i just updated to portable tbird 2.0.0.17 by using the portable apps launcher, but the program hangs and i have to use windows task manager to stop the program.
on the windows task manager 'processes' tab, there is a 'thunderbird.exe' running using 90+ CPU and anywhere from 60,000 - 300,000K for Mem Usage. at the same time there is also a thunderbirdportable.exe running under 10 CPU and under 10,000K Mem Usage.
i deleted the portable tbird folder and reinstalled--same thing...
i did not have this issue with the 2.0.0.16 portable tbird...
thanks for the assistance!
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Can you give some more information. Such as what language, operating system and install path (usually X:\PortableApps\ThunderbirdPortable)? Also, could you try a default blank copy with a blank profile and see if that works as well as trying it from a local disk?
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
language = english
os = win xp pro sp2
install path = M:\PrtApp\PortableApps\ThunderbirdPortable
(this install path is inside a truecrypt volume.)
The root of the 'main' USB drive is Q:\ there is 5.29GB free on this disk, and 1.25GB free on the M truecrypt volume.
i didn't have time today to try the default blank copy with blank profile, and did not try from a local disk...
update: the program only hangs when i open or try to send an e-mail with an attachment--and it now does this on both 2.0.0.17 and the older version portable tbird 2.0.0.16. for all other e-mail with no attachment, there are no issues...
under windows task manager, there are seperate processes running for tbirdportable.exe and tbird.exe
(tbird.exe still has the high cpu and mem usage numbers); and in applications, there are 2 tasks running for tbird.
i have had this setup for a week--worked fine, and today i got the tbird auto update notice, so i went to the portableapps site to see if the update was there...that's when the problems started. i have since gone back to 2.0.0.16 but only having problems with attachments as mentioned above...
thanks again!
Well, to troubleshoot, try running it outside of your TrueCrypt volume on the same device as well as on a local disk. And a default install inside, outside and local if need be. That will help us isolate the issue. I know someone else was having an issue with TrueCrypt and Firefox last week, which is odd as we've never had reports of that before.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
It is very unlikely that the issue is related to TrueCrypt. After mount procedure TrueCrypt file containers or partitions are pretty much like any folder on the hard drive. My PortableApps are inside TrueCrypt container for over 1 year now.
Yeah, I'm aware. But, like I said, we had a report last week of Firefox Portable failing only when a user had it within a TrueCrypt volume. In theory, a TrueCrypt volume is indistinguishable from a regular drive. But in reality, there can be bugs in the implementation of it. So, the responsible thing to do is test around it and rule it out if possible.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Unfortunately, there are always a few bugs in the implementation. But I never seen a bug in TrueCrypt which affects the main purpose of the program.
Current known bug is header backup creation when having a hidden volume. It's impossible to create a header backup.
I am having the same problem. When I try to open or display an email with an attachment, thunderbird hangs and I have to end the process. It happened before I updated to .17. I have tried copying my mailbox to my standard Thinderbird app and get the same problem with this. It seemed to start a few days ago. I suspect a windows XP update but may be wrong. Would really appreciate someone coming up with a fix for this as I love Thunderbird as an email client, but am having to look around for other solutions.
PS Don't know if this is relevant, but Thunderbird portable takes approx 15minutes to open. I have huge mailboxes as I run a number of web based businesses, but this means I have to plan in breakfast when I start up! This is when I am running directly off my hard disk, haven't dared try to run off my external disk!
I have had the same problems. I found out that Thunderbird also crashes when I try to click on Tools > Options > Attachments > Download Actions > View & Edit Actions. And I also had the impression that my TBP takes very long to open.
My "solution" was to set up a new version of Thunderbird and install my extensions again. I hoped to find out at which point the difficulties would start. As there were no problems with opening mails anymore, I copied the files containing my emails and started to use this version and deleted the faulty one.
I don't know what the problem is but I think I found out that it must be situated in my data-folder but not in the email files I copied to my new version. As I have installed the same extensions now this can not be the problem either.
Hope that helps.
I am having the same problem. I run a small press publishing company and I receive lots of submissions with attachments so email is critical to my business. The problem happens when I am trying to forward an email as well. Thinking it was an issue with how TBP handles attachments I tried to look at the settings in the TPB setup and when I select Attachments tab and choose the attachments button TPB hangs.
I thought about going back to 2.0.0.16 but TB insists that I update TPB and if I choose to cancel out it tells me it will do it next time TBP starts. Load time is REALLY REALLY slow.
