Thunderbird (38.2.0, then 38.3.0) hangs/freezes often, up to several minutes long, windows 10 64bit, recent, clean install. safe mode
I am on a brand new fresh install of Windows 10 Home (10.0.10240 Build 10240). New machine only a few weeks old with SSD system drive. Intel Core i5-6600K @ 3.5GHz. BIOS AMI F2, 2/72/2025.
Everything else runs fine. No other identifiable problems on this clean new install and machine.
I am on the release update channel for Thunderbird. Version 38.2.0, just upgraded to a new version while getting this thing posted. No relief from the upgrade, which I can't see at the moment because Thunderbird is hanging as I write. It just came back, I clicked the hamburger to see what version, and it started hanging again before I could get the answer. OK, it came back again. 38.3.0.
I do not have any product from Norton, Symantec, nor McAfee. I have MalwareBytes Antimalware Premium and Panda Free Antivirus. The problems with Thunderbird started before I installed Panda Free Antivirus.
Freezes ('not responding') / hangs are frequent and generally several minutes in duration. I may only get a few seconds of activity before the next freeze.
I added Thunderbird to the windows firewall approved programs list. No help. I added Thunderbird to the exclusion lists for malwarebytes and panda. No change.
I work remotely so email is my lifeline. I have installed another email client and will soon uninstall Thunderbird. I've used Thunderbird for some years now - at least a decade, probably more. So I am not new to this.
Current add-ons - .vcs support 0.6.4; configdate 0.75; lightning 4.0.2.1; lookout 1.2.13; smile fixer 1.4.1; Sticky Password Autofill Engine 8.0.4.34.
Trying safe mode right now. It has run for about 3 minutes straight from startup time, which is pretty good compared with recent difficulties. I'll post an update in a bit.
Update: went maybe 10 minutes without trouble in safe mode. So I went back into normal mode and disabled several of my add-ons - .vcs support 0.6.4, configdate 0.7.5, lookout 1.2.13, and smiley fixer 1.4.1. After a few minutes it has hung/frozen again, so it must be sticky password autofill engine 8.0.4.34 or Lightning 4.0.2.1, I guess.
Update 2: disabled sticky password autofill engine. Thunderbird still hanging. Must be lightning. Will disable and restart.
Update 3: disabled lightning. It went a good long time - perhaps 15 minutes - but is finally hanging/frozen. I guess I'll go back to safe mode, which seems to be quite similar to what I've done already (disabling all add-ons). Should have the same result as manually disabling all the add-ons, but maybe not!
Update 4: operated for some time in safe mode, but it is hanging / frozen / unresponsive again. I'm open to suggestion. Opera Mail, or just about anything else, is looking pretty good.
Yishmeray
Geändert am von Wayne Mery
Alle Antworten (11)
I posted here also, in a similar question: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1076754#answer-786028
Geändert am von yishmeray
Try to start *Windows* in safe mode with networking enabled.
Still in Windows safe mode, start Thunderbird in safe mode.
- https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/safe-mode
Does the problem go away?
I am trying the solution, but it is brutal. Windows Safe mode with networking means I now have to work on a single monitor. Messes me up royally.
Having wasted several days trying to make this work, on and off while rushing to finish a big project with a tight deadline, I am now running with a single display. oy! I'll try it for a few minutes.
One problem beyond that is that there is no definitive way to say it's fixed, except to wait and wait and wait until I am tired of waiting, and decide that that must mean it's working. Proving that it's broken is relatively easy by comparison!
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OK, well, I can't do it long, but I did it for about 12 minutes. No crashing/hanging/freezing. Doesn't for sure demonstrate that these two settings fixed it, but it is possible.
But what have we learnt from this? Assuming this fixed it - running windows AND thunderbird in safe mode - so what do I know, besides that running windows and thunderbird in safe mode will make it work OK?
I am open to suggestion, but I can't run in safe mode any more. However odd it feels, Opera mail doesn't hang, and the support from mozilla has been less than stellar.
But thank you very kindly for your lone suggestion, Christ 1. I appreciate it!
Geändert am von yishmeray
Just try disabling lightning and see if thing improves in any mode. Lightning has a history of making the program run slowly.
Secondly I am still learning about windows 10. So kick me when I am wrong. I simply have no interest in it. It sounds like windows 8 to me with a start menu and more vendor lock-in. Are you using a Microsoft account on Win10? Is your app data folder backed up to the cloud by that process?
Hello Matt, and thanks for taking the time.
- I am not using a microsoft account - no cloud backup due to that - nothing else is backing up appdata
I have early on in this process disabled all add-ons, most notably lightning. I've left them all disabled.
- OK, I started Thunderbird yet again and let it sit a while. It is hanging, which is to say, completely frozen: unresponsive.
Geändert am von yishmeray
Please post your list of addons and versions. You can get the list from help | troubleshooting
Wayne Mery said
Please post your list of addons and versions. You can get the list from help | troubleshooting
Hello, and thank you for taking the time to try to help.
Add-ons - I listed them in the original question posting of Oct 2. I will paste it here "Current add-ons - .vcs support 0.6.4; configdate 0.75; lightning 4.0.2.1; lookout 1.2.13; smile fixer 1.4.1; Sticky Password Autofill Engine 8.0.4.34. "
BUT, and more importantly I think, I disabled all addons, as noted above in my post of Oct 5.
None of this helped.
I have MalwareBytes Antimalware Premium and Panda Free Antivirus.
Running two real-time anti-virus scanners simultaneously is asking for trouble. So get rid of one of them.
Assuming this fixed it - running windows AND thunderbird in safe mode - so what do I know, besides that running windows and thunderbird in safe mode will make it work OK?
Windows safe mode will disable the anti-virus scanner. If things work ok in Windows safe mode chances are the anti-virus software is the culprit.
It's recommended to add an exception for the Thunderbird profile folder in your anti-virus software, so that it won't get scanned by the real-time scanner. Also don't let it scan incoming and outgoing messages and attachments. Remove any add-ons anti-virus software may have installed in Thunderbird.
christ1 said
Running two real-time anti-virus scanners simultaneously is asking for trouble. So get rid of one of them.Assuming this fixed it - running windows AND thunderbird in safe mode - so what do I know, besides that running windows and thunderbird in safe mode will make it work OK?Windows safe mode will disable the anti-virus scanner. If things work ok in Windows safe mode chances are the anti-virus software is the culprit.
It's recommended to add an exception for the Thunderbird profile folder in your anti-virus software, so that it won't get scanned by the real-time scanner. Also don't let it scan incoming and outgoing messages and attachments. Remove any add-ons anti-virus software may have installed in Thunderbird.
Thank you for your attempts to assist, christ1.
I did add exceptions for thunderbird in both anti-virus packages. And as I noted, I disabled all add-ons.
I will consider your advice on the two anti-virus packages. Malwarebytes anti-malware insists that they are not an anti-virus package, and that they work complementarily with anti-virus packages. So I guess I'll stick with what I have.
In fact, I'm pretty much giving up. Nothing personal! You're just the last one to post. I'll go buy something I won't have to wait over a month to get support on.
If I knew of a way to delete this question, I would.
Geändert am von yishmeray
Several minutes long freezes is quite extraordinary.
Are you in a corporate environment? Is your thunderbird profile on a network drive/share?
(FWIW, I think Malwarebytes plus an AV package should be able to coexist. However, I seem to recall Panda having troubles in the past.)
yishmeray,
Have you stopped using Thunderbird?