Mail cannot update your mailboxes since Home Directory is full

eMac G4 1.25GHz SuperDrive Mac OS X (10.4.6) 1 GB ROM
This error in loadig Mail has occured after an Erase disk and re-install Tiger.
All my old Home Folder files where imported from Backup volumn.
The root administrator was activated to chown and chgrp
w/ the Terminal.app
Still something is going wrong.

How much disk space do you have available on your Mac's boot drive? To find out, click once on the boot drive, then pull down the file menu and select "get info."

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"Mail cannot update your mailboxes because home directory is full

This is on my laptop, not my desktop. How do I fix this?

The "home directory" that error message talks about is supposed to be your Home folder, but the error message is bogus and the problem is often something else. What's the capacity and space available on the startup disk?
BTW, a post can only be edited during the first 15 minutes after posting it.

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.

"Mail cannot update your mailboxes because your home directory is full"

I have a 250 GB hard disk, 4.34 GB of which is in my "Home" folder. (Total HD usage is about 27 GB.) This happened suddenly after Mail had been working fine for eons. I deleted a bunch of files (107 MB) in a "Drafts" folder (none show up in the Mail app's "Drafts" icon), but it made no difference. I re-installed the Mac OS X 10.4.11 combo update... no difference. Mail version is 2.1.3.
Any help here? I cannot use Mail at all.
Message was edited by: Bill Strohm

Hey there,
Have you had a chance to look at this Apple support document relating directly to this issue. Hope it helps.
[Mac OS X 10.4: "Mail cannot update your mailboxes because your home directory is full" alert|http://support.apple.com/kb/TA24486?viewlocale=en_US]
B-rock

MAIL cannot update your mailboxes---error in MAIL 2.1

"MAIL cannot update your mailboxes---"
Have 26 Gb of space left and found the fix to delete the Envelope Index file. I moved Envelope Index to the DT and relaunched MAIL. It seemed to import 1200 items, then it just goes to colored wheel of death. Had to Force Quit 3x.
Any ideas? Im trying to help a senior fix this problem. She cant get her email.

Hi Steve,
Not certain, but this can fix myriad Mail problems...
Safe Boot from the HD, (holding Shift key down at bootup), it will try to repair your Disk Directory while the spinning radian is happening, so let it go, run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, then move these folder & file to the Desktop.
Move this Folder to the Desktop...
/Users/YourUserName/Library/Caches/Mail/
Move this file to the Desktop...
/Users/YourUserName/Library/Mail/Envelope Index
Reboot.

"Mail cannot update your mailbox because your home directory is full"

For some reason when I try and open Mail I get this prompt with "quit" as the only option. I've repaired permissions to the disc. I've emptied some data from the 'home folder' as the prompt suggests. I've restarted many times. Any ideas?

Corruption of HOME/Library/Mail/Envelope Index is known to cause this bogus error message in Mail. AFAIK, the file that needs to be re-created is Envelope Index, not Envelope Index-journal. The latter may very well not be present at all (actually it shouldn't be present when Mail is not running).
I wonder, however, whether Envelope Index-journal is present in your case, and whether just removing that file makes any difference, so please try what Mulder suggested first and post back with your observations. If that doesn't work, the procedure I suggest in cases such as yours follows.
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, and making sure that your disk does have enough available disk space and that the error message is indeed bogus, try this:
1. Quit Mail.
2. In the Finder, go to HOME/Library/Mail/. You may want to 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 the Envelope Index file and move it to the Trash. If you see an Envelope Index-journal file there, delete it as well.
4. Launch Mail again and proceed to re-create the index -- Mail says it's "importing", but it just re-creates Envelope Index if the mailboxes are already in Mail 2.0 format.

Mail cannot launch because it says Home Driectory is full? It is not full!!

Hi There:
I have two users on my computer and for some reason I cannot launch my mail program on one of them. Both users are listed as administrators and I have 2 hard drives installed using a firmtek controller card. The first drive where the OS is installed is an 80Bg drive with more than 57Gb available.
When I launch Mail on the first user ut says:
Mail cannot update your mailboxes becasue your Home Directory is full. You must free up space. Delete unnecessary files or documents. The thing is I have tons of space. The other user I can launch mail with no problems. I do have multiple mailboxes set up with the mail program that has the issues.
Please advise
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:
The Repair functions of Disk Utility: what's it all about?
After having fixed all the filesystem issues, if any, and making sure 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, i.e. ~/Library is the Library folder within the user’s home folder.

Mail cannot access your mailbox information because it is in use

I have my mail on a Truecrypt drive and I have an alias pointing to that drive in my library and so sometimes I get this message:
"Mail cannot access your mailbox information because it is in use."
Options are:
"Quit and rebuild Information" or "Quit"
If I rebuild then I was losing all my sent messages which is a drag and it takes a while to re-download all the messages. So what I tried was deleting the Envelope Index.lock file and then launch mail and it started up with no problems.
I think the reason this is happening is that it is possible that when I shut my computer down, Truecrypt dismounts the drive while Mail is accessing the mail folder (hence the lock file) and so when I start up again and remount the truecrypt drive that lock file is still there and I have to delete it or Mail thinks some other program is using the mail folder. Just a guess.
Hope this helps someone else if they Google this error.

