If you have problems with Eudora, either under Mac OS 9 or X, and the usual tricks like installing the latest version, increasing memory (Mac OS 9 only), etc don't work you should suspect damaged preferences.
Eudora stores many preferences. Even though the preferences window allows you to set many of these there are still many more you can't set this way. Unfortunately this means that if one of the "hidden" settings gets confused its hard to detect and fix.
Common symptoms of this are...
1
Not printing from Mac OS X. After choosing print everything seems to work normally except nothing ever appears.
2
Your signature appears on the email message while you are typing it, but by the time the message gets to the recipient the signature is gone.
To fix this do the following...
1
Run Eudora and copy and paste to a text document (or write on a scap of paper) any setting that looks important, especially your account name, POP server, SMTP server, and return address. You also need to know your password. If you don't type a password when you check mail Eudora has been told to remember it. I hope you can too, or you're stuck! If you can't contact your service provider and get a new password allocated for your email.
2
Quit from Eudora and locate the Eudora mail folder. This is not where the Eudora program is stored. Its usually called "Eudora Folder" and is stored in the Documents folder (the one in your Home folder in Mac OS X). Open the Eudora Folder and rename "Eudora Settings" to "Eudora Settings (Disabled)".
3
Start Eudora again and put the settings you have recorded back in the correct place. Check your mail and enter your password.
4
Try the function that previously gave the problem (eg printing or sending mail). It should be fixed. If it isn't and you want to go back to your previous preferences, just quit Eudora, delete the new setting file, remove "(Disabled)" from the previous settings, and restart Eudora
This will solve many mysterious Eudora problems. Remember, Eudora is a good, solid program, which hasn't got any major security flaws and, even when problems occur, is easy to fix. So don't be tempted to switch to programs like Outlook Express or Entourage which are full of security and other problems.
My latest blog post: Think for Yourself: In the end, everything is just an opinion. Be skeptical, and think for yourself! (posted 2026-04-25).
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