Thunderbird 38.5.0 keeps freezing running under windows 10 SOLVED caused by 'allow windows search'
This problem has been mentioned a few times before but not with the same version of thunderbird - 38.5.0. I have Windows 10. I have AVG free antivirus. I have 10 IMAP accounts. I've tried:
1. Disabling antivirus completely. 2. Archiving off about 8,000 sent / received messages (only just done today) between 3 of the big accounts. The others only have maybe a dozen messages each. I compacted all relevant inboxes and sent folders. 3. Restarting thunderbird in safe mode (including checking whether h/w acceleration is turned off in the TB settings). 4. Restarting windows in safe mode with networking.
None of the above make the freezes go away and they have only started since upgrading to windows 10 a couple of weeks back.
The pattern of freezes has been that when I start TB for the day, it's worst. It freezes for minutes at a time, thaws for a few seconds then freezes for another few minutes - 7min longest recorded. After that, freezes continue but they are much shorter and less frequent - a few seconds to a minute.
The freezes seem to happen when checking email and they happen more often when writing a message so a possible hypothesis is that it's something to do with syncing or network / IMAP connectivity in general because my messages gets periodically saved to drafts while I'm writing them which might explain why TB freezes more when writing a message than just sitting checking for mail now and again.
Here's my systeminfo minus identifying features in case it helps:
Host Name: *********************** OS Name: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OS Version: 10.0.10240 N/A Build 10240 OS Manufacturer: Microsoft Corporation OS Configuration: Standalone Workstation OS Build Type: Multiprocessor Free Registered Owner: ******************** Registered Organization: Product ID: 00330-80000-00000-AA391 Original Install Date: 19-Dec-15, 09:58:02 System Boot Time: 02-Jan-16, 10:12:27 System Manufacturer: To Be Filled By O.E.M. System Model: To Be Filled By O.E.M. System Type: x64-based PC Processor(s): 1 Processor(s) Installed.
[01]: Intel64 Family 6 Model 45 Stepping 7 GenuineIntel ~3201 Mhz
BIOS Version: American Megatrends Inc. P2.00, 29-Feb-12 Windows Directory: C:\WINDOWS System Directory: C:\WINDOWS\system32 Boot Device: \Device\HarddiskVolume2 System Locale: en-us;English (United States) Input Locale: en-gb;English (United Kingdom) Time Zone: (UTC) Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London Total Physical Memory: 12,239 MB Available Physical Memory: 8,733 MB Virtual Memory: Max Size: 24,527 MB Virtual Memory: Available: 20,520 MB Virtual Memory: In Use: 4,007 MB Page File Location(s): C:\pagefile.sys Domain: **************** Logon Server: ***************** Hotfix(s): 7 Hotfix(s) Installed.
[01]: KB3081440
[02]: KB3081452
[03]: KB3081455
[04]: KB3105213
[05]: KB3106932
[06]: KB3116869
[07]: KB3132372
Network Card(s): 2 NIC(s) Installed.
[01]: Broadcom NetLink (TM) Gigabit Ethernet
Connection Name: Local Area Connection
DHCP Enabled: Yes
DHCP Server: 192.168.1.254
IP address(es)
[01]: 192.168.1.100
[02]: fe80::a103:830b:8c06:d75d
[03]: 2001:8b0:1199:cee9:40c6:7220:1dd2:e08c
[04]: 2001:8b0:1199:cee9:a103:830b:8c06:d75d
[02]: Broadcom NetLink (TM) Gigabit Ethernet
Connection Name: Local Area Connection 2
Status: Media disconnected
Hyper-V Requirements: VM Monitor Mode Extensions: Yes
Virtualization Enabled In Firmware: Yes
Second Level Address Translation: Yes
Data Execution Prevention Available: Yes
Modified by Wayne Mery
Chosen solution
Given safe mode works, AVG would seem to be a distinct possibility. But another possibility that recently came to my attention, is perhaps Windows indexing. (I haven't tested it myself.)
Have you moved your profile or any of the mail folders out of their standard location, or do you have Thunderbird Allow Windows Search enabled at tools | options | advanced | general??
