Thunderbird 24 "Not responding"

[DanRaisch]

Redriver:

1. Unless you uninstalled the McAfee software using the uninstall utility from their web site, there may still be McAfee processes running on that computer and causing problems. And McAfee is one of the security programs most often associated with problems sending and receiving email through an email client like Thunderbird.

2. Unless you specifically specified that TB was to remove personal data, uninstallng and resinstalling the Thunderbird program does nothing to the profile, where settings and data files are stored and where most problems arise.

3. In case the matter is not clear, MozillaZine is not run by or formally associated with Mozilla or the Mozilla Foundation. We are an independent user-helping-user forum.

4. If you search through the "not responding" posts on these forums you'll find that the vast majority of them are resolved by either eliminating a problematic security program or a problematic extension installed in Thunderbird. Only a very few ever turn out to be problems directly caused by the Thunderbird program itself.

[redriver]

Hmmm. That is a very inconvenient and "fine mess" I got myself into. I think I accepted the free McAfee surveillance program offered without my request. I've certainly never been to their website. I hope it can help me identify and use their uninstaller in the present state of having uninstalled it through Windows 8.1

Okay, I can remove all personal data from Thunderbird during the uninstall / reinstall.

Thanks for pointing that this forum is not run by Mozilla. It does make it a lot more useful to be independent.

Since there were so many different cures and rarely any repeated acknowledgments that a specific change had helped more than one person, I took it that nearly all "went away sorrowful." I think the uninstall of SOME version of McAfee was the only one I saw with more than one person saying it stopped their problem. I thought all the other users gave up and stopped writing.

[DanRaisch]

Since there were so many different cures and rarely any repeated acknowledgments that a specific change had helped more than one person, I took it that nearly all "went away sorrowful."

That's probably not a valid assumption. Many folks take the advice offered and never post back with results. They MAY have gone away unsatisfied but there is no way to know. In a good number of those cases, the advice offered and never acknowledged is the same advice that was reported to successfully resolve the same problem in another thread.

[skmeans]

I see a lot of denial and finger-pointing at other possible causes, but it's clear to me that this problem has to do with Thunderbird. I have searched the net high and low for solutions to this, and have tried virtually everything (ThunderFix, uninstalling and re-installing, changing various TB settings, etc. etc.), and nothing works. I don't even run anti-virus software on this computer... QuickText is my only add-on... I have an SSD with plenty of space... no other program is affected, etc. etc. Hundreds or thousands of others are experiencing this same "Not Responding" performance. There are a few "feelings" I have that may help you to solve it, but you won't solve the problem if you keep denying its existence.

My "feelings"/intuition: This may have to do with a very old/bloated IMAP gmail account. It started to happen somewhat gradually, but--at some point--TB hit a threshold where virtually any interaction with that account is slowed to a crawl... but it then affects the entire TB program. Even trying to attach a file to a different POP account e-mail took forever in the file browser window. I checked Task Manager diagnostics, and TB is not really accessing the internet (except possibly through some narrow channels?... which may need to be widened), but it is gobbling up a lot of CPU time. Therefore, I feel that TB is "indexing" or maybe compacting in a kind of endless loop; although I think I turned compacting off. [By the way, is compacting really necessary in this day-and-age of cheap memory??] Anyway, someone on the development team MUST have a bloated IMAP account, and MUST be able to duplicate this behaviour.

I have to uninstall TB now... I'll just use gmail and comcast directly. I'll check back with you in 6 months or so to see if this issue has been resolved, because TB was a great program, and all of the open source add-ons were amazing to see. It would be a great shame if all of that were to go to waste due to denial!

[skmeans]

Here is one more thing that might help you to solve this: Before uninstalling TB, I had to backup my QuickText stuff by copying and pasting into Open Office. That's the only time I've noticed the excruciatingly slow performance spill over into another program... both open source programs... HMMMM.

However, after uninstalling TB, I tested Open Office again, and it was fine. The issue is definitely with TB, but I have suspicions about how Windows calls are interacting with it. Bye for now.

[DanRaisch]

skmeans, have you tried disabling Global Search and Indexing? Have you set Thunderbird to NOT download copies of messages in the IMAP account to make them available for offline access?

although I think I turned compacting off. [By the way, is compacting really necessary in this day-and-age of cheap memory??]

Compacting has nothing to do with memory so the association you apparently assume there is not valid. http://kb.mozillazine.org/Thunderbird_: ... ng_Folders

Anyway, someone on the development team MUST have a bloated IMAP account, and MUST be able to duplicate this behaviour.

There are usually no developers here as this forum is not run by or formally associated with Mozilla.

[redriver]

Earlier I uninstalled (through Windows 8l.1) the Intel / McAfee Security Scan Plus which comes in as a freebie when you update Adobe Reade. Dan wrote that I needed to use McAfee's own uninstall procedure. I don't have that option any longer. The instructions there are evidently not compatible with Windows 8.1.

