Exit Thunderbird Start computer in 'safe mode with networking'

Start Thunderbird.

Does it work ok now?

What Anti-virus software are you using ? What OS are you using? eg: Windows 10 ?

I am using Windows 8.1 and I am using Avast (free). TB has been doing this off and on now for over two years. The issue with the ISP is intermittent but the other two issues seem to be constant. It connects in safe mode.

re :It connects in safe mode.

This means there is other software on your computer interupting and causing a non responding action. The most likely candidates are: Anti-virus software scanning Thunderbird folders. Anti-Virus software scanning incoming and outgoing emails. Updates to the operating system (Windows) Background updates to other programs or games. Virus/malware,

You can make Thunderbird folders exempt from AV scanning and stop scanning incoming/outgoing mail.

You can often choose to be notified of pending updates, so you can finish what you are doing in thunderbird and then allow the updates.

So you are saying that my Anti Virus is also causing the pop up messages concerning "unable to save draft" and "unable to copy to send folder" messages? I have been using TB since it first was available and have never had this problem.

It could be your Avast having issues with SSL certificate after an Avast update.

https://support.avast.com/en-gb/article/Troubleshoot-invalid-email-certificate

It may also be due to Avast Shield. Look at this link. Scroll down to the section on Avast. https://windowsreport.com/fix-antivirus-blocking-mail/

All existing replies seem to assume solutions dealing with Windows. I am running t-bird 6.2.1 on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. Problem just started a couple of days ago after being flawless for over 2 years.

edstevens re :All existing replies seem to assume solutions dealing with Windows That's because the person who posted the question is using Windows OS. As a heads up, for any question the response always assumes Windows OS as it is the most commonly used. It is up to the person posting the question to include relevant information such as OS.

It is also common for some AV software to cause an interuption in the process.

For frank417s and edstevens: If using Imap accounts: check the 'Drafts' folder is still subscribed or unsubscribe and then Subscribe again.

• Right click on imap mail account in Folder Pane and select 'Subscribe'
• Click on 'Refresh'
• Select 'Drafts' and click on 'Subscribe'
• clickon OK

Suggest using the following in Account Settings.

• Right click on imap mail account in Folder Pane and select 'Subscribe'
• select 'Copies & Folders'

Drafts:

• Choose 'other' and select the 'drafts folder on imap mail account.
• click on 'OK'.

Have you compacted the 'Drafts' folder recently ?

• right click on 'Drafts' folder and select 'Compact' to clean up the file and remove any hidden marked as deleted emails.

It looks like I may have a more fundamental problem. I've noticed that I haven't received any new mail into T-bird in the last two days, though I am getting it on my Android. Also, in T-bird, when I click on my inbox, the pointer gets a 'spinner' that never stops, and I get a quick popup that says 'Thunderbird failed to connect to server impa.comcast.net'. Going into the 'subscribe' window, there are no folders listed. I have not changed anything within T-bird. Am not aware of any anti-virus software on Ubuntu.

edstevens

re :I get a quick popup that says 'Thunderbird failed to connect to server impa.comcast.net'. Going into the 'subscribe' window, there are no folders listed.

You are not the first to mention an issue connecting to comcast. Sounds like comcast are having some issues.

• https://downdetector.com/status/comcast-xfinity

I did locate info where someone also using Linux got a hint to change the IMAP server name from imap.comcast.net to imap.ge.xfinity.com

https://forums.xfinity.com/t5/Email-Web-Browsing/Error-The-connection-to-remote-server-imap-email-comcast-net/td-p/3167847 For those looking for a more direct answer, name resolution for imap.comcast.net seems to be failing recently. Users in the Ubuntu forum thread offer the resolution of changing the account's server to one of the IP addresses reported by "nslookup imap.comcast.net" (use the terminal, Luke.) Rather than using a fixed IP address, I reset the server name to imap.ge.xfinity.com (the canonical name for imap.comcast.net) then had to submit my password for the newly-named server. Works a treat.

Very odd. I have imap client set up for the same comcast account on 3 devices - my android, my linux laptop , and my wife's Win7 laptop. It is working perfectly on Android and Win7, but not on Linux. I would think that if it were a name resolution issue, it should impact all 3. Yet when I changed the server name to imap.ge.xfinity.com, I was able to retrieve pending mail that I was seeing on the other devices, and send mail without a problem.

So, why would a server naming/resolution issue affect only the Linux clients?

Ok, it seems this issue is being discussed on this forum as well as comcast/xfinity forums (see link above) and Ubuntu forums (linked from one of the comcast forum discussions). Seems that part of the names resolution occurs at the OS level, and some recent update to either linux or at comcast broke it for the Linux version. Even though I'm semi-retired from a career in IT, I'm not a network engineer and never studied name resolution issues enough to know that the resolution begins with some modules in the OS. I always thought the OS simply packaged the request and forwarded it upstream. As discussed in this or some of the other forums (i'm losing track of which, now!) changing the incoming server name from imap.comcast.net to imap.ge.xfinity.com worked, though some people on the Ubuntu forum expect that comcast will eventually discover and 'fix' the problem, which may or may not make us go back to the comcast address.