Thunderbird 24.6.0 hangs (not responding) on message delete

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kgcode
Posts: 23
Joined: June 13th, 2014, 9:04 am

Re: Thunderbird 24.6.0 hangs (not responding) on message del

Post by kgcode »

Well, I finally got around to re-testing under Windows safe mode today, and I got the failure (hang) to happen three times during an hour of use. My previous attempt in Windows safe mode did not demonstrate the problem, but I suspect if I had stayed with it longer, it would have happened eventually. So, contrary to what I previously reported, I can repro the problem in Windows safe mode.

I then tried, as WSM had suggested earlier, setting XP compatibility mode (WinXP SP3) in Thunderbird's startup. I have now worked with Thunderbird for several hours in this compatibility mode, and have not yet been able to reproduce the hang. The UI looks a bit different, but if this is an actual solution to the hang problem, then I can certainly live with it. While the absence of the problem in the short term is not 100% proof that the problem isn't going to manifest again, so far it does look promising indeed.

Out of curiosity, (1) any idea why it would work fine in Win8.1 without any compatibility settings, and then suddenly require XP compatibility mode after the 24.6.0 update, (2) are there any known issues/gotchas that I might run into using XP compatibility mode, and (3) why does Thunderbird in XP compatibility mode trigger a UAC dialog box ("do you want to allow the follow program to make changes...) when it starts up?

At this point, I am cautiously optimistic. I'll report if the problem recurs in this mode.
kgcode
Posts: 23
Joined: June 13th, 2014, 9:04 am

Re: Thunderbird 24.6.0 hangs (not responding) on message del

Post by kgcode »

Several more hours working with Thunderbird with WinXPSP3 compatibility mode set on the application...still have not seen the hanging problem. So far, this appears to be a working solution, or at least a workaround. I wish I had tried this the first day of the problem. - it would have saved a lot of time. Thanks, WSM, for the suggestion.

I'm still very curious why this workaround is suddenly necessary.
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DanRaisch
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Re: Thunderbird 24.6.0 hangs (not responding) on message del

Post by DanRaisch »

kgcode wrote:I'm still very curious why this workaround is suddenly necessary.


I am curious as well, because I don't see the problem on my Win 8.1 laptop running Thunderbird 24.6.0 without any compatibility settings.
kgcode
Posts: 23
Joined: June 13th, 2014, 9:04 am

Re: Thunderbird 24.6.0 hangs (not responding) on message del

Post by kgcode »

Maybe it would help to know the details of the configuration on which it failed (in normal Win8 mode with no compatibility settings).

Hardware: ASUS G75VW-RH71 laptop, Intel i7-3630QM Quad Core HT CPU, 3GB NVidia 670M graphics, 17" 1920x1080 video, 16GB RAM, 750GB 7200RPM primary hard disk, 500GB 7200RPM secondary hard disk, Microsoft Wired Keyboard 600, Microsoft Comfort Optical Mouse 3000.

Software: Windows 8.1 Pro w/Windows Media Center (originally Windows 8, then upgraded with 8 Pro Pack, then upgraded to Win 8.1 Pro), Windows Defender (AV), all the latest Windows updates. Other apps are installed but not running during the problem reproduction. The upgrade to 8.1 happened in November 2013, and Windows update patches have been applied every "patch Tuesday."

The Thunderbird-30-60-second-hanging-problem first manifested as soon as I performed the in-place update from 24.5.0 to 24.6.0.
kgcode
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Joined: June 13th, 2014, 9:04 am

Re: Thunderbird 24.6.0 hangs (not responding) on message del

Post by kgcode »

I have found one feature that doesn't work with Thunderbird in WinXPSP3 compatibility mode - Internet Explorer's File | Send | Link by email. When running Thunderbird in this (XP) mode, the IE send link by email function does nothing, even though Thunderbird still shows up as the system's default e-mail program. Going back to running Thunderbird in normal (non-compatibility) mode causes this feature to work properly, launching a new message write window with the appropriate web link in the body of the message. (I know, I should be using Firefox instead if IE, but IE is a requirement in my office, so that's what we use.)
Last edited by kgcode on June 25th, 2014, 8:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
kgcode
Posts: 23
Joined: June 13th, 2014, 9:04 am

