Press on the keyboard left "alt" buttons - tools menu - and there should be options

yes, pressing 'ctrl' + the left 'alt' then tools. It did display the tools menu with 'options' at the bottom. BUT when I then click on 'options' the screen remains totally blank !! Can't get to the password screens.

Can you try restart in safe mode (with no add-ons enabled)? Is it the same?

I have restarted in 'safe' mode. Problem still exists. the 'options' page when selected, remains totally blank !

I need the 'options' page to get at the password control screens. Any suggestions ?

You might try to downgrade to v68 (and deselect automatic updates). I have just found another using mentioning the --allow-downgrade command after the "downgrade".

Don't know how to do that. Please point me in the right direction. I'll try

You go on tb download page and search for 68.9.0 Download software and install it. On last step of the installation do NOT select to start tb After installed go to run (search run, select that run app) and write on that small field this: thunderbird --allow-downgrade Press enter and that's all. You will have 68 working. After that go to Option - Update - change update to manually and disable update service. After that you can search for updates manually (should suggest 68.12 - this one you can update). Please note that you will need to search on addons page the versions which are working with 68.0* - those with 78* will not work

From the tb main page if I click on 'Help'/'Thunderbird Help' there I find a download option - center screen. However this will not allow any searching or changing. It will download only version 78.2.2 Not usable. Other than that there is a download option within the 'File'/'Offline' buttons on the main tb page. Unfortunately that download option is greyed out and NOT selectable. Stuck again right at the start !!

here it is a link to last v68 - https://archive.mozilla.org/pub/thunderbird/releases/68.9.0/

I downloaded and installed the above version 68. When ran it immediately stated the profile was not compatible and I was given the task of building a new profile. Having done that it then asked for a password !!!! It did however allow me to select the 'options' tab. When selecting that tab to view passwords nothing was displayed - a blank table. no passwords. Yet it still asks for a password.

I am about ready to give up on Thunderbird

I think you have started TB after downgrade normally and then created a new profile You might try starting Thunderbird wit -p command and select other profile. When show error about that profile click on exit. Then start thunderbird with --allow-downgrade command as mentioned above.

I wonder : Why am I the only one from the Carolina coast to the California cost to report this problem ??? Is Thunderbird level 78 somehow not compatible with the very old Windows 7 -- Which this machine runs -- my only machine.

Let's go back to the original issue of password and options in version 78.

1. When exactly is it asking for a password? 2. Is it asking for "Master" or "Primary" password? 3. Open Tools > Developer Tools > Error console, hit the trash button, now try to open Options, what do you see in the Error Console?

1. When exactly is it asking for a password? That' difficult to say exactly, you see, I have downloaded and re-installed Thunderbird 3 times now.With each time he acts a bit different. Initially, he asked for a password at start-up. And he was persistent. If I did not enter a word of hit 'cancel' or hit 'X' he would keep on asking over and over. Now- no PW request on start-up.

2. Is it asking for "Master" or "Primary" password? I do not remember him specifying a specific type of PW. Like now, when I tap on download e-mail messages, he requests just a generic password.

3. Open Tools > Developer Tools > Error console, hit the trash button, now try to open Options, what do you see in the Error Console? This is odd. I do not have 'Developer Tools' - only 'Web developer' which I tapped on. And so I do not have 'Error console' only 'Web console' which I used. And again, I have no 'trash button' only the 'delete' button, which I hit - several times. As far as I could tell, it did nothing at all, nothing. I'm going to test that out again. That's not correct I don't think.

But an improvement was seen in the options task . This time he allowed me to open it successfully and to actually display the passwords assigned to various web pages. That was never allowed before , I'm certain !! Progress. Why? Don't know.

Attempting to re-run the test mentioned above did not work. IE I taped on 'Web developer' and then on 'Web console' but nothing. Nothing was returned. I think it erred out somewhere but with nothing returned, I can't tell. Stuck