183089 - MailNews inifinite memory usage increase loop (delete xul.mfl / xul.mfas to fix) [sending, smtp]

Status: RESOLVED WORKSFORME

(MailNews Core :: Backend, defect)

Description

[i2a]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.0.1) Gecko/20020826
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.0.1) Gecko/20020826

IMPORTANT: this problem did not ocure with this version, but with 1.2
release(sorry no rv).
problem has a few steps:

after recieving a e-mail i first had a problem replying on it, mozilla just
keeps allocating more memory, after i pressed the send button. I did not see the
send box btw. 

just to mail the reply i added the (new!) e-mail address to the address book and
noticed that the "display field" was empty at properties for the card. i took
care of it and the problem was over, i even could do a reply on the original
e-mail without the memory loop.

BUT: when i restarted mozilla,

Then the problem ocures when starting the mail/news client, it just keeps
allocating memory, with blocks of 812KB seems like no end(stoped it at a max of
about 100MB),i used the task manager to spot the problem btw.

when opening mail via navigator the problem is the same.

with this version of mozilla-mail the problem did not ocure (-_-), at leased i
am able to open the mail client again.


Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. I think you shut get a e-mail with only a address. i can not reproduce the
problem sorry, !(1.2).

Comment 1

[Joel Peshkin]

moving to MailNews

Comment 2

[Matthias Versen [:Matti]]

.

Comment 3

[R.K.Aa.]

Version: 1.0 branch? Modifying that.

Reporter: Please create a separate 1.2.* profile and try if you can reproduce there.

Comment 4

[i2a]

well i am using 1.2 again and the problem seem to be gone (?).

situation line:

- using 1.1 no problems.
- upgrading to 1.2 no initial problems but after the “one” e-mail message the
problem started.
- downgrading to 1.0.1 problem is gone.
- upgrading to 1.2 and the problem did not occur as jet. (trying to get the
problem again).

i mentioned the only strange thing i could see on the mail message, i though
that the problem could have some relation to the entry’s of the address book.

i am sure of the loop and the 812KB. at the time, the problem was there every
time i started the mail/news client. one thing comes to mind, the loop started a
“few seconds” after the logo (splash screen). i will go on using 1.2 for a few
days/weeks to see if the problem gets back (dam).

i.

Comment 5

[i2a]

"Ha", i have the problem again as of this moment (version: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows;
U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.2) Gecko/20021126).
 
when (after: composing/replying) sending a mail message, the client comes in the
loop i described before. just allocating memory at 812KB blocks with 99 cpu time
and not  sending the message. after ending the process the message isn't send at
all there is no entry in the sent folder.
and now is reproducible.
I think there is no/or very little communication made to the mail server, as the
are about 250 bytes send. The send process bar just begins spinning and the
stops almost immediately.

Comment 6

[i2a]

progress
The problem also occurs when trying to download a file, like using the link from
mozilla.org to the new 1.2.1 release, using phoenix gives no problem. so the
problem is not stuck to the mail-news client.

Comment 7

[R.K.Aa.]

-Does the bug also happen on a new user-profile? (mozilla -profilemanager)
-If it can't be reproduced in a new profile: Does the old profile work if you   
 delete XUL.mfl before starting mozilla?
-Not least: Are you following the Installation Notes when you install?

Comment 8

[i2a]

new detail,
when switching between builds the problem seems to be gone for some time, as i
have no clue what triggers the problem (anymore).
i am using the same profile all the time sins it is the only one on the system.
i am using a complete install with all the default settings. when switching
between build i usually uninstall the previous install and install the new/other
version. it takes over the old profile right away.
i will check whether the new hints do something useful.
(i need to have a working mail app, so when a problem occurs i need some
“desperate” fixing).

Comment 9

[Andrew Hagen]

Reporter, did closing Mozilla, then deleting "xul.mfl" in your profile directory
help?

Comment 10

[Roger Cowles]

I've seen the same thing on WinNT and Solaris with Mozilla 1.2.1, all with
accounts that have been in existence for a while. On Solaris I got a dump from
Mozilla after it hung trying to open Composer using the "truss" program that
looked like this :-

read(18, " .\0 x\0 u\0 l\0 '\0 ,\0".., 8192)    = 8192
read(18, "\0\0 -\0\0\00F\0 m\0 i\0".., 8192)    = 8192
read(18, " r o m e : / / c h a t z".., 8192)    = 8192
read(18, " n g e r c o m p o s e /".., 8192)    = 4635
read(18, 0x00349EF0, 8192)          = 0
read(18, 0x00349EF0, 8192)          = 0
read(18, 0x00349EF0, 8192)          = 0
read(18, 0x00349EF0, 8192)          = 0
read(18, 0x00349EF0, 8192)          = 0
read(18, 0x00349EF0, 8192)          = 0
 ...
<repeat ad nauseum>

One I deleted XUL.mfasl, per an earlier comment, I was able to send mail and run
Composer again.

Is this XUL.mfasl file something that should be periodically deleted ?

