Thunderbird 102.2.0 frequent hangs "not responding" (then crashes @ OOM | small) on win10, and other issues
I have been using Thunderbird for several years. It has been stable, it remembered my passwords, and the calendar synchronized with my Google calendar without issue.
I recently installed a Windows update, to Windows 10 Home, version 21H1, build 19043.1889. Since the update Thunderbird frequently crashes, typically after around 10 to 30 minutes after starting.
In the hope it might resolve the crashing, I installed Thunderbird 102.2.0. Since then Thunderbird continues to crash frequently, plus I now have had the following issues:
1) Every time I start Thunderbird, Provider for Google Calendar requires me to enter my Google password and authenticate on my phone. Previously Provider just needed the password and authentication at the time of initial set up only.
2) When I click 'Get Messages', Thunderbird asks for the password to my e-mail account. If I check the box for 'Use password manager to remember this password' then 'Get Messages' always fails. If I do not check then 'Get Messages' is successful, but I have to enter the password every time.
3) Similarly, when I send an e-mail Thunderbird asks for the password to my e-mail account. If I check the box for 'Use password manager to remember this password' then sending the message always fails. If I do not check then sending the message is successful, but I have to enter the password every time.
Okulungisiwe ngu Wayne Mery
All Replies (7)
What precisely do you experience when it crashes, and how many times per day?
- a crash report dialog? https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/mozilla-crash-reporter-tb
- a hang, where it permanently stops responding?
- a temporary lack of response, which could be 5 seconds to 5 minutes?
And what do you see - exact wording from the screen, or a screen shot?
Hi Wayne,
Thanks for the reply, I'm grateful for your help.
When Thunderbird crashes the Thunderbird window greys out and becomes unresponsive. I have tried leaving it for several minutes, but still unresponsive. When I try to close the window from the task bar I get a message something like 'Thunderbird is not responding, do you want to wait or close'. When I select 'close' I get the crash report dialogue box.
I submitted two crash reports yesterday 26/08/2022 (but I did not submit a report for every crash), 6 on 25/08, 3 on 24/08. Please see list of report IDs below.
Interestingly, Thunderbird has not yet crashed today. However I am still experiencing the other issues I described above (ie sending and receiving messages not working if I ask Thunderbird to remember the password, and having to authenticate google calender every time I start Thunderbird).
Crash reports from the last 3 days:
bp-65611d87-6c53-4781-aa42-55cd50220826 26/08/2022, 17:35 bp-73a138ee-038c-4dac-b18c-e626c0220826 26/08/2022, 11:47 bp-22dc0e1a-3c42-4bda-84b0-92ad10220825 25/08/2022, 16:45 bp-391abdd9-f2f3-4422-aa52-ccc5a0220825 25/08/2022, 15:57 bp-9fd2ed71-9628-4a1a-a07e-bcf350220825 25/08/2022, 14:38 bp-dd1ad00a-3e67-408f-9668-8919a0220825 25/08/2022, 14:08 bp-ef6c5d00-8a2c-4154-9970-77bc00220825 25/08/2022, 13:18 bp-769cc75c-a91f-42b2-83af-2b4250220825 25/08/2022, 11:03 bp-1c211507-7b6f-42cf-9f89-f53f70220824 24/08/2022, 22:01 bp-94ca64e1-5be4-48c5-ae1f-ca4d00220824 24/08/2022, 17:32 bp-336b1b41-fbe0-4d2a-b80d-b1d830220824 24/08/2022, 13:50
Your crashes are a secondary symptom of the hang. For the hang ...
- Please start Windows in safe mode with networking enabled win10 https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12376/windows-10-start-your-pc-in-safe-mode
- Still in Windows safe mode, start Thunderbird in Troubleshoot mode https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/troubleshoot-mode-thunderbird
Does problem go away?
Please excuse the slow reply, inundated by family over the holiday weekend. Results:
1) With Windows in safe mode and Thunderbird in troubleshoot mode: all problems appear to be resolved (hard to say for sure that the hanging is solved as the time to hang was quite random, but I didn't see any hangs or chashes, and when I selected 'Use password manager to remember this password' then 'Get Messages', Thuderbird downloaded messages normally). And I was able to quit and restart Thunderbird and Thunderbird remembered my password.
2) With Windows in safe mode and Thunderbird NOT in troubleshoot mode: all problems appear to be resolved (but I did occasionally see the message 'The account 'name@domain' is being processed. Please wait until processing is complete to get messages').
3) With Windows NOT in safe mode and Thunderbird in troubleshoot mode: all problems appear to be resolved.
4) With Windows NOT in safe mode and Thunderbird NOT in troubleshoot mode: problems reappeared.
Update on my previous post. With Windows NOT in safe mode and Thunderbird in troubleshoot mode, three hangs this morning, after an uptime of somewhere around 2 to 10 minutes.
Another observation. In troubleshoot mode, when I go to settings>privacy and security>saved passwords I can see saved passwords for both ingoing and outgoing mail. But when NOT in troubleshoot mode there are no saved passwords.
Anything else I can try?
If anyone is interested, I have more info and a work-around.
Initially Thunderbird was working with two e-mail accounts and one google calandar, with all passwords stored in password manager. The problem seems to start with Thunderbird prompting me for the 'send' password when I try to send an e-mail. If I enter the correct password then the mail is sent correctly. However if I enter the password and check 'use password manager to remember this password' then the email is not sent and the password is not remembered. Eventually Thunderbird will lose the other passwords one by one (ie send and receive passwords for both e-mail accounts and the password for google calendar), start to run slowly, and then hang.
As mentioned above Thunderbird worked fine for me for many years. The problem first occurred after installing a Windows update, to Windows 10 Home, version 21H1, build 19043.1889. I have since removed and reinstalled Thunderbird and made a new profile folder (copying across parts of the old profile to retain my e-mail archives). Initially this cleared the issue, but it reoccured after a couple of weeks.
WORKAROUND. I found that if I remove the folder 'shader-cache' from the profile folder the issue is cleared. I can then check 'use password manager to remember this password' and the password is remembered, with everything back to normal. However the problem has always reoccured, after 4 to 20 days.