I do but I do it from another computer -- that is the whole point of IMAP, by the way. I don't see how my accessing the IMAP server from another computer should cause Mail.app to think that my mailboxes on my local host, which are just copies, need to be rebuilt. I filed a bug on this and Apple gave me the annoying "Known issue" response, which means maybe they'll fix it, maybe not, thank you very much. It went away for a while, and now it's back again... sigh.

"Mail cannot access your mailbox information because it's already in use. Rebuild Mailbox information Quit" Both quits Mail.

After installing Yosemite, my Mail stops working after about 20-30 seconds when this Dialog Box pops up, freezes Mail and says:
"Mail cannot access your mailbox information because it’s already in use.
Another application on your computer or on your local network is using your mailbox information. Click Quit to quit Mail. Then log out of this computer and any other computer you’re using. After you log in again, open Mail on one computer only.
If this message reappears, there may be a network server problem. Contact your system administrator to determine if it can be resolved by rebuilding your mailbox information. Then click Rebuild Mailbox Information.
If this message reappears, there may be a network server problem. Contact your system administrator to determine if it can be resolved by rebuilding your mailbox information. Then click Rebuild Mailbox Information.
Rebuild Mailbox information Quit"
Clicking on either one quits Mail. I am receiving my emails. I can even send my self a test email and receive it before it freezes up in 20-30 seconds. My ISP thinks it's a "Kernal" software problem.
Through advice by a friend, I have tried:
Applications - Utililities - Disk Utilities - and selected my hard drive and then click Repair Permissions
Rebooted a bunch of times. The first time Repair Permissions printed a few pages of stuff. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th times, it printed out this:
Repairing permissions for “Macintosh HD”User differs on “private/var/db/displaypolicyd”; should be 0; user is 244.Group differs on “private/var/db/displaypolicyd”; should be 0; group is 244.Repaired “private/var/db/displaypolicyd”
Permissions repair complete
But I still have the same problem I stated the the beginning of this:(
Any more advice?

I have the exact same issue, just after installing Yosemite. Please advise

Mail cannot update mailbox

When I try to open Mail I receive the following message and the only option is to select quit which closes the mail program. How do I delete these unneeded documents? Thanks.
"You must free up space in your home folder before using Mail. Delete unneeded documents or move documents to another volume."

Hi John, and a warm welcome to the forums!
Are you using Filevault?
"Mail cannot update your mailboxes because your home directory is full' alert"...
http://support.apple.com/kb/TA24486
Mac OS X 10.3, 10.4: FileVault - How to verify or repair a home directory image ...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2631?viewlocale=en_US

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.

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.

Mail not opening, "Home directory is full" ???

I am unable to open my mail application. I'm getting the following error 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 don't understand. When I check my home folder there is plenty of space.
Any help is greatly appreciated!
Thank you
Aaron Yassin

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.
Using the Finder, go to Home > Library > Mail. Copy the Mail folder and place the copy on your 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 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 says my home directory is full

I've been having some major system problems of late.
Following the successful restoration of my laptop's hard drive today I launched Mail. It was very sluggish & came up with the error 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."
My hard drive has 23 GB of free space.
My home folder is 47 GB in size.
Can someone please explain what's going on here? Mail won't launch until I sort this issue.

Yay! It seems to have solved the problem with my e-mail. Thanks very much.
Now, I'll mention this here, as I know you'll be checking back, but I'll also start a fresh thread in the proper place about another irritating system problem I'm having.
When I try to copy from my home directory to an external hard drive, (about 600mb of data in this instance), it starts to copy in the normal way, saying about a minute remaining) then suddenly stops...
... and waits, while "time remaining" increases.
A short while ago it got as far as saying 40 minutes!! For 600mb!!
I tried to launch my browser while this was happening & it was having none of it.
I tried to launch the "force quit applications" window. Again nothing.
Then I stopped it copying & the other things opened.
It's as if "copying" suddenly asks for more power than the computer can supply & everything else takes a back seat. The copying begins, but at an absolute snail's pace.
If I left if for 40 minutes it would probably copy successfully, but why so slow? I have about 30GB of data I need to remove from my hard drive before I can do a clean install, but at this speed I don't think I'm going to live long enough!

Mac Newbie - Problem opening Mail, says home directory is full

I am new to Mac so forgive my ingnorance. I have been using Mail with no problems but just now (and each successive time despite restarts), when I open Mail a box pops up that says
"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 appreciate any help.
G-Mc

Try the following.
Quit the Mail.app first and using the Finder, go to Home > Library > Mail > Envelope Index. Delete the Envelope Index file and empty the Trash.
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 located in the Mail folder at Home > Library > Mail.
Select OK and allow the import process to complete. This process isn't really importing anything but replacing the deleted Envelope Index file and re-indexing all mailboxes.
If this resolves the problem and after confirming all mailboxes and messages are available, you can delete the copy of the Mail folder placed on the Desktop.

Mail cannot update your mailboxes since Home Directory is full

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