Thanks !

Comment 11

[i2a]

I can’t answer that i downgraded mozilla to 1.0.2 some time ago; I don’t recall
any useful “debug” sequence, so it's better to say nothing (~_~).
1.0.2 is working perfect with me for the moment.

Sorry,
but it is nice to heare someone has the problem to, so perhaps it's time to
upgrade again...


i.

Comment 12

[Andrew Hagen]

Reporter, if you are happy with 1.0.2, let's close this bug. If you upgrade to
trunk, are you still seeing the problem? 

If so, to troubleshoot this problem, please follow these steps. When you reply,
make sure to include your operating system version, and the build ID. The build
ID is located in the Mozilla title bar. If the problem is sovled, please
indicate what step solved it.

1. Make sure that the test machine you're running is in good condition. On
Windows 9x, run scandisk. On Windows NT/2000/XP, error-check the drives. On
*nix, check for filesystem errors. Furthermore, if you have an antivirus
program, make sure the antivirus definitions and program files are up to date.
Make sure you have recently scanned the system for viruses, and removed any you
find. Once this is complete, can you still reproduce the problem?

2. Download and install the latest trunk nightly build.  Running a nightly build
has a slight amount of risk involved. Back up your Mozilla data including your
bookmarks before proceeding. You can download the latest nightly build from
ftp://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla/nightly/latest . For example, for Windows,
download the file mozilla-win32-installer-sea.exe. Uninstall your current
Mozilla build. Make sure the new directory where you will install the new build
is completely empty, except for any plugins subdirectory. Install the nightly
build. Having done that, can you still reproduce the problem?

3. If it still fails, exit Mozilla. Go to your profile directory. Find the file
xul.mfl (or xul.mfasl on *nix). Rename it. Restart Mozilla. Does that solve the
problem?


Before following the next steps, create an SMTP log. Attach the SMTP log to this
bug. The steps for creating the log can be found here:

http://www.mozilla.org/quality/mailnews/mail-troubleshoot.html#imap


4. Is the computer you are running Mozilla on running an antivirus program? If
so, please detail what program and what version it is. Temporarily disable the
antivirus program. Then try to reproduce the problem you describe. Does the
problem still occur?

5. Go to Edit | Mail & Newsgroup Account Settings | Outgoing Server (SMTP) and
check "never" on whether to use a secure connection (SSL). Now try to reproduce
the problem. Does it still occur?

6. Go to Edit | Mail & Newsgroup Account Settings. In the appropriate account,
under Copies & Folders, unselect "place a copy in." Now try to reproduce the
problem. Does it still occur? If this works, is this an IMAP account? Are there
many messages in the sent folder?

7. Is the computer behind a firewall? If so, temporarily disable it, or put the
computer directly on the Internet. Can you still reproduce the problem? If not,
what product and version number is the firewall?

8. Delete all your SMTP server entries. Exit Mozilla. Restart Mozilla. Recreate
all your SMTP server entries. Can you still reproduce the problem?

If none of these steps work, please attach an SMTP log. 

Comment 13

[i2a]

I'm "still" using 1.0.2 (Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US;
rv:1.0.2) Gecko/20021216), and i am happy (~_~).

the bug sliped my mind, so could be closed,...

i.

Comment 14

[OYAHHH]

Hi,

I experienced this bug using a beta 1.3 version on Windows 2000.  I got
frustrated and reverted back to 1.2.1 because I couldn't open the Tools -
Message Filter's nor could I right click on a zip file and perform a "Save Link
Target As" operation.

After reverting to 1.2.1 the problem went away.  I don't remember installing in
a clean location, so I probably didn't.  But I definitely would have executed
any uninstall routines provided by Mozilla.

Now the same problems are happening on 1.2.1.  

I followed advice and renamed XUL.mfl.  BTW, I still have this file if it is needed.

After XUL.mfl file was deleted Mozilla began to work properly again. 
Unfortunately, the problem only seems to appear randomly after an amount of
time, couple of months.

This infinite loop continually allocated more and more memory.  I forgot to
check how much at each instance.

Circumstances:
- I had received a piece of spam, I did not click on it yet.
- I then instructed ZoneAlarm to stop all internet activity.  Note, this was NOT
deactivating Zonealarm, just having it stop all internet activity.
- I then clicked on and read spam message to confirm no html or images to
confirm my reading email.
- I then requested Zonealarm to allow internet communications again.
- I then decided that I did not need any more viagra emails so I attempted to
open Tools - Message Filters
- Mozilla went into an infinite loop.
- I killed Mozilla.
- Opened Mozilla again, tried to right click and download a file and the loop
started happening again.

Thanks for reviewing.

Comment 15

[guanxi]

Closing, since no reports in a long time, and none on a recent build.  If
someone needs it re-opened, e-mail me.


Clarifying summary:

was: Mail & Newsgroups memory allocation: looping infinite; I really waited for
my system to hang
now: MailNews inifinite memory usage increase loop (delete xul.mfl / xul.mfas to
fix) [sending, smtp]