Re: Thunderbird 24.6.0 hangs (not responding) on message del

Post by kgcode »

Just a quick update. I've been running for several days now with Thunderbird in WinXPSP3 compatibility mode and have not encountered the hang problem at all. For fun, I attempted to run in Windows 7 compatibility mode, and the problem immediately showed up. So, I'm just going to stick with WinXPSP3 compatibility, as it seems to solve the problem for me.
kajtarb
Posts: 7
Joined: August 15th, 2014, 3:23 pm

Re: Thunderbird 24.6.0 hangs (not responding) on message del

Post by kajtarb »

Hi,

Any news on this issue?

I am having similar symptoms, although with added annoyance of freezing on message opening as well as deleting, but not all the time (about half the time, especially after program start).

Cannot remember when it started exactly. About a month or two ago.

I suspected broadband speed at the beginning, as the speed dropped for about 2 weeks, but it's back to normal (7 Mbps -ish) now and the issue is still the same.
It is exactly the same on WiFi or ethernet.

Using IMAP to connect to Gmail.

I have tried the XP SP3 compatibility mode as suggested here and it seems OK after half a day. (infrequent use)

System: Tbird 31.0 Win 8.1

OS Name Microsoft Windows 8.1
Version 6.3.9600 Build 9600
System Manufacturer Dell Inc.
System Model Inspiron 7537
System Type x64-based PC
System SKU Inspiron 7537
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4500U CPU @ 1.80GHz, 1801 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 8.00 GB

I have an older laptop as well on the same network, running XP SP3. Don't know the Tbird version though (takes ages to boot). That system is not affected at all.

I hope someone has found a permanent solution or an update to fix it is on the way.
kgcode
Posts: 23
Joined: June 13th, 2014, 9:04 am

Re: Thunderbird 24.6.0 hangs (not responding) on message del

Post by kgcode »

I've continued to run in WinXPSP3 compatibility mode on Windows 8.1 Pro, and have had absolutely no hangs in Thunderbird. Other than the feature noted earlier not working in this mode (i.e., Send Link from IE browser), it has been fine.

Just for fun, I briefly switched back to normal mode last week, and immediately got the 30-to-60-second-hanging-problem again. Painful. So, I switched back to WinXPSP3 compatibility mode again, and will probably just live there until I see someone say that the issue is understood and fixed.
wsmwk
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Re: Thunderbird 24.6.0 hangs (not responding) on message del

Post by wsmwk »

kajtarb wrote:I am having similar symptoms, although with added annoyance of freezing on message opening as well as deleting, but not all the time (about half the time, especially after program start).

kajtarb, did you try starting Windows in safe mode, and Thunderbird in safe mode?

kajtarb wrote:Cannot remember when it started exactly. About a month or two ago.

That would have been version 24.x, probably 24.6.0

Please tell us if compatibility mode continues to help.
kajtarb
Posts: 7
Joined: August 15th, 2014, 3:23 pm

Re: Thunderbird 24.6.0 hangs (not responding) on message del

Post by kajtarb »

Hi,

In belief that I was posting here, I PM-ed wsm... :D Amateur...

So. Here is my story:

Symptoms started about a month or two ago. Since then Tbird has been updated at least once.

I had suspected broadband speed at the beginning, as the speed had dropped for about 2 weeks, but it was back to normal (7 Mbps -ish) and the issue was still the same.
It was exactly the same on WiFi or ethernet.

Using IMAP to connect to Gmail.

