I upgraded from Thunderbird 3 to 5 via the PortableApps Updater. After updating Thunderbird told me (unexpectedly) that some of my plugins weren't compatible. I performed a check for extension updates, applied the updates, restarted Thunderbird and all was well.
The next day I attached my drive to a different computer and Thunderbird was telling me again that the extensions weren't compatible. I followed the same procedure of updating and everything was fine and posted the issue on the release announcement page.
At JTH's request, I coped my Thunderbird folder (one I had just updated the extensions on) and renamed it to ThunderbirdPortable2 and ran it, and some of the extensions came up as not compatible. Those extensions were :
G-Hub Lite 2.3.0 (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/thunderbird/addon/google-hub-google-tab...)
MinimizeToTray revived (MinTrayR) 0.9.4 (https://tn123.org/mintrayr/)
I closed that instance of Thunderbird and re-opened my original one and it again told me the extensions weren't compatible and added a new one to the list :
New Mail Attention 1.2 (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/thunderbird/addon/new-mail-attention/)
After all this I had to reboot my computer for an Adobe update (they're getting as bad a MS) and when my computer came back up again Thunderbird said those same 3 plugins weren't compatible, and I had to update them again.
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Do you happen to have ThunderbirdPortable installed to the root of the drive? This was an issue with one instance of the replacement code.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
It's installed to it's default path at \PortableApps\ThunderbirdPortable and that's where version 3 was when it was upgraded. One of it's predecessors may have been installed in a non default path. I can try doing a new install and copy the profile over and see if that fixes it.
Please try a fresh install with those specific extensions and see if it works as you switch it between ThunderbirdPortable and ThunderbirdPortable2. Filter out the previous noise of the other restart, etc.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
I did a fresh install of Thunderbird and copied my profile folder over and it sort of worked. I can exit and restart Thunderbird and I don't have a problem with extensions but everytime I open Thunderbird it opens 2 windows. One with all my tabs opened in it like normal and another with just mail.
I probably just need to try a few other things.
I just did a fresh install and didn't copy the profile over. As soon as I ran it, it opened 2 windows. Have to pick this one back up in the morning.
If a fresh install is demonstrating non-standard behavior, then something is up on the specific PC. Did it have a local TB at some point?
Also try a different drive, even a local one. You could have a failing USB drive.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
We don't say "failing drive" around here - you need to put $5 in the swear jar.
This morning I uninstalled all instances of TB off the drive (restarted the computer) and then re-installed it. I then went in and added my extensions through TB (not by copying my profile over). Restarted TB a few times and and everything looked good with the extensions. Then I manually copied over the individual folders from profile back into my new one and I'm good to go.
The only thing I noticed was a NewApp.ini file was created in the portableapps data folder with this in it.
I read on another thread somewhere that the NewApp.ini file is for future use, so I just removed it and everything seems fine.
I restarted my computer - and the same behavior is happening again. If others aren't experiencing this issue then we don't have to pursue it - I can live with it. I was more concerned it was an issue for everyone.
Did you close Thunderbird Portable down cleanly first, or did you let the shutdown of the PC do it for you?
Hi,
same here. Thunderbird5 is running in a dropbox cloud drive, which worked fine until thunderbird3. Now after every first start on a PC some Add-ons are flagged as not compatible: "Deutsches Wörterbuch 2.0.2", "SmtpSelect 1.1.0", "Mar All Read Button 0.5". After looking for updates and installing and restarting everything works fine. Until I switch PCs
Some Add-Ons are working: gContactSync 0.3.3, Quicktext 0.9.11.0, Select Addressbook Text 1.5, Silvermel and Charamel XT 1.4.2
Path is d:\dokumente\dropbox\apps\thunderbird (on all PCs)
I tried do reinstall the addons on every PC, but this did not help.
