Mail keeps downloading the same message severytime iit logs into the server

Question

Hi,
I have several acocunts all retrieving mail from various servers.
Yesterday changed a configuration from one server to stop automatically forwarding e-mail to another server and, instead, just have mail retrieve the messages directly from that box.
Now, for some inexplicable reason, mail keeps retriving the same messages stored on each server everytime it logs in. I know have up to 4 - 6 copies of some messages in both mail boxes for these two servers. I have re-examined all my settings and they are as they should be.
I fanally trashed all old mail on the servers (there was over 1500 from the past week on one which was continuosly being downloaded.)
What could possible be causing it? How do I fix it?
Thanks.
G5 1.6Gz Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Answer 1

Never mind about the Junk Folder missing. I found out about that.
Still receiving the duplicate e-mails though.
Thanks for your help. Please read comments below.
Hi Matthew.
For POP accounts, Mail uses a file within the
account
folder to keep track of which messages have
already
been downloaded. That file may have become corrupt
or
the data stored there may have become invalid for
some reason.
You may try deleting that file so that Mail
creates
it anew, but that will also cause Mail to treat
everything still on the server as if new
and
try to download it again:
1. Quit Mail.
2. In the Finder, go to the
~/Library/Mail/POP-username@mailserver/
account folder.
3. Locate one or two files named
MessageUidsAlreadyDownloaded and move them
to
the Trash. Mail 1.x used
MessageUidsAlreadyDownloaded
to keep track of which messages had already been
downloaded. Mail 2.x uses
MessageUidsAlreadyDownloaded2 for the same
purpose.
Alternatively, you may try clicking Remove
now
in Preferences > Accounts > Advanced, which
should both remove from the server the messages
that
Mail thinks have already been downloaded and reset
MessageUidsAlreadyDownloaded.
I tried both of these messages. No luck. I finally
jsut set one of the accounts to immediately delete
the message once it has retrieved it from the server,
though that takes away a certain piece of mind that
it exists in two places at least for a weel.
Anyway. Niw my Junk mail folder has disappeared. I
had it set to train and this morning when I opened
mai it asked if I wanted it to change to automatic.
I said yes and went about looking at new mails.
There qere a lot of junk mail not beeing tagged as I
began to use command-shift-j to mark this messages,
the first few turned brown as they should. The, all
of a sudden, messages started disappearing. When I
looked for the Junk Mail folder on the left, it was
gone! I still have no idea where it is. I spent the
afternoon backing up an d running Disk Warrior. But
Junk didn't return. Any clues? (Possibly this
should be a new thread)
BTW, what are your Preferences > Accounts >
Advanced > Remove copy from server settings?
I had them set to be removed after a week. No I have
one removing them as they are retrieved. This
computer's been running like that for 3 years. Not
sure gremlin has gotten into the works but it's
frustrating as ****.
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.