Ubuntu

Problems with Thunderbird - locks up the OS

Asked by tadiv

For years I have used Thunderbird as my email client. In the last few weeks, it has started to lockup the OS. The only thing that seems to work is the mouse pointer still moves around the screen, but I can't select anything, change active windows, select any menu items - nothing. The emergency R E I S U B keystrokes don't work (no keyboard actions work) - I have to cycle power on the machine to get it back working, and of course, the OS does not like that (drive errors repaired on reboot)...

Firefox is also crashing, but those crashes seem to be mostly recoverable with a soft reboot.

Is there something I can do to resolve these issues with these two Mozilla products?

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Manfred Hampl (m-hampl) said : 		#1

Details, please!

Which Ubuntu release, which version of thunderbird ...?
What output do you get for the commands (to be executed in a terminal window)

uname -a
lsb_release -crid
apt policy thunderbird

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tadiv (tadiv-comcast) said : 		#2

Here you are...
tadiv@tadiv-desktop:~$ uname -a
Linux tadiv-desktop 5.15.0-48-generic #54-Ubuntu SMP Fri Aug 26 13:26:29 UTC 2022 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
tadiv@tadiv-desktop:~$ lsb_release -crid
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description: Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS
Release: 22.04
Codename: jammy
tadiv@tadiv-desktop:~$ apt policy thunderbird

thunderbird:
  Installed: 1:91.11.0+build2-0ubuntu0.22.04.1
  Candidate: 1:91.11.0+build2-0ubuntu0.22.04.1
  Version table:
 *** 1:91.11.0+build2-0ubuntu0.22.04.1 500
        500 http://mirror.metrocast.net/ubuntu jammy-updates/main amd64 Packages
        500 http://mirror.metrocast.net/ubuntu jammy-security/main amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
     1:91.8.0+build2-0ubuntu1 500
        500 http://mirror.metrocast.net/ubuntu jammy/main amd64 Packages
tadiv@tadiv-desktop:~$

Tom

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Manfred Hampl (m-hampl) said : 		#3

I do not have a solution for the hangs, but for REISUB not working you could try one of the possibilities in https://askubuntu.com/a/911528 (of course _before_ the system hangs).

As far as I can see, a new version of thunderbird (102.*) is already in preparation and will probably be distributed soon. Maybe that will help.

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tadiv (tadiv-comcast) said (last edit ): 		#4

I downloaded the 102.* version of Thunderbird, but when I run it (after unpacking it), it does not see my current email configuration information... How do I "install" it so that it sees my current email accounts / settings?

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Manfred Hampl (m-hampl) said (last edit ): 		#5

How and from which source did you download and install the 102.* version? If it is not the Ubuntu-provided version, then this version probably searches in a different directory for your settings and data. We do not know which one, so you have to investigate yourself.

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tadiv (tadiv-comcast) said : 		#6

I was only able to find the software from the Thunderbird download website - how do I get a Ubuntu provided version?

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Manfred Hampl (m-hampl) said : 		#7

"how do I get a Ubuntu provided version?"

I was referring to the version provided in the Ubuntu repositories.
In this moment thunderbird 102.* (or even higher) has not yet been published for Ubuntu 22.04, so you would need to be more patient.

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tadiv (tadiv-comcast) said : 		#8

This issue seems to have gone away with system updates.