Greetings, Jörg
I suspect that the problem might be in an obscure registry entry that is saved – at least temporarily – on the host computer. I generally turn off compatibility checking in both Thunderbird and Firefox, by inserting these two lines in about:config (in Thunderbird, access it under Options –> Advanced –> Configuration...)
extensions.checkCompatibility.5.0 -- false
local_install.extensions.checkCompatibility -- false
The first entry allows installed extensions to work under Thunderbird (or Firefox) 5.0.x. You'll need different lines for Thunderbird 5.1 and so on, as well as for alpha and beta versions (ex.: 6.0a and 6.0b).
If I understand correctly, the second entry allows you to install extensions that are theoretically not installable.
To add those two lines in about:config, right-click in the about:config window and select new –> bolean value. Then type the name of the field (copy-paste from above) and the "false" value.
A warning: it will allow officially incompatible extensions to work. However, truly incompatible extensions won't work or may have undesirable effects.
Michel Gagnon
Montréal (Québec, Canada)
I have also noticed the same problem since Thunderbird 5. Likewise its on a Dropbox installation. The installation path on both computers is c:/Dropbox/PortableApps/Thunderbird etc.
I have tried uninstalling all extensions, gone through Thunderbird's prefs.js to update or remove any old path (its an old profile so there were still many references to long uninstalled extensions, older installation paths etc).
I have also done a little exploring and come across something a little strange, or at least something I don't understand.
I have seven extensions. Examining the install.rdf of every extension reveals that of these, only three include an 'em:maxVersion' up to or beyond 5. Unsurprisingly, the 4 that have an 'em:maxVersion' less than 5.* are the extensions that report as incompatible when switching computers.
As with the others above, telling TB to update the extensions (or downloading the latest version) does not change this value, but it does allow the extensions to operate. I guessed maybe TB keeps something like a "whitelist" of extensions that it allows to operate beyond their maxversion but I could not find anything like this.
I thought I was onto something when I searched for the emid of the extensions and found entries in both TB's blacklists.... but then I saw that all extensions used the same emid, including those that always work, plus a handful of other IDs.
The extensions in question are as follows:
GB Dictionary
Attachment Extractor
Folder Account
Extra Folder Columns
They are all latest versions, download from Mozilla and apparently compatible upto TB 8.0!
I have also tried the obvious and amended the install.rdf of one of the offending extensions with a maxVersion of 5.*
Amusingly after restarting TB (on the same PC) the extension with the amended install.rdf now reported incompatible again on both PCs (at least until I told TB to update the extensions).
So clearly in the case of these extensions, the maxVersion is not defining compatibility with TB. This is happening somewhere else but I don't know where. What's more, wherever this is being written is not transferring between PCs. As I am using Dropbox to sync these profiles its possible (though unlikely) that Dropbox is not picking up the change. It will be worth copying the installation onto a USB stick to replicate and reconfirm but based on the experience of the OP I expect the same result.
At a guess TB is caching or temporarily listing compatible extensions, and is clearing this cache when it detects it is running on a new PC. That's my guess anyway...
Unless anyone has any ideas I suppose the next step would be to contact the authors of the extensions, or Mozilla.
the same will definitely work on usb stick and all can be moved to any computer you want and no problems will come up, unless someone did something strange and his portable installation is not portable any more and somehow tied to the local registry as trying it to be default mail client etc.
This way nothing is changing apart from the drive letter.
it will not work from dropbox folder as it will refuse to work when whole folder copied somewhere else.
Particularly observed on ntfs drives.
The problem with the dropbox is, that when files are copied to the backup server and then back to some client folder somewhere they appear as to be new or changed and thus need to be kind of re-read.
I have the same experience with dropbox. As long as I keep it one dropbox folder alone (it is on the stick portable in my case) it will work also here, but not when I have dropbox installed on other computer, let it synch from the server and then try to run it there. Then half of the extensions fails on first instance and has to be re-installed , by attempt to update them for example.
Same BTW with firefox.
Otto Sykora
Basel, Switzerland
>The installation path on both computers is c:/Dropbox/PortableApps/Thunderbird etc.
Otto Sykora
Basel, Switzerland
This was fixed a few versions back but this bug wasn't closed. I've confirmed that the above-mentioned extensions (that still exist) are working in Thunderbird Portable 11.0 and 11.0.1 as the path and drive letter change.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!