With the Mail.app quit and using the Finder, go to Home > Library > Mail > Envelope Index.
    Move the Envelope Index file to the Desktop.
    When re-launching Mail, you will be prompted to import all mailboxes located within the Mail folder at Home > Library > Mail. Select OK and allow the import process to complete.
    After confirming all mailboxes were successfully imported, you can delete the old Envelope Index file from the Desktop and this should resolve the problem.

  • Home directory is full - how do i delete?  It doesn't look full

    After my problems last week - i was able to reindex mail, but now I'm getting doubles of each email and then mail won't work because "my home directory is full"
    How do i delete? Does it mean my home folder on my mailbox account, or my iBook?
    Thanks, guys

    How did you reindex your mail?
    This error message indicates a problem with the Envelope Index file for the Mail.app.
    With the Mail.app quit and using the Finder go to Home > Library > Mail > Envelope Index.
    Delete the Envelope Index file and empty the Trash.
    Copy the Mail folder (which contained the Envelope index file) and place the copy on the Desktop for backup purposes.
    Launch Mail and you will be prompted to import all mailboxes in the Mail folder at Home > Library > Mail.
    Select OK and allow the import process to complete. This isn't really importing anything but replacing the deleted Envelope Index file and reindexing all mailboxes.
    This should resolve the "home directory is full" problem and after confirming all mailboxes and messages are available, you can delete the backup copy of the Mail folder placed on the Desktop.

  • HELP PLEASE!  Home directory is full????  Anyone ever hear of this before??

    I try to open Mail and this is the pop-up that I get:
    "Mail cannot update your mailboxes because your home directory is full. You must free up space in your home folder before using Mail. Delete unneeded documents or move documents to another volume."
    And then it QUITS.
    Anyone have any suggestions on how to remedy this????? This just started after using Tiger for about a week. I cleaned out my emails last week and deleted unused folders too. There should be gobs of space.

    Quit Mail first and using the Finder, go to Home > Library > Mail. Copy the Mail folder and place the copy on the Desktop for backup purposes.
    If you are denied copying the MaIl folder, go to Home > Library > Mail > Envelope Index. Move the Envelope Index file to the Desktop. Copy the Mail folder and place the copy on the Desktop.
    Launch Mail and you will be prompted to import all mailboxes located at Home > Library > Mail. Select OK and allow the import process to complete. A new Envelope Index file will also be created within the Mail folder at Home > Library > Mail.
    After confirming all mailboxes were successfully imported and are available, you can delete the copy of the Mail folder and the old Envelope Index file from the Desktop - if you were required to move the old Envelope Index file from the Mail folder in order to copy it.
    This should resolve the problem.

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