Linux and Thunderbird

I am a recent convert from Windows XP to Linux LXE. I really like everything I have learned to use about LXE. However, although Firefox functions nicely, Thunderbird is very very SLOW and crashes often. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Congrats on the successful(?) migration Fly! Willing to help ya if I can, but need more information. Never heard of Linux LXE, did you mean "LXLE" or "Lubuntu Xtra Life Extension"? Or perhaps some other distro with the LXDE (Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment) desktop? This MAY be important in the troubleshooting process. It could be helpful to know if you're running LXLE 12.04.4 or Lubuntu 14.04 (both LXDE desktops), for instance.

Also, what version of Thunderbird are you using? Can you click the menu, choose "help" and "about" to verify version of Tbird? Lastly, how did you install Tbird? Did you install the repository version from the Software Center of your distro, or did you download a *.deb file from Mozilla or another website?

I may have other questions, but I need to know the answers to these questions first. Help me to help you! ;-)

 

Many thanks for your response.
I am running Ubuntu 12.04.4 LTS, aka "LXLE".
I am using Thunderbird 24.5.0 and I installed the repository version from the Software Center of my distro.
I am thoroughly enjoying learning to use this OS and observe no other problems, just this extremely SLOW Thunderbird, which causes it to crash often.
Many thanks again for any advice you wish to offer!

 

I primarily run Ubuntu 12.04.4 on my personal machines, but I do have 2 machines running LXLE (one is 12.04.3 and the other running 12.04.4); I also use Thunderbird on my main Ubuntu machines, but not the LXLE machines. Thunderbird 24.5.0 is indeed the latest & greatest version and you have installed it from the Software Center, so that's 2 steps of troubleshooting already done.

My next questions are:
1. do you have Thunderbird fully setup with 1 or more e-mail accounts? Or did you install Thunderbird and immediately notice how slow it was?
2. have you installed any add-ons in Thunderbird? if so, which ones?
3. If you have setup any e-mail accounts or installed add-ons, do you have a backup of the Thunderbird profile, found in the ./thunderbird directory? In the file manager, click View>Show Hidden Files to see the files with a "." prefix, such as .thunderbird in your home directory. Within the ./thunderbird directory is a file with a random alpha-numeric filename ending in .default, such as a2b2c3.default. Copy this file to a backup directory in your home directory, or to an external flash drive. I'm just trying to save any e-mails and personal data for later retrieval, just in case things get messy. If you do not already have a copy of the *.default file, make one; we'll move forward from that point. If you have IMAP accounts (i.e. gmail), and if you do NOT have any POP3 e-mail accounts, or e-mails, we can move forward without a backup copy to restore from.

 

I have Thunderbird fully setup with 1 e-mail account. I have disabled ALL add-ons, to no avail. I have a backup saved on an external drive. Many thanks again for your kind advice!

 

okay let's roll. I'm installing tbird on my LXLE machine as we speak, to make sure it isn't an LXLE issue. In the meantime, restart thunderbird with all add-ons disabled. from the tbird men choose Help>Restart with add-ons disabled and see if Tbird is more responsive.

Also, for my future reference, do you know what a terminal is? Can you find the terminal in LXLE? Anyone will do...I believe RoxTerm is in the Menu>Accessories, or perhaps ctrl+alt+t will invoke it.

 

Thank you!
Thunderbird started with all add-ons diabled, no more responsive. Yes on the Terminal, RoxTerm is my default.

 

just installed Thunderbird on my LXLE laptop and setup my gmail IMAP account. Everything seems to be working wonderfully for me in a default manner, with no extensions, etc... I think we can probably rule out issues with LXLE and/or versions of Thunderbird. We'll be focusing exclusively on YOUR installation, as it seems to likely be a configuration issue or an issue of a corrupted file somewhere.

 

MY eyes are open, my mind is open, I'm truly greatful. However, at the risk of being rude and ungreatful, I need to be away from my computer for about an hour.

 

let's remove Thunderbird from your system. if we use Software Center or Synaptic, it will remove the program, but will keep the .config files for later reference. 99% of the time, it's the config file that is the culprit. We need to completely nuke Thunderbird, with extreme prejudice, and start from scratch and hope that does it.

Open your Roxterminal and copy/paste this command:

when prompted, enter your password.

FYI, when you install with a GUI like Software Center or Synaptic, you are performing the equivalent of "sudo ap-get install thunderbird"; when you uninstall from a GUI, you are performing the equivalent of "sudo apt-get remove thunderbird". To the best of knowledge, the only way to PURGE (nuke all program files) is from the terminal.

After you have purged, reboot your system (may not be necessary, but a good idea). Upon reboot, open your RoxTerm and copy/paste this command:

enter your password when prompted.

go ahead and setup ONE e-mail account in order to test performance. Do NOT INSTALL any add-ons until we have a satisfactory installation of Tbird. What add-ons do you typically prefer?

 

All as per your advice, I purged Thunderbird, rebooted my system, installed Thunderbird, no add-ons. When I opened the "NEW" Thunderbird, it was already configured for my 1 e-mail account. And, I notice no improvement in it's function. Sorry I'm wasting your time, but I sure appreciate your advice!

 

no worries. I should be apologizing, as you're following my advice, and I messed up a little. It's on me...SORRY!

the command should be "sudo apt-get purge thunderbird*" with a "shift-8-*" at the end of thunderbird. copy & paste this into Roxterm:

enter password.

after purging, copy & paste this into Roxterm:

this will update your system database to confirm that thunderbird no longer exists. then reboot.

after rebooting, reinstall thunderbird by copying & pasting this into Roxterm:

continue with previous instructions to setup one e-mail. In a nutshell, do everything you did before, except with the "*" at the end of the purge thunderbird statement; and update the system with sudo updatedb. Those are my mistakes.

I THINK if we can get a completely fresh installation, with no leftover config files, you'll be good to go. I THINK...

 

Sorry, my friend, still no change in Thunderbird. In fact it, the new, opened completely configured again for my 1 e-mail account. Go figure. :>)

 

hmmm... I'm a little confused now, as this should NOT be. Let me search around a little and see what I can find...

 

Let's try a different angle.

I've been saying from the beginning that I think you're issue is a corrupted config file. I thought completely purging Thunderbird would also purge your config files. Open your file manager (PCManFM), click View>Show hidden files and navigate to your ./thunderbird directory. How many *.default files in your thunderbird directory?

Delete ALL *.default files in the thunderbird directory and then open thunderbird again. Thunderbird should create a new *.default profile. Can you compare the NEWLY created *.default profile name with the deleted *.default profile names (still available to be seen in your trash box) and verify the names are different?

 

Well, my friend, many thanks, I have my good old efficient Thunderbird back. Now I owe you one, hope I can help sometime!

 

You are quite welcome. Congrats! I hope you can help me sometime too! In the meantime, just "pay it forward" to someone else if you can!

P.S. Kudos on the choice of LXLE! It's a fairly new distro, but I have been EXTREMELY impressed with its rapid development. It really does have something for everyone, and its done very well. Enjoy!!!