This is getting far too involved. I must change to a different email client.

Thanks for trying.

[DanRaisch]

WHY do you not have "that option" any longer? What part of the instructions are not compatible with Win 8.1 when running from the Desktop?

[redriver]

WHY do you not have "that option" any longer? What part of the instructions are not compatible with Win 8.1 when running from the Desktop?

It depends on clicking Start (Win 8.1 doesn't have one, rarely used its menu in Win 7, and haven't gotten far enough to want the 3rd party substitutes under Win 8.1) > Programs > McAfee Security Scan Plus > Uninstall

I might have done a parallel substitute by navigating through Windows Explorer to the McAfee.exe folder and then finding an UNinstall executable to launch. But none of that exists any more. I earlier UNinstalled through Windows. What method do you think the majority of users are going to use? It is time for me to move on to another email client.

[DanRaisch]

You can certainly launch the executable using Explorer under Win 81. so I'm not sure what problem you are having with that. And this uninstall problem has nothing at all to do with Thunderbird. It's totally a McAfee issue so raising the idea of moving to another email client is something of a non sequitur.

[redriver]

You can certainly launch the executable using Explorer under Win 81. so I'm not sure what problem you are having with that. And this uninstall problem has nothing at all to do with Thunderbird. It's totally a McAfee issue so raising the idea of moving to another email client is something of a non sequitur.

1) I previously uninstalled McAfee through the Control Panel,
2) No McAfee folder exists now,
3) There is no McAfee uninstall.exe,
4) I do not want to reinstall McAfee so that I can proceed to uninstall it the second time,
5) I have seen no evidence a second uninstall from a different procedure can remove the debris that may stop the "not responding" episodes,
6) If there was a double-blind study showing the freebie McAfee Security Scan Plus causes the problem I would be surprised,
7) I have an idea it is only the paid AV programs which cause the problem.

Thank you all for your patience.

[skmeans]

Yes, I DID disable global search and indexing, and it hardly made a difference. Also, my IMAP was never set to download copies for offline access.

My mention of compacting was in reference to CPU usage, not memory as you (Dan) somehow surmised... read messages more carefully.

I'm sorry but I feel like the moderator(s) here are a bit too defensive and protective of the software. The first step in resolving this issue is to admit that there is a serious flaw somewhere in the TB code (it may only show itself under certain conditions). If you don't do that--and report it to the programmers soon--I'm afraid TB will fall by the wayside.

[DanRaisch]

Just so you're clear on this, this forum is not run by or formally associated with Mozilla. We're an independent user-helping-user community and there are usually no developers participating in these threads.

[wsmwk]

I'm sorry but I feel like the moderator(s) here are a bit too defensive and protective of the software. The first step in resolving this issue is to admit that there is a serious flaw somewhere in the TB code (it may only show itself under certain conditions). If you don't do that--and report it to the programmers soon--I'm afraid TB will fall by the wayside.

There are MANY possible, discrete causes for the symptom of "Not Responding", just as there are many possible causes for the symptom of a person with hives or a cough.

Therefore, it is a fact, that until we know the precise cause for person X's (whose cause may be different from person A, B, C, etc), it is very hard to make a determination of where the "fault" lies, and the solution. When we don't know the cause, we often use a process of "peeling the onion", eliminating potential causes or variables until we arrive at some more narrow definition of the steps or circumstances of user X's problem.

So it is to the user's advantage to be engaged in the process of narrowing the problem. Whether they choose to do so is of course up to them. But please don't blame other people for lack of a solution when the problem is not sufficiently defined to offer a solution. (Plus, bear in mind, none of us here are Doctors, nor paid, etc, etc)

[wsmwk]

Here are some possible steps a user can use on their own to help narrow this issue.

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Start *Windows'* safe mode with networking enabled
- win8 http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/wind ... -safe-mode
- win7 http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/wind ... -safe-mode
- XP http://www.microsoft.com/resources/docu ... lsafe.mspx

Still In Windows safe mode, start thunderbird in safe mode
- http://support.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/kb/safe-mode

Does problem go away?

- If no, then problem is either: bug in Thunderbird, in your Thunderbird profile, your mail provider. Please post into topic the contents of Help | Troubleshooting | copy text to clipboard

- If yes, (still in Windows safe mode) ... start Thunderbird normally
-- If problem is still gone, then cause is a program loaded during windows startup. Possibilities include: antivirus SW, virus/malware, background downloads such as program updates
-- If problem is NOT gone, then cause is likely a Thunderbird addon - eliminate them by disabling each one at a time in Tools | addons | extensions and restarting

- If results are unclear ... possibilities include temporary conditions such as contention from other running programs, downloads related to windows update, ...

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"Not Responding" is most often, ultimately a performance related issue. So it may be useful to refer to https://wiki.mozilla.org/Thunderbird:Te ... e_Problems