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Thunderbird (v91.3.0): passwords work only in troubleshoot mode, but I have no add-ons

  • 2 replies
  • 1 has this problem
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  • Last reply by jlarranz111

jlarranz111
jlarranz111
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TB latest version (91.3.0) recently installed in a new Windows 10 computer. The profile has been patched from another computer and works fine, but TB's asking me for the server passwords when I download email.

TB doesn't have add-ons because (I believe) I uninstalled them in error (playing with the troubleshooting mode). Anyway I don't care much about them at the moment, and I haven't installed any of my own. The TB (working well) where the profile has come from has Lightning installed by default.

If I open TB the normal way, it asks for the server passwords that it should remember. The passwords list (Preferences -> Privacy and Security -> Saved passwords) appears empty.

But if I open TB with the parameter "-safe-mode", it downloads the mail w/o asking any password, and the passwords list is okay. It doesn't matter if you have ticked "Disable all add-ons" or not at the beginning. The annoyance of this mode is that the TB window is quite smaller than I want, and the message contents sub-window is much lower than I want, if favour of the upper messages list one (the "normal mode" remembers these sizes okay but asks for passwords).

Any fix or workaround?

TB latest version (91.3.0) recently installed in a new Windows 10 computer. The profile has been patched from another computer and works fine, but TB's asking me for the server passwords when I download email. TB doesn't have add-ons because (I believe) I uninstalled them in error (playing with the troubleshooting mode). Anyway I don't care much about them at the moment, and I haven't installed any of my own. The TB (working well) where the profile has come from has Lightning installed by default. If I open TB the normal way, it asks for the server passwords that it should remember. The passwords list (Preferences -> Privacy and Security -> Saved passwords) appears empty. But if I open TB with the parameter "-safe-mode", it downloads the mail w/o asking any password, and the passwords list is okay. It doesn't matter if you have ticked "Disable all add-ons" or not at the beginning. The annoyance of this mode is that the TB window is quite smaller than I want, and the message contents sub-window is much lower than I want, if favour of the upper messages list one (the "normal mode" remembers these sizes okay but asks for passwords). Any fix or workaround?

Chosen solution

Well, I found a fix that worked here:

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1350009

ghuber1 : [...] I found an advise to delete [profile] files cert8.db, cert9.db, key3.db, key4.db, logins.json and secmod.db. That solved my problem. [...]

sfhowes : [...] Deleting the .db files is a standard remedy for password issues, since TB recreates them on restart. [...] In current TB, the relevant files are key4.db, cert9.db, logins.json and pkcs11.txt; the others are obsolete.

it's good to backup the profile before doing this. I copied it to the desktop.

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All Replies (2)

jlarranz111
jlarranz111 Question owner
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I tried the pkcs11.txt trick described elsewhere, but I don't have such file, neither in the original profile patched nor in the current one installed.

jlarranz111
jlarranz111 Question owner
more options

Chosen Solution

Well, I found a fix that worked here:

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1350009

ghuber1 : [...] I found an advise to delete [profile] files cert8.db, cert9.db, key3.db, key4.db, logins.json and secmod.db. That solved my problem. [...]

sfhowes : [...] Deleting the .db files is a standard remedy for password issues, since TB recreates them on restart. [...] In current TB, the relevant files are key4.db, cert9.db, logins.json and pkcs11.txt; the others are obsolete.

it's good to backup the profile before doing this. I copied it to the desktop.