# /usr/bin/maildrop: Unable to create a dot-lock.

## m00re

Hi!

I'm using fetchmail and maildrop for fetching and delivering my mails. In the poast, this was working like charm for me, but since I had to re-install my whole system, I always get an error, when mails should be delivered through maildrop:

```

/usr/bin/maildrop: Unable to create a dot-lock.

fetchmail: MDA gab Status 75 ungleich Null zurück

```

I have a global fetchmail config file /etc/fetchmailrc, in which I have specified my POP3 accounts etc.

```

set daemon 300

set postmaster "m00re"

set no syslog

set logfile /var/log/fetchmail.log

                                                                                                   

poll pop.web.de with proto POP3 interval 4

  user "blubb" there with password "blubb" is m00re here ssl

  mda "/usr/bin/maildrop"

                                                                                                   

poll pop.gmx.de with proto POP3 interval 3

  user "blubb" there with password "blubb" is m00re here ssl

  mda "/usr/bin/maildrop"

                                                                                                   

poll mail.m00re.de

  protocol POP3 authenticate password interval 1

  username "blubb" there

  with password "blubb"

  is m00re here

  mda "/usr/bin/maildrop"

```

This file is used by the init-script of fetchmail and should set fetchmail in deamon mode, sleeping 300secs for each intervall.

For maildrop, I have a user .mailfilter file in the home-directory of the user "m00re":

```

# This gets all spam

xfilter "/usr/bin/spamassassin"

if(/^X-Spam-Flag: YES/)

{

        to /home/m00re/.maildir/.Trash

}

```

This just filters out the spam, marked by spamassassin. When I run fetchmail by user ("fetchmail -m /usr/bin/maildrop", using a local user fetchmailrc with the same email accounts), everything is working great, but  as mentioned above, in daemon mode, I get the error stated above.

maybe, somebody has a hint for me, where to look closer. My problem is, that I don't know very much about email systems, how they function, so I don't know what this error could be in detail. Must be something about permissions, but I don't know which files/dirs need which permissions. All the applications have the standard permissions after a clean emerge, didn't change anything).

Greets Jens

----------

## shira

can anyone shed some light on this

I've been looking all night and haven't found a sound solution to the problem

----------

## shira

any idea on what I've done wrong?

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## synfault

I had this problem as well, until I had a look in maildrop's ebuild and changed the configure option:

--disable-tempdir

into

--enable-tempdir

voila, errormessage vaporized.  :Smile: 

Your mileage may vary.

----------

## shira

thanks for the input but that didn't seem to work although I'm going to give it another shot after completely unmerging maildrop

----------

