A master password (now called primary password) is not magically set out of the blue. If TB did ask you for a master password today, didn't it ask you for it yesterday? If not, what happened between yesterday and today?

Good question christ1. This is a lap top I have not used for 2years. so I started it re-installed Tbird and this has been happening since then. I have even uninstalled Tbird and deleted all files and folders I could find relating to Tbird and then re-installed. It somehow is still linked to my gmail and is still asking for the primary PW. Where does it store this information between installs?

This is a lap top I have not used for 2years.

So you did set a master password sometime in the past, and forgot about it. That does explain it.

I have even uninstalled Tbird and deleted all files and folders I could find relating to Tbird and then re-installed. It somehow is still linked to my gmail and is still asking for the primary PW.

All your data such as messages, passwords and user preferences, and changes made while you use Thunderbird, are stored in a special folder called a profile. Your profile folder is stored in a separate place from the Thunderbird program, so that if something ever goes wrong with Thunderbird your information will still be there. It also means that you can uninstall Thunderbird and reinstall without losing your settings and data.

Where does it store this information between installs?

In the profile. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-where-thunderbird-stores-user-data#w_how-do-i-find-my-profile

So you do have two options:

• create a new profile and start from scratch, see https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/using-multiple-profiles, or
• reset the existing master password

For the latter see https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/protect-your-thunderbird-passwords-primary-password#w_removing-your-primary-password

As I indicated, I tried the last suggestion you gave by pasting 'openDialog("chrome://pippki/content/resetpassword.xhtml")' into the console and nothing happened so it did not work. This is what I have been wrestling with all day yesterday. None of the indicated solutions was able to eliminate an unknown primary PW. I will try the first of your suggestions.

Thanks

I tried the last suggestion you gave by pasting 'openDialog("chrome://pippki/content/resetpassword.xhtml")' into the console and nothing happened so it did not work.

Assuming you're running TB v78 or later this will work. And it's not same same what you said you pasted in your OP.

I have TB ver 102.9 and I promise you that when I paste 'openDialog("chrome://pippki/content/resetpassword.xhtml")' and press ENTER, nothing happens except that the cursor moves to the next line. What should happen when I make this entry? And does it happen below where I am entering this command on the left panel of this window?

Thanks

What should happen when I make this entry?

Did you read the instructions in the support article linked above?

Yes, I read the instructions which say: "When prompted with the confirmation dialog box, click the Reset button."

But, NO dialog appears so I am dead in the water at that point.

I don't know what, but probably you're doing something wrong. Please describe the exact steps you're doing, and add a screenshot. https://support.mozilla.org/kb/how-do-i-create-screenshot-my-problem

OK, this time when I pasted into the console, I noticed the RUN button which none of the instructions ever mentioned. I clicked that and got the dialog to reset the PW.

Thanks for staying with me through this. I should be ok now without having to cancel the request for the PW.

However, when I now try to send an email from tbird through gmail I get the attached error. How can I avoid this one? Attached.

That's a different problem. Best practice here is to raise one problem per topic. So I'd suggest you mark this topic as 'Solved', and raise a new one for your Sending problem.