1625874 - no folders or messages visible, both panes empty. Caused by prefs-2.js with size=zero - Uncaught Exception 0x8000ffff NS_ERROR_UNEXPECTED nsIPrefBranch.getComplexValue

Status: NEW

(Thunderbird :: Mail Window Front End, defect)

Description

[helkav]

Attachment: tb_empty_msg_view.jpg

User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:71.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/71.0

Steps to reproduce:

open Thunderbird to view messages
NOTE: I'm not sure if this is related but it was after a windows 10 update that seemed to mess up my windows personalisation re colours - i.e. changed default colours like taskbar etc...ARGH!

Actual results:

can see no accounts or local folders listed in left hand tree view. nothing in right hand screen

Expected results:

left hand tree should be imap accounts and local folders, right hand should be message list and preview
NOTE: I have also tried opening in safe mode (attached image is in safe mode)

Comment 1

[Magnus Melin [:mkmelin]]

Is it the right profile? Try starting with thunderbird.exe -P

Comment 2

[helkav]

yes at the time the issue came up I was only using one profile...as far as I could tell it was the windows update that caused the issue. possibly TB updated also?

anyhow an update: I switched to ubuntu, made a copy of the profile and started TB. It suggested I update (which I naturally ignored!) and hey presto I had a working profile. I tried to bodge back together my WX 10 profile (I have numerous imap accounts and that's the real pain to restore) from the various profile copies I had, but no joy. So I'm just sucking it up, starting from scratch and restoring imap accounts bit by bit.

BTW I know this is for another place/time but I would be sooo happy staying in Ubuntu if TB Ubuntu could talk to each other like the brilliant MyPhoneExplorer program does...I like the direct connection between desktop to sync calendar / contacts. KDE Connect is brill up to a point but I can't see any way to use it to sync to TB

Comment 3

[Firefox Bug Husbandry Bot]

Because this bug's Severity has not been changed from the default since it was filed, and it's Priority is -- (Backlog,) indicating it has has not been previously triaged, the bug's Severity is being updated to -- (default, untriaged.)

Comment 4

[Firefox Bug Husbandry Bot]

Because this bug's Severity has not been changed from the default since it was filed, and it's Priority is -- (Backlog,) indicating it has has not been previously triaged, the bug's Severity is being updated to -- (default, untriaged.)

Comment 5

[Firefox Bug Husbandry Bot]

Because this bug's Severity has not been changed from the default since it was filed, and it's Priority is -- (Backlog,) indicating it has has not been previously triaged, the bug's Severity is being updated to -- (default, untriaged.)

Comment 6

[Firefox Bug Husbandry Bot]

The severity of these bugs was changed, mistakenly, from normal to S3.

Because these bugs have a priority of --, indicating that they have not been previously triaged, these bugs should be changed to Severity of --.

Comment 7

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

helkav, sorry it's been so long, partly because the issues reported of this type have not been solved.
Do you still have the configuration on Windows 10, and does it fail? If it doesn't fail, how did you resolve it?

For some users, renaming global-messages-db.sqlite has helped (please rename rather than delete)

Comment 8

[helkav]

Attachment: tb_error_console.jpg

Comment 9

[helkav]

It is a long time ago so I'm working from memory now! I'm pretty sure I went through all the "standard" fixes i.e. safe mode ; renames global-messages-db.sqlite etc

I've been working with a recreated profile for sometime now

I have found a copy of the one that wasn't working -
I tried renaming global-messages-db.sqlite - didn't help
I have run in safe mode - didn't help

after running in safe mode I took a snapshot of the error console - please find attached. I have no idea if the errors are meaningful as I notice errors come up when I run TB from the command line anyway

please find screenshot attached (above) I hope it helps. I will keep the "broken" profile and if you need me to run any tests or check anything let me know

Comment 10

[Anje]

Query for helkav : In 'profile name' folder that does not work, how many 'prefs.js' files do you see ? Additional ones may have numbers appended.

Comment 11

[helkav]

there are 5 files numbered incrementally from prefs.js to pref-4.js

Comment 12

[Anje]

Exit Thunderbird.
Access 'profile name' folder. If any of the 'prefs.js' files have a size of 0, delete them.

As a test:
rename prefs.js (currently the one in use) as prefs-5.js to keep and rename prefs-1.js (assuming it has a size >0) as prefs.js.
start Thunderbird to see if 'prefs-1', now 'prefs.js' works.
start Thunderbird.

You may need to repeat this action to test other 'prefs.js' files. So if the renamed 'prefs-1' (now prefs) does not work, rename it back to 'prefs-1.js' and then rename 'prefs-2.js' as 'prefs.js' etc. Exiting Thunderbird each time before you need to access 'profile name' folder.

If you find one that works, you can delete all those that do not.

Please report back on results after renaming and testing each of the numbered prefs files.

Comment 13

[helkav]

(In reply to Anje from comment #12)

Exit Thunderbird.
Access 'profile name' folder. If any of the 'prefs.js' files have a size of 0, delete them.

FYI: prefs-2.js had a size of 0

As a test:
rename prefs.js (currently the one in use) as prefs-5.js to keep and rename prefs-1.js (assuming it has a size >0) as prefs.js.
start Thunderbird to see if 'prefs-1', now 'prefs.js' works.
start Thunderbird.

You may need to repeat this action to test other 'prefs.js' files. So if the renamed 'prefs-1' (now prefs) does not work, rename it back to 'prefs-1.js' and then rename 'prefs-2.js' as 'prefs.js' etc. Exiting Thunderbird each time before you need to access 'profile name' folder.

If you find one that works, you can delete all those that do not.

Please report back on results after renaming and testing each of the numbered prefs files.

renaming prefs-2.js did the trick. Many thanks. I'm not using this profile anymore as I had to set up a new one anyway
but hopefully this fix will help others in the same situation

Comment 14

[helkav]

woops in comment above it should have said I renamed prefs-1.js ; obviously as prefs-2 was the zero sized one

Comment 15

[Anje]

Thanks for feedback, very useful.

Comment 16

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

Are there still support postings? (seems like this still must be an open problem)

Comment 17

[helkav]

(In reply to Wayne Mery (:wsmwk) from comment #16)

Are there still support postings? (seems like this still must be an open problem)

there's a workaround and it hasn't been repeated since. perhaps it should be closed?

Comment 18

[Matt]

(In reply to Wayne Mery (:wsmwk) from comment #16)

Are there still support postings? (seems like this still must be an open problem)

Yes, there are still reports in user support forums.

I have personally noticed that my profile now contains -Number of files of assorted types. Cause unknown.

But given that deleting the global index appears to work for some and having numbered files is an issue for others, I have no doubt there is a problem. The cause, in either case, is however unknown to me, but I have a suspicion it is related to file contention and Thunderbird's immediate creation of a new file if such results.

Comment 19

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

(In reply to helkav from comment #11)

there are 5 files numbered incrementally from prefs.js to pref-4.js

So prefs.js was bad, and renaming prefs-1.js to prefs.js helped?

Comment 20

[Matt]

There was also the issue of non-English dictionaries causing display failure in some instances around 3 years ago.