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GPG Portable Problems

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NotMine
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Last seen: 1 month 2 weeks ago
Joined: 2013-11-18 15:58
GPG Portable Problems

My setup:
- Windows 7 Pro SP1 64-bit, fully updated
- I DO NOT use a user account that has "admin" privileges for security reasons, but I do have full "admin" access (I own the PC)

Portable Apps setup
- installed on a portable SSD drive
- all portable apps are current per the PortableApps menu updater
- Thunderbird is at 45.2.0 (might not be the absolutely most current version but works best for me)
- Current version GPG Portable installed via PortableApps menu, and then I restarted Tbird after the GPG Portable install
- Enigmail addon installed (using Tbird's manual Addon install method), version 1.9.5, supposedly "current"

During Enigmail addon install it did not prompt me to install GPG4Win or anything like that. I looked in Tbird "about:config" and searched for "enigmail". I saw the various entries for Enigmail along with an entry pointing to the GPG Portable binary "gpg2.exe" that is installed in the "PortableApps\commonfiles\gpg" folder. So I guess Enigmail properly detected the GPG Portable install.

When attempting to initially configure Enigmail it complained of the <TbirdPortable>\Data\gpg folder not being present. So I added that folder and restarted Tbird. I then re-ran the Enigmail setup, created a public/private keypair for testing and saw the various entries populate in the folder that I had created.

Thunderbird behavior
- I see the "account Settings -> OpenPGP Security" option
- I see the "Enigmail" entry in the Tbird menubar and I can click on to get it's pulldown
- I used Enigmail's "Key Management" feature in it's menu pulldown to setup a key for myself for testing
- I setup Enigmail to only "sign" emails. I wanted to start as simple as possible.

When I type a very short message to myself in an email and attempt to sign it, Enigmail "errors out" saying "gpg-agent" is not running and something about the configuration not being useable.

I looked in the Enigmail "Debug Log" and found this message:
[GNUPG:] USERID_HINT E60005--AB76 "name" <email address> <<-- EDITED!!
[GNUPG:] NEED_PASSPHRASE E60005--AB76 E60005--AB76 1 0 <<-- EDITED!!
gpg: can't connect to the agent: IPC connect call failed
gpg: problem with the agent: No agent running
[GNUPG:] ERROR get_passphrase 77
[GNUPG:] MISSING_PASSPHRASE
gpg: skipped "0x--AB76": Operation cancelled <<-- EDITED!!
[GNUPG:] INV_SGNR 0 0x--AB76 <<-- EDITED!!
[GNUPG:] FAILURE sign 99
gpg: [stdin]: clearsign failed: Operation cancelled

When I look in Windows Task Manager I do not see any Services entry for "gpg-agent"

Here's the Enigmail "Debug Log" output that follows the above message:
2016-10-09 01:19:08.076 [DEBUG] system.jsm: determineSystemCharset
2016-10-09 01:19:08.076 [DEBUG] system.jsm: determineSystemCharset: charset='437'
2016-10-09 01:19:08.077 [DEBUG] system.jsm: determineSystemCharset
2016-10-09 01:19:08.077 [DEBUG] system.jsm: determineSystemCharset: charset='437'
2016-10-09 01:19:08.078 [DEBUG] errorHandling.jsm: parseErrorOutputWith: statusFlags = 00400000
2016-10-09 01:19:08.078 [DEBUG] errorHandling.jsm: parseErrorOutputWith: return with c.errorMsg = gpg: can't connect to the agent: IPC connect call failed
gpg: problem with the agent: No agent running
2016-10-09 01:19:08.078 [DEBUG] execution.jsm: EnigmailExecution.fixExitCode: agentType: gpg exitCode: 2 statusFlags 4194304
2016-10-09 01:19:08.078 [DEBUG] encryption.jsm: encryptMessageEnd: command execution exit code: 2
2016-10-09 01:19:08.078 [DEBUG] enigmail.js: Enigmail.encryptMessage: command execution exit code: 2
2016-10-09 01:19:08.079 [DEBUG] enigmailMsgComposeOverlay.js: Enigmail.msg.replaceEditorText:
2016-10-09 01:19:08.080 [DEBUG] enigmailMsgComposeOverlay.js: Enigmail.msg.editorInsertText
2016-10-09 01:19:08.082 [DEBUG] enigmailMsgComposeOverlay.js: Enigmail.msg.editorInsertText
2016-10-09 01:19:13.351 [DEBUG] enigmailMsgComposeOverlay.js: Enigmail.msg.removeAttachedKey:
2016-10-09 01:19:16.733 [DEBUG] enigmailMsgComposeOverlay.js: EDSL.enigDocStateListener.NotifyDocumentStateChanged
2016-10-09 01:19:16.736 [DEBUG] enigmailMsgComposeOverlay.js: EDSL.enigDocStateListener.NotifyDocumentStateChanged
2016-10-09 01:19:16.738 [DEBUG] enigmailMsgComposeOverlay.js: Enigmail.msg.msgComposeClose
2016-10-09 01:19:16.738 [DEBUG] enigmailMsgComposeOverlay.js: Enigmail.msg.msgComposeReset
2016-10-09 01:19:18.051 [DEBUG] enigmailMessengerOverlay.js: updateOptionsDisplay:
2016-10-09 01:19:18.051 [DEBUG] funcs.jsm: collapseAdvanced:
2016-10-09 01:19:19.241 [DEBUG] enigmailMessengerOverlay.js: updateOptionsDisplay:
2016-10-09 01:19:19.241 [DEBUG] funcs.jsm: collapseAdvanced:
2016-10-09 01:19:20.385 [DEBUG] enigmailHelp.js: enigLoadPage
2016-10-09 01:19:20.385 [DEBUG] enigmailCommon.jsm: getFrame: name=contentFrame

Can someone, anyone, point me in the direction of what might be messed up in this configuration?

John T. Haller
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Joined: 2005-11-28 22:21
Update Thunderbird

You'll need to update Thunderbird for proper support. We only support the latest version. The automatic GPG detection and configuration within your prefs.js file is handled by us, not by Enigmail. Please update to the latest version and see if it's working then.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

NotMine
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Last seen: 1 month 2 weeks ago
Joined: 2013-11-18 15:58
I updated to the latest

I updated to the latest available version of Tbird Portable on your website, 45.4.0, using a copy of my existing 45.2.0 setup.

Same error messages regarding "no agent running". A quick look inside Windows Task Manager confirms no "agent" service is running.

I restarted Tbird 45.4.0 thinking that might change things. The error doesn't change.

I did check for any changes in my original post and nothing has changed there.

I opened up a DOS window in the folder where GPG Portable is installed and ran some commands. All commands I tried ran just fine. I could even successfully repeat some of the GPG "key query" commands found in Enigmail's "debug log". So I know that much works right.

FYI - The GPG Portable webpage should have a warning added saying what versions of Thunderbird and Seamonkey are "supported". I looked this evening after reading your reply and saw no warning at all. A version check added to the Portable Installer would be a good addition to a webpage warning. I'm not saying this to "make work" for anyone, just trying to be considerate of the user's experience.

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