Thunderbird Caught in an infinite loop trying to download

[Netman7]

Hi,

I am using Thunderbird 102.5.1, 64 bit on Win 11. I have multiple POP accounts configured in it. All accounts work OK but one account is stuck in infinite loop with Thunderbird trying to download messages from it. No matter how long I wait, the process does not end. I have to close and restart Thunderbird to stop it from looping. It keep downloading the the same 2 messages again and again.

I have tried repairing the Inbox folder and compacting it as well, nothing helps. The email account is accessible through web interface and all messages seem to be normal when accessed via web interface.. How do I fix it.

Please advise

Thanks

Matt

[tanstaafl]

I suggest you read those 2 messages using webmail and then delete them. You're running into one of the reasons why IMAP accounts are frequently a better choice than POP accounts.

[Netman7]

I suggest you read those 2 messages using webmail and then delete them. You're running into one of the reasons why IMAP accounts are frequently a better choice than POP accounts.

I really want to dump POP for IMAP but whenever I try using IMAP, it wants to sync all messages across all dates and in all folders on all devices that I use to access the email account.

I like to be able to control sync process separately for each device, and sync only for new messages not the messages which were downloaded in the past and were deleted or moved from a particular device but not from the server. Is there a way to do that with IMAP ? If so, please direct me to a source where I can read up on this before switching over.

Thanks

Matt

[tanstaafl]

It sounds like you might want to use some combination of the synchronize the most recent X days setting in the accounts synchronization & storage settings and manually moving older messages in the inbox to other folders that are configured not to synchronize.

[Netman7]

Thanks, I am trying to configure one account into IMAP instead of POP, I do not see any *Download headers only* choice, does it not exist for IMAP ?

Also, I have few gmail accounts in active use in Thunderbird. There is some kind of under the table restriction from Google that after sometime (may be after certain amount of data has been downloaded) the POP function stops working i.e. it stops seeing any new email on the server. Is that known to happen to IMAP mail too ?

Thanks again

[DanRaisch]

I am trying to configure one account into IMAP instead of POP, I do not see any *Download headers only* choice, does it not exist for IMAP ?

It does not. With an IMAP account Thunderbird is displaying what is stored on the server. There is an option (the default) to download a copy of all messages to the local drive to make them available when off-line. There is a setting for that under Tools->Account Settings->Synchronization & Storage. Switching that option off would mean Thunderbird would only download message data when the message is opened, reducing resource usage.

Also, I have few gmail accounts in active use in Thunderbird. There is some kind of under the table restriction from Google that after sometime (may be after certain amount of data has been downloaded) the POP function stops working i.e. it stops seeing any new email on the server. Is that known to happen to IMAP mail too ?

With either type of account, Google will throttle downloading speed, possibly to virtually zero, until some period time elapses. I don't believe either the download limit or the resumption time is document for users.

Perhaps try the following for that account:

First, backup your Profile ( http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_backup )

Create a new sub-folder under Local Folders. Move all of the messages currently in your Inbox to that new sub-folder.

Confirm that you have made the recommended backup of your Profile.

Close Thunderbird and navigate to the \Mail sub-folder of your Profile folder. Delete both the file Inbox.msf and the file Inbox with no extension for the problem account.

Restart Thunderbird and you should find a new, empty Inbox folder in place. Copy any messages you MUST have in your Inbox from the sub-folder created above to the Inbox. Compact the Inbox after those messages are copied in.

The "Real Fix" entry in this article -- http://kb.mozillazine.org/Compacting_folders#Real_fix also describes this process.