I was wondering what would happen if I did rollback to the previous version and allowed TB to update the app instead of using the TPB update?
Thoughts?
Dont use the built in updater as it will break portability.
If you dont have an update in progress, you can just download the older version and install it right over the newer one to go back.
"What about Love?" - "Overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate." - Al Pacino in The Devils Advocate
I am going to give a rollback a shot. Originally as soon as I installed TBP the updater ran on it's own which I didn't want to happen as I wanted to wait for PA to have the upgrade available. Since that upgrade though my email doesn't work like I need it to.
Update - I can not find the prior version of TBP
are on the project's Sourceforge page.
I also suggest that you manually delete the /ThunderbirdPortable/App folder cause otherwise the rollback might not work because an update was in progress.
"What about Love?" - "Overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate." - Al Pacino in The Devils Advocate
Hello
I thought I should try add some more details to this problem in the hope someone can help us find a solution.
After first loading, TBPortable appears to hang after opening an email with an attachment/fwding an email (these are problems I found) or opening attachment options in Options.
Task manager will show the thunderbird.exe process as using some 50%CPU
Using processexplorer I looked at the threads of thunderbird.exe and this also showed the exe was eating the cpu and none of the dlls associated with it - no idea if that is meaningful whatsoever
Windows event viewer records no error
EDIT: When force-ending TB Windows provides the following Error Signature
szAppName : thunderbird.exe szAppVer : 1.8.20080.25885
szModName : hungapp szModVer : 0.0.0.0 offset : 00000000
Under "view technical information about the error report" it lists two files in a temp directory - thunderbird.exe.mdp and appcompat.txt. I can send these on if they might be useful.
I dont know if TB creates a log file or not but I couldnt find one
I can provide a hijack this report if you want to know what applications im running
ALSO one important note (i found at least) although TBPortable APPEARS to hang I have found in every case after maybe 30 minutes it completes the action (open email attachment or fwd email). Please note this only happens once after loading and then TB behaves normally. EDIT: On my second attempt to replicate the problem today I am now waiting 45 minutes for TB to open an email with an attachment, still waiting, it just sits there saying Loading message... Its an email it has opened previously.
I have also just installed a fresh TBPortable on another drive connecting to a different much smaller email account. The problem has not repeated itself with that installation and TB works quick and nippy. I will compact all my folders on the problem installation and rebuild all mailbox indexes and see what that does.
I have version 2.0.0.17 on Windows XP SP3.
My external drive (on which im running TBPortable) is a Toshiba HDD i stripped from a laptop and now sits in a Safecom USB portable enclosure - no specific drivers installed for external drive.
The path is I:/Thunderbird/ThunderbirdPortable
The path for the other installation with the other email account is J:/ThunderbirdPortable
Please let me know what other information you need from me
EDIT: Well it seems the problem is in the profile (if it wasnt clear already). I moved my profile to a fresh install of Thunderbird (not portable) and the same problem has appeared - TB hangs when trying to open mails with attachments or fwding messages. The problem did NOT repeat when using a backup copy of the same problem from two weeks ago.
I have compacted all folders and rebuilt all indexes (even to the point of deleting every index file in the profile) all to no effect.
There are no new plugins and I have tried running TB with all plugins disabled
Does anyone know what else in my profile might be causing this? Is there something else that can become corrupted?
I have been fighting this problem for weeks - same exact issue! Will someone please rescue us!
AT LAST!!!
I deleted the mimeTypes.rdf file in the profile folder and Thunderbird works perfect again! I did this both for normal and portable version and it does the trick both times. In each case deleting mimeTypes makes TB create a new file. The original mimeTypes.rdf file was about 90Mb and seemed to be growing considerably each time I loaded TB. The new file is 3K.
I dont know what mimeTypes does and what repurcussions deleting did but it seems to have solved this problem. All my folders seem intact, all my mails are there, I can open attachments and fwd email oh its a glorious feeling.
So, to the TB community who know stuff, what the hell is mimeTypes????
@cdesousa and the original poster I hope this solves your problem
(by the way mimeTypes is in your ThunderbirdPortable/Data/profile folder where ThunderbirdPortable is the folder you installed it into. Different case with a normal installation of TB though)
EDIT: Well boys and girls I looked up mimeTypes on MozillaZine and it seems this file handles how TB deals with attachments etc
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Actions_for_attachment_file_types
This also mentions deleting it in the event of problems. I realise I was looking at the wrong profile when I said the file was 90oddMB. Actually it was 672MB!! Looking through my old backup profiles this file is small in all my backups dating to pre-TBPortable and then grows after Portbale. So the question is what is going wrong with Portable? Or what is it in my profile that doesnt agree with TBPortable and corrupts this file. Hopefully someone can help answer these questions
It's a file that Firefox/Thunderbird uses to store what it uses to open what. It can be used to point FF/TB to, say, SumatraPDFPortable.exe to open PDF files and it'll continue to work as you switch PCs. The launcher updates it from one drive to the next.
