re : I do have a master pwd

The Master/Primary password is only designed to stop prying eyes from accessing the saved passwords in Thunderbird. Nothing else. It is not and should never be the same password as you would use for a mail account or computer user account.

It's very useful if you share your computer with other people AND you allow them access to your computer user account so they already know that password BUT you do not want those people viewing your saved email passwords in your profile. It does not stop those people accessing your emails. If the above situation does not apply to you then the Master/Primary Password is only stopping you from easy access.

If you create a Master/Primary Password, then when you start up Thunderbird you would get a prompt to enter that Master/Primary Password at the start of the session. You can choose to not enter it and continue using Thunderbird.

re :The Gmail account no longer exists in Tbird, but keeps asking for password

After removing the account via Account Settings did you access the 'Saved Passwords' and deleted all the references to the gmail 'username' for the removed account ?

• Settings > Privacy & Security
• Scroll down to Passwords section
• Click on 'Saved Passwords'
• You may get asked for the Master/Primary Password to get access OR if you have removed it then you will get access by Windows Secuity for your computer login password.
• Look for any reference where a username = the gmail email address.
• select and click on 'Remove'
• click on 'Close'
• Exit and restart Thunderbird.

Please also check whether you still have a gmail calendar or address book - as that maybe the item requesting password and really you need the account set up for those to work properly.

re: it stopped picking up my Gmail for some reason. Maybe you had not updated the server settings requirements regarding Authentication Method to Oauth ? Maybe you updated Authentication Method but did not set up all the other requirements to enable it to work? Maybe you were using Pop and it stopped downloading in which case any of the following may have been applied by gmail themseleves - auto switched off the Pop enabled option - too many emails on server and they wanted you to delete them - a logjam occured with one email on server preventing download. Maye you had a VPN enabled - gmail does not like VPN as it hides IP address so they think you are a hacker and block. I could keep guessing various reasons, but gmail does work perfectly OK for both Pop and IMAP.

If you want to set it up again then I can offer full instructions and what to check etc.

re :. It keeps asking for my account password, I always check the box for saving to the password manager, with no effect, I still have to type it in every single time.

I'm presuming this is NOT the Master/Primary Password which usually pops up at the start of a session.

If you type in correct password and you can download and send etc. Otherwise always check by seeing if you can logon to your webmail account via a browser. If yes, then you know password is good.

Access your Saved Passwords. Do you see anything in 'Saved Passwords' ? If yes: Look for all the lines where the username = email address of account. There should be at least two lines one for incoming and one for outgoing. If using Oauth then there will also be an oauth line.

• Right click on line and select 'Edit Password'
• Completely clear all the content and then carefully type in the correct password.
• Do the same for all relevant lines.
• Click on 'Close'
• Then restart Thunderbird.

My tech guys says that: The problem appears to be that there is nothing in "Saved Passwords" (for either Gmail or Thunderbird accounts)'. Thunderbird is is NOT saving my passwords at all, despite repeated requests to do so. Thank you for your help.

What do you mean by "My tech guys says" ?

You have set up a Master/Primary Password to prevent anyone seeing any saved passwords. That was the whole point of you setting up a Master/Primary Password. Only you would have access. Without that password they would not see anything.

Are you saying you have removed the Master/Primary Password? In which case access to see the Saved Passwords then requires input of your computer UserAccount password. Without that password they would not see anything.

I asked you to follow the instructions and report on what you see because only you have the passwords to be able to access that area.

If you had forgotten your Master/Primary password and had to kill it (or your Tech guy killed it in an attempt to gain access) then the result would be to remove the MasterPrimary Password AND it would also completely remove any stored passwords as a security. So if tech guy or you then accessed stored passwords you would not see anything. That does not mean it did not previously have saved passwords.

If the Master/Primary Password was killed and it auto deleted all saved passwords - Then a restart of Thunderbird would not ask for a Master/Primary Password. It would ask for the mail account password and you enter it and select checkbox to save before clicking on OK.

I ask:

1. Have you removed the Master/Primary Password by properly disabling it? It would require entering the password first to access the area for disabling it.
2. Have you been sharing all your passwords with 'your tech guy' ?
3. Did you or your Tech Guy need to force a kill/removal of the Master/Primary Password?

See if this might sort out issues before the next process of deleting files:

• Menu icon > Settings > General
• Scroll to the bottom
• uncheck this checkbox: 'Use hardware acceleration when available'

Restart Thunderbird.

I have my tech support person (in the same physical office space as me) my master pwd. He is the one trying to fix the Thunderbird issue. I let him take over my desktop computer on which I run Thunderbird. He is the oen doing the work and he has full access. It might be due to CCleaner he says.