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Thunderbird has frozen. What do I do?

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  • 1 has this problem
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  • Last reply by christ1

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I have 2 Apple computers. On the laptop, on 1 December 2017, Thunderbird would not open at all. A message box came up from Google, saying: “Enter credentials for xxxx @gmail.com on imap.gmail.com

I tried clicking the blue box marked NEXT, but nothing happened. To this day, this box keep coming up, but NEXT doesn’t work. So, I cannot open Thunderbird on this laptop - at all!

When I use the laptop, I have to use Apple ‘Mail’ to be able to see my emails. It is horrible – not a patch on Thunderbird!

On my iMac, Thunderbird has been working fine, until about 2 weeks ago. Then I was only able to look at eg. Inbox, and the emails there. BUT if I wanted to move to, eg SENT the whole thing froze.

The only way to be able to see eg SENT was to ‘quit’ and then reopen Thunderbird again. Same thing I could only look at that SENT, and could not move to eg Drafts – without quitting completely, and then reopening!

So I was forced to use Apple ‘Mail’ to be able to see my emails.

I use that Apple Mail for a couple of days, but then suddenly, I noticed a very inconvenient change….

All the ‘Folders’ down the left hand side became alphabetically muddled up – the now started at zz ……, and at the bottom were the folders beginning with ‘1.a’ or ‘A’. The whole list had got turned upside down.

HELP??

I have 2 Apple computers. On the laptop, on 1 December 2017, Thunderbird would not open at all. A message box came up from Google, saying: “Enter credentials for xxxx @gmail.com on imap.gmail.com” I tried clicking the blue box marked NEXT, but nothing happened. To this day, this box keep coming up, but NEXT doesn’t work. So, I cannot open Thunderbird on this laptop - at all! When I use the laptop, I have to use Apple ‘Mail’ to be able to see my emails. It is horrible – not a patch on Thunderbird! On my iMac, Thunderbird has been working fine, until about 2 weeks ago. Then I was only able to look at eg. Inbox, and the emails there. BUT if I wanted to move to, eg SENT the whole thing froze. The only way to be able to see eg SENT was to ‘quit’ and then reopen Thunderbird again. Same thing I could only look at that SENT, and could not move to eg Drafts – without quitting completely, and then reopening! So I was forced to use Apple ‘Mail’ to be able to see my emails. I use that Apple Mail for a couple of days, but then suddenly, I noticed a very inconvenient change…. All the ‘Folders’ down the left hand side became alphabetically muddled up – the now started at zz ……, and at the bottom were the folders beginning with ‘1.a’ or ‘A’. The whole list had got turned upside down. HELP??

Chosen solution

I tried clicking the blue box marked NEXT, but nothing happened.

Update to the latest version. OAuth2 authentication for Gmail is broken in Thunderbird versions before 52. https://www.mozilla.org/thunderbird/

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Chosen Solution

I tried clicking the blue box marked NEXT, but nothing happened.

Update to the latest version. OAuth2 authentication for Gmail is broken in Thunderbird versions before 52. https://www.mozilla.org/thunderbird/

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Thank you for your reply, christ1.

I now - inexplicably - have version - 52.6.0 (64-bit). (I did nothing to make this happen.) (It also says I am "currently on the release update channel) I have contacted Apple Support, as I have an iMac, and had some help from one of their 'senior' 'helpers'. However, their main problem is that Thunderbird is not an Apple product! After a day speaking to them, they have not mended this problem!

However, the Thunderbird seizing-up-on-folders-problem has forced me to use Apple "Mail'. But the problem has also altered the 'Folders' on Apple 'Mail'! , (or they call them "Mailboxes"), down the side of the emails. This order is also muddled up the neat aphabetical order on 'Mail' as well! which used to be fine!

On Mozilla website, it says that Thunderbird will AUTOMATICALLY sort the folders alphabetically. That is all I want, for it to do as it always has done, order my Folders alphabetically, automatically. (So I don't need the 'add-on' called "Manually Sort Folders".)

BUT at the moment, this Thunderbird Automatic 'alphabetical order' function is not working normally!!

My main problem - and it is this which has muddled up my Folder order, in the 'Folder pane' - is that about 2 weeks ago, Thunderbird inexplicably partially seized up.

It will now only open one 'Folder', like Inbox, and will allow me to scroll through that folder, and read any of the text (words) in the body of the email. (I can also Reply to/ or Forward / any of those emails.)

HOWEVER, what I can NOT do, now, is then click on the "Sent Mail" box - and see any of the emails there. (The emails that continue to show still belong to the Inbox). Even though I have now clicked on the Folder 'Sent Mail' to open it.

The only way that I can see the list - and read - the emails in my Sent Mail box, is to Quit Thunderbird, reopen it, (having carefully left the pointer on the choosen Sent Mail, before Quitting!), and then once it has reopened Thunderbird again, I can now click on Sent Mail.

Then I can see and open all all of that mail, in Sent Mail - BUT ... I cannot go back to say 'Inbox', or any other Folder!

It is now frozen on that one Folder, 'Sent Mail', and will not move to any other Folder - unless I *first place the pointer on the next Folder I want to look at, Then *Quit Thunderbird, then *open up Thunderbird again, and then I can look at the contents of the next chosen Folder!!

Incredibly infuriating and tedious!

WHY has Thunderbird frozen up like this? And what can I do to rectify this problem, pleeeease!?

Help!

I have version - 52.6.0 (64-bit). It says I am "currently on the release update channel) - whatever that means!

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Continue at your other topic at https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1205552