Thunderbird Community Forum

I am getting regularly getting a random notification sound even when no E-mails have been received.

It seems to be when Thunderbird is automatically checking for E-mails, so for example if i have it set to check for new e-mails every 5 Mins I will get a notification sound every 5 mins or whatever I set that time to.

How do I turn off this sound without affecting the notification when a new e-mail is received.

Hello,

I'm using Thunderbird in Debian GNU/Linux 13 (trixie).

Version: Mozilla Thunderbird 140.4.0esr

apt package: thunderbird/stable-security,now 1:140.4.0esr-1~deb13u1 amd64 [installed]

The last few weeks I started getting the problem that Thunderbird freezes, it stops responding and Debian (with the default gnome UI) shows a popup window saying "Thunderbird is not responding", then I wait for about 10 or 20 seconds, and then Thunderbird becomes responsive again.

Apparently Thunderbird is doing something that takes a long time (perhaps going through messages to index them for quicker search or something like that, I don't know), something that should be done in a background thread so that the program can remain responsive, but for some reason that heavy work is done by the main UI thread causing Thunderbird to become unresponsive.

This problem has gotten worse over the past few weeks, so I really want to do something about it before Thunderbird becomes completely useless. (At the moment I can still use Thunderbird for like 10 minutes in between the freezing, so it's not yet critical.)

How can I find out what Thunderbird is doing while the "Thunderbird is not responding" is shown?

For example, is it possible to configure some logging or performance profiling that would output to a file some information about where the program spends its time?

Other ideas about how to troubleshoot this?

Hello:

My Windows Thunderbird has become unresponsive, taking forever to connect to my various accounts. I suspect the problem is with my GMail account--which is not my primary account--is causing the problem, but I am unable to un-sync GMail's All Mail folder.

I was able to get into troubleshooting mode, but TB was still unresponsive.

I have copied the profile in question to my Linux machine, with TB V140.4.0esr, to try to repair the profile, but the problem is recurring there as well.

Is there a way to manually edit the profile file(s) to remove the GMail account from Thunderbird?

Any insights would be much appreciated.

Thanks

DrP

I already have Thunderbird installed on a laptop. IS it possible to export my inbox and view the emails on a desktop without having to create an email account on the desktop?

My gmail account has two Sent folders.

1) A folder Sent in TB. Its location in properties is (host)@imap.gmail.com/Sent. But its contents correspond to the gmail account's label [imap]/Sent.

2) Another folder Sent Mail in TB. Its location in properties is (host)@imap.gmail.com/[Gmail]/Sent Mail. But its contents correspond to the gmail account's System label Sent.

So gmail's sent mail appears in #2 - TB's Sent Mail folder - and TB's filters that run after sending mail don't run on it.

How can I straighten this out? Just swap the locations in the two folders' properties? That will make them incorrect but maybe make it sync correctly.

Every so often a message pops up that a folder can't be compacted because it's in use.

I don't understand why TB bothers users with this message. Compacting folders is supposed to be invisible to the user. It'll get compacted eventually, so no user action is required.

If I'm missing something, please educate me.

And if not, what's the best chance of getting it removed? Should I submit a bug report and argue that it's a bug in the design? Is a suggestion likely to do anything?

How do I make a backup copy of my Thunderbird email client, saving all the subfolders? I would like to then uninstall Thunderbird and then reinstall it, as a new user, and without losing any of my old user folders. Thanks. After I do this, will I be able to reload all the old subfolders and read those messages?

This morning I was receiving e-mails in TB as normal. This afternoon my e-mails have stopped (sending/receiving) and I have seen a message " Connection to server pop.virginmedia.com was reset. "

I have tried turning the PC off and on - no effect. In FireFox I can connect to web pages as normal but my e-mail has stopped working. A couple of days ago I changed my Virgin router but only now has my e-mail stopped. I can receive e-mails on my Kindle but not on my Windows 11 PC.

How can I reconnect to the internet, please?

Thank you,

Tregarth

How to remove extraneous characters in email content? (i.e. =, 3D and sometimes others) Some google suggests changing thunderbird encoding.

(1) If that is the answer... HOW to do that and to WHAT should it be changed to?

(2) Also, When I click "Edit as new message", the extraneous characters do not show up!

(3) thunderbird 140.4.0esr (64-bit) Eclipse (Win 11, but thunderbird reports it as win10) Thanks, jason53

Example1: (= sign and new line should not be there on the line below) was made to be emailed = to you.

Example2: (3D should not be there) Password =3D xxxxxx

I was having massive issues with TB when it auto updated from 142 to 143. Then last week, just when I thought I had everything restored, the damn program auto updated to 144.

I still can not "delete" messages or send anything.

I downgraded to 140.3.1 at least with that version I could delete messages. But I still could not send anything. TB send would time out and a window would pop up asking me to "sign in with my ISP".

And like others that have posted, I too lost folders on the new updates.

This whole series, 14x is a bust IMO.

I have several accounts in Thunderbird. I have never (intentionally) used the archive option. Yet, one of my accounts now has an Archive folder that I cannot delete. No option exists when right clicking the folder and I cannot drag it to the trash. It has no emails in it, and never has. Its possible its been there a while and I just didn't notice, bu AFAIK its new.

I have gone to Account Settings Copies & Folders...and the "Keep Message Archives in:" is unchecked. Further, I checked all accounts to see if one of those might be 'checked'...just with a folder specified in a different (wrong) account. Not it.

I've restarted. I'm at a loss as to how to clean this up.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thunderbird 144.01...that I upgraded to 145.0 when checking the version to report here. No change.

Somehow I have many emails on the same topic (like 40 or 50 of them, going back over several months, even years) all piled up on top of each other, and then I have to close them all one at a time when I need to switch off my PC.

It does not seem to be due to being in Conversation View. I have followed 2 or 3 videos re how to get out of Conversation View, going into settings etc, only to discover I appear to be not in it in the first place.

Is threading different from conversation view?

Please assist When I go to send a email,I add scanned Documents as a attachment<but in the email Before I send it,I cannot open the attachments It shows Could not be opened,because the associates helper application does not exist chanhe the association in your preferences I have attemped to do the above,But I need your HELP Thank you Darryl. </p>

Hello,

When I try to save attachments from emails directly on my Computer, they never arrive at the destination folder - not individual files nor "save all attachements". Although the procedure '(left button menu - save - [navigation through file system till to the destination-folder] - save here') is "normal" and does not give any error message.

I can only save attachements, when i first open them (e.g. in word), and save them from there in its destination folder. This is quite a complicated procedure .. one should be able to save attachments directly from Thunderbird, without opening it.

What is the reason for this problem? Are there any options, is it a local problem (but it is a brandnew Laptop) or is it a bug in Thunderbird?

Best, Renate Albrecher

I quite often get this message, though it tends not to be a problem later "Unable to write the email to the mailbox. Make sure the file system allows you write privileges, and you have enough disk space to copy the mailbox"

One of the solutions seems to be Compact a File. How do I do this?

15 Nov. 2025 I contacted a very savvy computer consultant in my area, and he was able to connect my Thunderbird to my Google account, so I can finally use my Thunderbird software again. I have a question about the appearance of a message when I open the message. In the past, I always had the list of my contacts on the left side of my screen, aligned vertically, when I had an open message on my screen. That is missing now. I would like to restore that feature, and I cannot find a way to do that. Thank you.