System: Tbird 31.0 Win 8.1
OS Name Microsoft Windows 8.1
Version 6.3.9600 Build 9600
System Manufacturer Dell Inc.
System Model Inspiron 7537
System Type x64-based PC
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4500U CPU @ 1.80GHz, 1801 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 8.00 GB

XP SP3 compatibility mode seemed to work for a while after reading about it here, but then it started in that mode as well. So I switched back to normal as there were a couple of display/visual glitches like the three buttons in the top right corner displayed as black rectangle.

I have also reduced the size of Inbox, cleaned out deleted massages and compacted.

All the freezing seem to occur at times when the program is in communication with the server: message downloads, deletes etc.

So now I have switched off 'Use IDLE command' in Server settings>Advanced just as wild wild guess (and not exactly knowing the effects)
And I see major improvements in the last couple of days.
There is still a pause on some occasions, but only for few seconds, which is bearable.

If someone could explain to me if I did something and what or something else had happened out there... Much appreciated. Thanks
tormey
Posts: 3
Joined: August 29th, 2014, 3:55 am

Re: Thunderbird 24.6.0 hangs (not responding) on message del

Post by tormey »

My experience have equally frustrating. Running an up-to-date Windows 8.1 and TB 24.6.0 this does reduce the value using TB. Details being thoroughly described above, also applies to my problem.
Antivirus being AVG Free updated 2014.0.4765.
E-mail server being Google -currently using 2,7Gb on server.
Protocol being IMAP.
I've not yet found any time to test anything except repair folder and compress, Though without any luck.
wsmwk
Posts: 2833
Joined: December 7th, 2004, 6:52 am
Contact:

Re: Thunderbird 24.6.0 hangs (not responding) on message del

Post by wsmwk »

tormey wrote:My experience have equally frustrating. Running an up-to-date Windows 8.1 and TB 24.6.0 this does reduce the value using TB. Details being thoroughly described above, also applies to my problem.
Antivirus being AVG Free updated 2014.0.4765.
E-mail server being Google -currently using 2,7Gb on server.
Protocol being IMAP.
I've not yet found any time to test anything except repair folder and compress, Though without any luck.

Have you unsubscribed from the "All Mail" folder??
wsmwk
Posts: 2833
Joined: December 7th, 2004, 6:52 am
Contact:

Re: Thunderbird 24.6.0 hangs (not responding) on message del

Post by wsmwk »

kajtarb wrote:Symptoms started about a month or two ago. Since then Tbird has been updated at least once.
...
Using IMAP to connect to Gmail.
...
XP SP3 compatibility mode seemed to work for a while after reading about it here, but then it started in that mode as well. So I switched back to normal as there were a couple of display/visual glitches like the three buttons in the top right corner displayed as black rectangle.

I have also reduced the size of Inbox, cleaned out deleted massages and compacted.

All the freezing seem to occur at times when the program is in communication with the server: message downloads, deletes etc.

So now I have switched off 'Use IDLE command' in Server settings>Advanced just as wild wild guess (and not exactly knowing the effects)
And I see major improvements in the last couple of days.
There is still a pause on some occasions, but only for few seconds, which is bearable.

You might have more than one issue going on.

Do you still consistently continue to see much improved performance with IDLE disabled?

Would you be willing to test an older version of Thunderbird to see if there was indeed a code change that caused this?
tormey
Posts: 3
Joined: August 29th, 2014, 3:55 am

Re: Thunderbird 24.6.0 hangs (not responding) on message del

Post by tormey »

wsm wrote:
tormey wrote:My experience have equally frustrating. Running an up-to-date Windows 8.1 and TB 24.6.0 this does reduce the value using TB. Details being thoroughly described above, also applies to my problem.
Antivirus being AVG Free updated 2014.0.4765.
E-mail server being Google -currently using 2,7Gb on server.
Protocol being IMAP.
I've not yet found any time to test anything except repair folder and compress, Though without any luck.

Have you unsubscribed from the "All Mail" folder??



No, I have not unsubscribed to the "All Mail" folder.
(Why) Should I?
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