Thunderbird 24.5.0 won't stop trying to log into NNTP account, can't read old messages
I have a dead news account with a lot of old posts saved. Both of the "Check for new messages" settings for the server are unchecked, and no newsgroups on this server are selected for offline use (anymore).
When I start Thunderbird, it repeatedly tries to log into this account and puts up the password prompt. I canceled the prompt hundreds of times and it kept coming up. Eventually I was able to select one group that had a large unread count and hit C to mark all the posts read, and that seems to have gotten it under control. It still tries to log in at startup, though, and again anytime I select this server or any group or message on it.
Well, it *was* under control for a while, but after my system went to sleep and came back it prompted me a few hundred more times.
While I'm in online mode, Thunderbird refuses to display any of the saved messages. If I select "Work Offline," then it will display them.
Modified by Not R
All Replies (7)
If you don't use the news account anymore, why don't you simply remove it in Thunderbird?
I have thousands of posts saved that I still want to refer back to. I don't have a new news account set up yet to replace it.
... no newsgroups on this server are selected for offline use (anymore).
This contradicts with
If I select "Work Offline," then it will display them.
So what's correct?
If you still want to access those posts, why can't you simply enter the password for the account?
"Selected for offline use" means that *new* posts will be saved.
Thousands of *old* posts are saved that I still want access to.
Good. What's still not clear to me is why you can't simply enter the password for the account.
Because the account doesn't exist anymore.
The posts are saved on my computer. I don't need Thunderbird to go online to do anything with them. I haven't asked Thunderbird to go online to do anything with them or with the account. It shouldn't be trying to log into the account, and it shouldn't be preventing me from getting to the posts that I've already saved.
I have no idea why you get the prompts at startup. When clicking on a group while online, Thunderbird ultimately tries to connect. So going to offline mode would be a workaround.
You can try to copy the messages you want to keep into a folder underneath Local Folders. Do that in offline mode.
Once all messages have been copied to Local Folders you can delete the news account.
To copy, select the messages - right-click - Copy To.
It probably wouldn't hurt to have a backup of your profile folder before you start messing with it.