Mail application will not open at all

My Mail app won't open at all. It bounces once and then nothing. I ran the Disk Utility and re-started. I tried opening it with the Shift key down, and tried moving the Mail folder and the preferences files (but it won't open at all, so I don't think that is really relevant anyways). I created another user account and the problem is duplicated in that account. What do I do next? Do I need to re-install the Mail application? How do I do that?
Many thanks in advance.
iMac G4 Mac OS X (10.3.8)

What does “I ran the Disk Utility” mean? 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, reinstall the Combo Update for the type of computer and the version of Mac OS X you’re using, as well as the latest Security Update released for that version of Mac OS X that included updates for Mail. If you were running Mac OS X 10.3.9, that would be:
Mac OS X 10.3.9 Combo Update
Security Update 2007-003 for Mac OS X 10.3.9
I’ve provided a link for Security Update 2007-003 instead of for the latest Security Update because I don’t know for sure whether the latest includes previous security updates — from the file size, it looks like it does, but the documentation doesn’t say so (it does in the case of Security Update 2007-003).
You may also want to read the following articles for guidelines on how to properly install system updates:
Troubleshooting installation and software updates
Installing software updates
Basically, you should verify/repair the startup disk and back up before installing the update, no applications should be running while installing it, and you may experience unexpected results if you have third-party system software modifications (not normal applications) installed.

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I would take your OS X installation disc and insert it in the drive, then restart the Mac and hold down the C key until you see the spinning cursor on screen. When it finishes loading, select Disk Utility from the Installer menu and first Repair Disk, then Repair Permissions, then reboot from your HD, eject the OS X disc and try Mail again.
If that doesn't work, then the best thing in terms of time and effort would be to do an Archive and Install of OS X 10.5, with the Preserve Users and Network Settings option. This will install a new copy of 10.5, while preserving all of your current folders and applications, and moving all the old ones to a folder named Previous System. You can then use Software Update to bring it current to 10.5.3, run Repair Permissions when that's done, then Mail should work normally again. Once you've confirmed that and that all your other programs and files are intact and working, you can delete the Previous System folder.
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So, I'm currently trying to update my parent's computer and in the process of updating their Mail application it has become unusable. My computer at home (not my parents computer) ran into the same problem before I updated to Lion and deleting the preferences for Mail solved it. Plus, I have read previous posts about this similar problem and a typical troubleshooting solution was to delete the Mail preferences.
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After a second call to AppleCare, they had advised me differently than before. Once they found out that my personal computer has Mac OS X Lion installed from the App Store, they suggested I simply upgrade my parents computer to Lion.
So, I used my download from the App Store and upgraded. It went smoothly, but Mail still will not open properly. And instead of the original error message, it comes up with this:
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How can I re-install just Mail? A startup disk is not accessible for me right now. Can I download the latest version of Mail and install it from the Apple.com website?

HT1146 my mail application will not open

My mail application will not open

See possible fixes here.
https://discussions.apple.com/message/19760703#19760703
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4311280?tstart=0
https://discussions.apple.com/message/19710911#19710911
Some have reported success simply by reinstalling the update.
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1586
Or download and apply, or reapply, the 10.6.8 Combo update first, then apply the Security Update again.
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1399
I'd suggest starting with the simplest of these fixes, so look them over first.

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Hi Clickchris,
CS5 Photoshop is supported on Mac OS 10.5.7 and 10.6.
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