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Crazy boxes and lines show up in emails

  • 4 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 12 views
  • Last reply by hemann2581

hemann2581
hemann2581
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I am currently running Windows 11 but I believe the problem started when I was on Windows 10. Many emails I open have black or gray boxes and crazy diagonal lines in random areas of the email. Sometimes the boxes appear like text boxes with crazy character spacing. I can close then reopen and the crazy stuff appears in different places. Sometimes the email will eventually open so that it can be read. I've tried attaching a screenshot but it doesn't seem to work. If someone replies I'll be glad to send the screenshot by email, assuming I'll be able to read the reply. It is so bad I am considering going to something else after being a Thunderbird user for over 10 years. I would appreciate any help. Thank you!

I am currently running Windows 11 but I believe the problem started when I was on Windows 10. Many emails I open have black or gray boxes and crazy diagonal lines in random areas of the email. Sometimes the boxes appear like text boxes with crazy character spacing. I can close then reopen and the crazy stuff appears in different places. Sometimes the email will eventually open so that it can be read. I've tried attaching a screenshot but it doesn't seem to work. If someone replies I'll be glad to send the screenshot by email, assuming I'll be able to read the reply. It is so bad I am considering going to something else after being a Thunderbird user for over 10 years. I would appreciate any help. Thank you!

Chosen solution

Does it look correct in safe/troubleshoot mode (hold Shift when launching TB)?

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All Replies (4)

sfhowes
sfhowes
  • Top 10 Contributor
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Chosen Solution

Does it look correct in safe/troubleshoot mode (hold Shift when launching TB)?

hemann2581
hemann2581 Question owner
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Yes, the suspect email does look correct in safe/troubleshoot mode. What do I do next?

sfhowes
sfhowes
  • Top 10 Contributor
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If hardware acceleration is enabled in normal mode (Preferences/General/Indexing), disable it, restart TB, and compare. If it still looks wrong in normal mode, launch again in safe mode, 'Reset toolbars & controls', 'Make changes & restart'.

hemann2581
hemann2581 Question owner
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Disabling hardware acceleration appears to have fixed it, at least for the suspect email. I'll know for sure when more emails come in. I used to get many whacked-out emails every day. If necessary I will follow the next step in safe mode. Thank you very much for the help - this has been aggravating me for quite a while!