inside the mind of a linux admin

imapd: Error: Input/output error

So your IMAP mail is failing. Your e-mail client disconnects with an error related to bad authentication or simply “connection closed by remote server”. Check your mail logs, and you find:

May 25 17:52:43 vps imapd: Failed to create cache file: maildirwatch (someone@somewhere.com)
May 25 17:52:43 vps imapd: Error: Input/output error
May 25 17:52:43 vps imapd: Check for proper operation and configuration
May 25 17:52:43 vps imapd: of the File Access Monitor daemon (famd).

Found this obscure error in the system logs for IMAP. The server does not run “famd”. Make any sense? Not really. Though verbose, the output is indicative of nothing related to famd, I/O, or the cache file.

I first restarted the courier-auth daemon, which alleviated the failed login issue (seen as authentication failed or connection closed on most IMAP clients).

Second, edit the file:

/usr/lib/courier-imap/etc/imapd

and make sure IMAP_USELOCKS and IMAP_ENHANCEDIDLE are both set to 0, after that restart courier-imap:

/etc/init.d/courier-imap restart

Done, and done.

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