Thunderbird 153: fresh profiles become partially unusable after some time; Settings and address autocomplete stop working
I was referred here from Thunderbird Bugzilla report 2081665.
We are experiencing a recurring problem with Thunderbird 153 on several Windows workstations in a business environment.
The important point is that the problem also occurs with completely new Thunderbird profiles created from scratch. It is not limited to migrated or old profiles.
On one workstation this has already happened to three separate Thunderbird profiles.
Typical sequence:
1. Thunderbird 153 is installed. 2. A completely new profile is created. 3. Mail accounts are configured manually. 4. Everything initially works normally. 5. After some time the profile begins to malfunction. 6. Thunderbird Settings no longer open/respond. 7. The address books still exist, but address autocomplete when composing a new message stops working. 8. Creating another new profile temporarily fixes the problem, but the same behavior can return later.
Troubleshooting already performed:
- Troubleshoot Mode - extensions disabled - tested without the existing prefs.js - rebuilt Thunderbird caches and profile UI state - recreated indexes/databases - completely removed Thunderbird from Program Files, AppData\Roaming and AppData\Local - clean Thunderbird installation - clean profile created from scratch - Thunderbird executable and profile paths added to Kaspersky Endpoint Security trusted applications/exclusions
Removing prefs.js from an already affected profile did not restore the Settings window.
A clean test profile initially works correctly.
We have also encountered this behavior on other workstations. Some users have more than 100 message filters and many folders, so rebuilding profiles repeatedly causes significant administrative work.
Several affected computers had Windows user accounts renamed in the past.
We also experienced a separate issue where the Attach File dialog stopped appearing while drag-and-drop still worked. Bugzilla identified this as the already known Bug 2077590, so I consider that a separate issue.
For comparison, after completely cleaning Thunderbird from an affected workstation and installing Thunderbird 115.3.1 with a clean profile, the same workstation currently works normally.
Because freshly created Thunderbird 153 profiles can later develop the same problem again, simply recreating the profile does not appear to be a permanent solution.
Environment:
- Windows workstations - Thunderbird 153 ESR - Kaspersky Endpoint Security - multiple IMAP accounts - business environment
What diagnostic information should I collect from the next affected profile before replacing it?
I can provide:
- Thunderbird Troubleshooting Information - Error Console output - profile file names/sizes/timestamps - Windows Event Viewer logs - sanitized prefs.js - comparison with a working fresh profile
Bugzilla report: 2081665 Known separate attachment bug: 2077590
All Replies (1)
Automatically under extreme suspicion Kaspersky Endpoint Security
Removing prefs.js from an already affected profile did not restore the Settings window.
I would actually expect that to break a profile and loose most of the users settings as that is where they are stored along with all of their accounts. Even address book data becomes suspect as much of that database assignment and account assignment information is contained in the prefs.js as well.
As it is is corporate situation I would suggest restarting the device affected in safe mode with networking as you should have a wired network and see what affect that has. Also start Thunderbird in troubleshooting mode (hold the shift key while starting or restart from the help menu)
My guess the crippling affects of using Kaspersky will not be present and the whole thing will just function as it did in the past.
1. If that is not the case, open the error console on the affected device (ctrl+shift+J) Clear the console and report the errors that appear in the console when to settings windows is not displayed accessible editable. (right click makes copying them fairly simple)
2. Please post the troubleshooting information from the help menu (it has a handy copy button)
Please ensure that you antivirus/security solution is not attempting to manage Thunderbird through Group policies. There are templates that disable user access to settings.
As well as a number of other enterprise settings. See https://enterprise.thunderbird.net/manage-updates-policies-and-customization
Hence the request for the troubleshooting information. That should show most of those things if they are setup
Matt modificouno o