It's an XML file. And if it gets corrupted (unsafe eject, logical errors on your portable drive, USB port with a small short in it, etc) things get really wonky really fast.
This is the first I've ever heard of this happening among our millions of users. Not sure if it can be addressed. Did one of the above issues occur?
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Hi
I haven't noticed any errors with this drive. Strangely TB seems to have remembered what to open what with, ie Sumatra and OpenOffice. Is it possible it takes its cues from FF?
One thing that may be worth noting, last week I used this drive and installation of TBPortable with a really very unreliable laptop with motherboard issues. As its currently been repaired I dont know what those problems were exactly but thinking back to some issues I had with another portable drive and that particular laptop I wonder whether you are right - faulty USB port on the laptop could have caused the problem, but would it have only materialised in that file?
Anyway thanks for clearing that up a little. I should check the drive whilst Im at it...
The programs are independent so I would be surprised if TB would take cues from FF.
And yes a faulty USB port can cause data/file corruption because if for example there is a power drop, the file cant be written back to the stick.
"What about Love?" - "Overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate." - Al Pacino in The Devils Advocate
I only noticed this happening after upgrading a) Portable Thunderbird to 2.0.0.17 and b) applying the recent patches for W2K, e. g. the recent outside-the-schedule patch against that worm.
I *may* have updated one or more extensions, but can't think of any one in particular that I may have updated shortly before this started happening.
No unsafe ejects or logical errors on the drive (a 100 GB 2.5" Samsung USB unit, FAT32 on the partition where I have PortableApps) *that I know of*.
The fact that Thunderbird has more or less always "let its mind wander" from time to time, especially while typing in a new message, may have hidden the problem for a while, making it harder to connect it to any single cause/event.
FWIW, I've been driving myself nuts trying to get to grips with this problem, assuming it should be one or many of my unorthodox ways of handling portable Thunderbird. Bad but proven habits ;), they were obviously not the culprit here.
Thanks a large bundle for posting about this issue here! Everything seems to be back to normal after deleting two Alien-meets-Predator-like mimetypes.rdf corpses (and staying awake for five more hours than I really should have...).
Gudmund
THANK YOU SO MUCH. I have been using Thunderbird Portable for 4 years and have never had a problem that a fresh re-install would not correct but this one almost (and may still) drive me back to Outlook. I have been crippled without access to my email so thank you for your time in solving this problem. I know some of you are thinking "back up" and I do but not daily or weekly so loosing even a days worth of email can hurt.
Keep up the good work and for your contribution for the "cause".
Deleting the mimeTypes.rdf file worked. TBP/TB. does create a new mimeTypes.rdf file and TBP loads fast now.
I appreciate all the help because I doubt if I would have ever figured this one out on my own.
Hey chaps
Thanks for the appreciation. One thing worth noting though, the mimeTypes problem might indicate a bigger problem with your drive or USB port. I ran chkdsk on the same drive which found 4 corrupt files completely unrelated to TB. Now whether this is sign of a failing HDD or due to an unreliable laptop I used to use I dont know but might be worth checking your disk for any other problems.
i ended up going to the "Mozilla Thunderbird, Portable Edition Support" page, and in this paragraph:
"Copying Your Local Thunderbird Settings
If you're using a local copy of Thunderbird, you may wish to just copy your local Thunderbird settings right into Thunderbird Portable. Your local Thunderbird profile is usually installed in C:\Documents and Settings\[user]\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\default.???\ Just copy all of those files to the Data\profile directory within Thunderbird Portable. Sometimes, certain profiles will cause the launcher to fail or hang. In that case, start from scratch and try just copying your mailstores (Mail and ImapMail directories) as well as your prefs.js and abook.mab files."
soooo, i started from scratch and copied the files as noted above to a 'clean' portable t-bird install...and since then, no problems--i wish i would have seen the part about deleting the mimetype.rdf file...probably would have been a faster fix, but i'm back up and running, although i did not go back to a truecrypt volume for now, perhaps later...
thanks to everyone for their posts and especially constantino for coming up with a better solution!