Standard diagnostic - Thunderbird

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Revision as of 14:38, 12 December 2005 by Wintogreen (talk | contribs) (tidying)
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This article offers a step-by-step guide that users can follow if Thunderbird is no longer working properly and no other application is exhibiting strange behaviour.

  1. Reboot the computer. If the problem persists, continue on.
  2. Close Thunderbird (if open) using "File -> Exit" and make sure it is not running in the background. Do not skip this step.
  3. If you have extensions or themes,
    • Start Thunderbird in Safe Mode (not Windows Safe Mode). This will start the program with all extensions disabled and with the default theme. If the problem exists in Safe Mode, or Thunderbird doesn't start in Safe Mode, continue on to the next numbered step. If the problem goes away in Safe Mode,
    • Uninstall your most recently installed or updated extension or theme, perform step 3 again, and start Thunderbird normally. If the problem persists,
    • Select the default theme in "Tools -> Themes" and uninstall your extensions in "Tools -> Extensions" (although the extensions appear grayed out, you will still be able to uninstall them). Perform step 3 again and start Thunderbird normally. If the problem persists, continue on.
  4. Important: Back up your profile before continuing so that your settings and personal data (such as mail and passwords) will not be lost. Then,
    • Perform step 2 again and delete the file "XUL.mfl" (Windows), "xul.mfasl" (Linux), or "XUL FastLoad File" (Mac OS X) from your profile folder. This file will be regenerated on next startup. If the problem persists,
    • Perform step 2 again, then delete the "localstore.rdf" file from your profile folder. You will lose any changes you have made to the toolbars. If the problem persists,
    • Perform step 2 again, then delete the "chrome" and "extensions" folders from your profile folder. You will lose all your extensions and themes. If the problem persists,
    • Perform step 2 again, then create a new profile. Your personal data and settings will be gone. If the problem is resolved, selectively copy back your important profile data to the new profile. If the problem persists, continue on.
  5. Do a fresh install:
    • Uninstall Thunderbird.
    • Open your OS temporary directory (Windows 98/ME: Start -> Run -> Type C:\Windows\Temp -> OK, Windows 2000/XP: Start -> Run -> Type %temp% -> OK) and delete all files and folders contained therein.
    • Download the Thunderbird installer from mozilla.org and re-install.

If none of these steps help, the problem could be with other running programs such as a firewall, mail-screener, spamblocker, parental control or similar program that is conflicting with Thunderbird. Try disabling these other programs, one at a time. Also check your system for viruses, spyware and other malware.