Read this answer in context 👍 1All Replies (10)
Start *Windows'* safe mode with networking enabled - win10 http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/change-startup-settings-in-windows-10 Still In Windows safe mode, start thunderbird in safe mode - http://support.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/kb/safe-mode
Does problem go away?
Hi Wayne. Yes it does. What would you recommend for further trouble shooting? Is there any kind of debug logging I can switch on or anything that might help you further diagnose the problem?
OK, update: I also notice now - although it may not be indicative - that the hanging doesn't happen under windows safe mode w/ networking but TB NOT in safe mode. This may not be a good indicator because I think last time I tested it after reading these forums, I had a slightly earlier version of TB and I can't remember which one it was.
I'll try restarting both windows and TB in their 'normal' modes and see what happens.
Further update: I have seen TB write to drafts many times so it's definitely not that (or not only that) causing it. In normal mode, it's still happening (well, wouldn't have expected anything else really). I found the error log. It has:
1. MANY of these in the error console: DebugLog.js : Exception in WriteToFile NS_ERROR_FILE_ACCESS_DENIED. Error message: Component returned failure code: 0x80520015 (NS_ERROR_FILE_ACCESS_DENIED) [nsIFileOutputStream.init] These file access ones only seem to be around TB startup but don't appear to coincide with freezing anyway.
2. One of these in the error console: Timestamp: 03-Jan-16 07:42:18 Warning: window.controllers is deprecated. Do not use it for UA detection. Source File: chrome://editor/content/ComposerCommands.js Line: 198 Again, this doesn't seem to coincide with freezing.
3. Many of these in the error console: Timestamp: 03-Jan-16 07:59:18 Warning: Unknown property '-moz-border-radius'. Declaration dropped. Source File: mailbox:///C:/Users/Dan/AppData/Roaming/Thunderbird/Profiles/1r87ieq4.default/Mail/pop3.live-1.com/Inbox?number=53117085 Line: 0, Column: 57 Source Code: background:#81bc2f; border-radius:6px; -moz-border-radius:6px; -webkit-border-radius:6px; border-bottom:2px solid #548323; color:#fff; display:block; font-size:17px; font-weight:bold; height:42px; line-height:42px; padding:0 30px; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; text-shadow:1px 1px 0 #426319; float:left; margin-bottom:30px
These may LOOSELY coincide with freezing.
3.1. One of these mingled at some random interval (usually at bottom or near bottom) with the one above: Timestamp: 03-Jan-16 08:08:36 Warning: Unknown property 'mso-table-rspace'. Declaration dropped. Source File: mailbox:///C:/Users/Dan/AppData/Roaming/Thunderbird/Profiles/1r87ieq4.default/Mail/pop3.live-1.com/Inbox?number=53117085 Line: 0, Column: 64 Source Code: border-collapse:collapse; mso-table-lspace:0pt; mso-table-rspace:0pt; width:500px I only included that for completeness. Again, it seems to loosely coincide with the freezes but not consistently.
But most significant of all: 4. one to two (1-2) of these in the error console: Timestamp: 03-Jan-16 07:46:23 Error: uncaught exception: 2147746065 Timestamp: 03-Jan-16 07:56:52 Error: uncaught exception: 2147746065
As I watch, the pattern seems to be that after TB thaws from each freeze, nr 3. sometimes happens (a random number of identical messages) and nr 4 (the exceptions) always happens and usually twice (i.e. two identical exceptions). Looking back up the log, it seems to be every 10min the freezes happen and the exceptions pop out.
I checked my email accounts and of 10 email accounts (most of them IMAP), 8 accounts check for messages every 10min. I don't know if this actually means anything with IMAP because it seems to push messages out to connected clients more or less instantaneously anyway. But if it does, I guess if 8 threads or whatever are trying to do the same thing at the same time and Windows 10 has maybe changed its threading API (or something) from Windows 7 (which I was on previously) then maybe that's causing an issue? I dunno.... But it could explain why some TB users are fine on windows 10 and others aren't - single vs multiple accounts? Well, I guess I'd have to try either staggering the check times or somehow temporarily disabling the checks on all but one accounts (or both). But I don't got time now sorry, got to do some work!
Modified by dannz89
Yes it does. What would you recommend for further trouble shooting?
Windows safe mode disables anti-virus software, which is most likely the culprit.
