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thunderbird often 'not responding...slow to accept keystrokes and execute actions

  • 14 replies
  • 3 have this problem
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  • Last reply by david

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Thunderbird runs slow...ie when I type an email I can easily type faster than thunderbird will accept characters....(this does not happen in other applications)...this happened about a month ago, and then stopped ( I have no idea why)...but the problem is back. I am running Ver 115.10.0 build 2024012173147. Rebooting windows 11 makes no difference.... I just tried to enter Troubleshoot mode and thunderbird stopped responding....Top line says Mozilla Thunderbird (Not Responding). Thunderbird is connected to my gmail account. ...and I run IMAP....with 'store all messages on the computer', but thunderbird wants to load every email from the server'

Any advice would be appreciated Rick

Thunderbird runs slow...ie when I type an email I can easily type faster than thunderbird will accept characters....(this does not happen in other applications)...this happened about a month ago, and then stopped ( I have no idea why)...but the problem is back. I am running Ver 115.10.0 build 2024012173147. Rebooting windows 11 makes no difference.... I just tried to enter Troubleshoot mode and thunderbird stopped responding....Top line says Mozilla Thunderbird (Not Responding). Thunderbird is connected to my gmail account. ...and I run IMAP....with 'store all messages on the computer', but thunderbird wants to load every email from the server' Any advice would be appreciated Rick
Attached screenshots

All Replies (14)

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Slow typing in what part of Thunderbird?

Did you ....

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Wayne, I am using Windows 11 and none of the links you show get me to start Windows in safe mode. Also I have tried running Thunderbird in Troubleshoot mode and it makes no difference. I normally store all my gmail on my laptop in Thunderbird...It has worked very well for me, except recently when everything I try to do in Thunderbird seems to lag....ie even typing a new email, Thunderbird cannot display the characters as I type them... This works fine in a browser...like this...and fine in all other programs, like word... It is almost like TB is running on a very small old computer. If I type too fast I get TB not responding... buffers somewhere too full?

I have been storing all my gmail folders also on my laptop,,,but despite that, TB seems to want to go to the server (gmail ) to get every message...so it seems toonly be storing headers on my machine.. TB is actuall much slower than if I work directly in GMAIL...

This is really impacting my productivity.... HELP please. Rick

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Is 115.10.1 better?

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I am already using (and have been for a while) 115.10.1.....fully current...and issues continue

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Hi Wayne... I noticed that for another user you asked if TB is constantly downloading.... I have run the activity monitor and it is constantly downloading files.... Also I have not selected 'all mail' to be downloaded, but TB does it anyway. See the attachment. Any advice on what I can do with the 'all mail' folder. Can I just delete the folder from the local TB folders, since my email is also stored in my 'inbox'? I think I saw somewhere that it duplicates emails increasing storage?

Thx Rick

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right+click on the account and pick "subscribe", and uncheck the "All Mail" folder.

If problem persists, post a screen shot of what you are seeing in Thunderbird activity manager.

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TB has bee set that way for weeks Wayne... See the attachment. The all mail' folder is NOT selected for offline use, however TB keeps downloading it... It does seem to spend time synchronizing the 'sent folder', even though there are few emails sent and most from TB, rather than the gmail account See the attachments Thanks

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another screen shot of the downloading activity in All mail. Is there somewhere else to shut this off? Rick

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What I referred to is not in Properties, so I feel like you haven't followed my directions. "subscribe" is not the same as online/offline or sync.

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Hi Wayne... Had a challenge finding that. The 'all mail' folder is now gone from TB, seems to be some improvement, but when I type a new email, TB still can't keep up with my fingers.. I normally type at about 20 WPM and I often finish typing 2 words before I see them on the screen.. This doesn't happen in this form for example, where I can't get ahead...every letter shows on the screen as I hit the key...same as word and other items sw... Only in Thunderbird is the display lagging behind my typing speed.... Similar delays in deleting items or opening mail. Any additional advice appreciated... Thanks Rick

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OK...now I have done it...but not sure how I did it. The 'all mail' folder is gone from TB, and it is operating faster this morning...still not matching normal keyboard typing speed, but better. Somehow though I now have multiple copies of emails in my inbasket... Pls see screen shot attached. Any Idea how I did this and what I do to get only one copy of each message? This is a pop account. the other one I have been dealing with is imap. Thanks Rick

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Is this Inbox folder a Unified Folders inbox?

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Hi Wayne. The one with multiple copies of the same email is a Pop, but not Unified.....

I think I may have made a strategic mistake though. I have 3 different gmail accounts. The two other accounts are set in TB as imap. I much prefer to work on a laptop email because of network delays.

1. There are times I don't have internet access and need to handle mail. 2. Gmail is not terribly responsive, and depends on reliable consistent internet...and high speed so I am not always waiting for the network. 3. I need to keep archives on a laptop that I can access without internet access. Ideally Thunderbird would keep a copy of every email on on my laptop.

Thunderbird seems like the ideal desktop application to handle this but I don't think it is set up to work properly for me. I thought IMAP would be the preferred protocol, but it seems that with imap Thunderbird only keeps headers on the laptop...and downloads the full email when you try to open the email. This is problematic for me if this is correct. I now think this means TB looks on the server each time I open an email...which may be causing my delay as TB has to wait for the server..? Can you please advise on how to ensure Thunderbird ALWAYS stores full emails on my laptop and if I delete an email in Thunderbird it will notify gmail to also delete the email? (PoP vs imap, TB settings?) Thanks, Rick

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Have you tried FIle>offline>download ?