Create an exception in your anti-virus software for the Thunderbird profile folder, so that the anti-virus real-time scanner will not scan it. http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Thunderbird
Don't let your anti-virus software scan incoming and outgoing messages.
Don't let your anti-virus software scan attachments.
Don't let your anti-virus software intercept your secure connection to the server.
Remove any add-ons your anti-virus software may have installed in Thunderbird.
Ok, all those apart from the profile folder exception were already the case - AV doesn't go near my email as I've had so many issues with it in the past.
I've added the thunderbird profile folder as an exception now.
I don't think this is the answer though because I've tried running TB with AVG completely disabled for hours and it makes no difference.
Also, I had AVG in windows 7 as well. They were working happily together until the upgrade to Windows 10 when the freezes immediately began. I haven't changed any s/w, I just upgraded my computer to Windows 10 and kept running all the products I was already running.
I'll leave this open and report back if it keeps freezing now that the folder exception has been added to AVG.
UPDATE: Disabling AVG and / or adding an exception didn't work. Freezing persists.
Modified by dannz89
Try to start Windows in safe mode with networking enabled. - Win10 http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/change-startup-settings-in-windows-10#v1h=tab01
Still in Windows safe mode, start Thunderbird in safe mode. - https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/safe-mode
Does the problem go away?
christ1 said
Try to start Windows in safe mode with networking enabled. - Win10 http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/change-startup-settings-in-windows-10#v1h=tab01 Still in Windows safe mode, start Thunderbird in safe mode. - https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/safe-mode Does the problem go away?
Hi. Please read the entire thread. I've tried all of this and none of it works. I'll summarize again for you here:
Things tried: 1. Disable AVG completely - no change 1.1. Add exception for TB profile folder to AVG - no change 1.2. AVG has no influence over TB (i.e. does NOT intercept network connections / scan outgoing + incoming messages etc). This has been the case on this installation for years because some years ago, AVG didn't play nicely with TB so I disabled the AVG email functionality completely. 1.3. AVG and TB have worked fine together (as mentioned in 1.2, NOT joined together but cohabiting on the same computer / OS / environment together) for years UNTIL upgrade from windows 7 to Windows 10. 2. Start windows safe mode w/ networking and TB safe mode - fixes problem 3. Start windows normally and TB safe mode - no difference 4. Start windows safe mode w/ networking and TB normally - fixes problem 5. Freezes appear to directly correlate with an Exception message that appears in the TB error console (see above).
In other words, windows in safe mode fixes the problem but the culprit is NOT AVG. The problem appears to be related to the upgrade to windows 10 although no doubt other apps in the suite upgraded themselves when they detected windows 10 so I accept it might only seem related.
Hope that helps further diagnose.
Modified by dannz89
In other words, windows in safe mode fixes the problem but the culprit is NOT AVG.
As said before, Windows safe mode disables AVG. So my best guess would still be AVG. You may also ask in an AVG forum. If you believe AVG isn't the culprit, there must be something else running on your computer which interferes with Thunderbird, and which is not running in Windows safe mode. Find it. Good luck.
Modified by christ1
Chosen Solution
Given safe mode works, AVG would seem to be a distinct possibility. But another possibility that recently came to my attention, is perhaps Windows indexing. (I haven't tested it myself.)
Have you moved your profile or any of the mail folders out of their standard location, or do you have Thunderbird Allow Windows Search enabled at tools | options | advanced | general??
Wayne Mery said
Given safe mode works, AVG would seem to be a distinct possibility. But another possibility that recently came to my attention, is perhaps Windows indexing. (I haven't tested it myself.) Have you moved your profile or any of the mail folders out of their standard location, or do you have Thunderbird Allow Windows Search enabled at tools | options | advanced | general??
Disabling 'allow windows search' was the solution. Re-enabling it causes the problem again and disabling fixes it again. I've tried turning it on and off three times and the problem comes back / goes away each time. I have even removed the exception from AVG for the profile folder and it doesn't make any difference so it was definitely the windows indexing.
Problem solved. Thanks very much.
I've added your example to https://wiki.mozilla.org/Thunderbird:Testing:Memory_Usage_Problems
If you have problems in the future you will find it to be a helpful reference