274346 - Won't save account settings

Status: RESOLVED INCOMPLETE

(Thunderbird :: Account Manager, defect)

Description

[John Hage]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.7.5) Gecko/20041107 Firefox/1.0
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.7.5) Gecko/20041107 Firefox/1.0

I checked the options on my account settings to save sent email and drafts, but
it doesn't.  When I go back to account settings, they are unchecked.  I have
reproduced this.

Reproducible: Always
Steps to Reproduce:
1.Go to Tools>account settings>copies and folders in Thunderbird
2.Select copies and folders
3.Click to save sent email and drafts

Actual Results:  
The setn email was not sent.  When I went back to the settings, they were unchecked.

Expected Results:  
Save the sent emails and drafts.

Comment 1

[ougee]

Hello, the same here! Only I use 2 accounts in TB, the Sent messages in the 
first account (the default one) are saved OK, but with the second account 
absolutely the same problem! Thanks!

Comment 2

[Wayne Pollock]

I have the same problem, only on Windows98 using TB1.0 - Wayne

Comment 3

[Ian Billings]

From the limited description this looks like a problem I have with 1.0.6

The changed preferences DO save, but in successively numbered pref files, such
as prefs-1.js
prefs-2.js
prefs-3.js

when Thunderbird is closed.

Each time Thunderbird is reopened, it looks for prefs.js which does NOT contain
the changes previously made.

An easy workaround to this is:
When Thunderbird is NOT running:
- change prefs.js to oldprefs.js and 
- rename prefs-3.js as prefs.js  (assuming prefs-3.js is the highest number or
at least contains the prefs that you want!)

Restart Thunderbird and it will seek out prefs.js which should be the one you want.

An easy workaround, but shouldn't be necessary.  Using Win2000

Comment 4

[Susan Culligan]

I have the same problem but it only started when I installed a second account
name. Before that sent, drafts, etc., were saving fine in the designated
folders. Now the second account accepts the preferences, but the default
account, the first one, is not. The workaround below didn't work for me; there
was only one prefs.js file and renaming it didn't force Thunderbird to create a
new one.

So sad!!!!!

Comment 5

[taci_ritesh]

I am using Thunderbird 1.5 and am hit by exactly same bug. When I send a message, T-bird hangs at the stage "copying to sent folder". When I go to Tools-> account settings -> Copies and Folders , all the settings here are unchecked. I check the options as per my requirements, click on ok and then come back to this window. The settings show up as unchecked!

Comment 6

[Jörg von Frantzius]

(In reply to comment #5)
Exactly the same problem here!

Comment 7

[Jörg von Frantzius]

(In reply to comment #6)
I can change e.g. the "Organisation" setting for that account, and that'll get saved properly in the prefs.js. The "Save copy in" and "Save drafts in" settings simply aren't saved for the same account, though, the file prefs.js remains unchanged when I set those preferences!

Workaround with TB 1.5 is to change the lines of the respective mail.identity.idXY (with XY being the number of the account, try changing the the account's "Organisation" to find the changed account id) to the following (my account's identity is 11):

user_pref("mail.identity.id11.draft_folder", "mailbox://nobody@Local%20Folders/Drafts");
user_pref("mail.identity.id11.fcc_folder", "mailbox://nobody@Local%20Folders/Sent");

Comment 8

[WADA:World Anti-bad-Duping Agency]

To all bug opener and comment posters:
See Bug 213300 and Bug 303271.
Which is problem you are experiencing?
Comletely different and exactly new problem?

Comment 9

[Ian Billings]

(In reply to comment #8)
> To all bug opener and comment posters:
> See Bug 213300 and Bug 303271.
> Which is problem you are experiencing?
> Comletely different and exactly new problem?
> 

I've skim-read both of the bug reports you mention and neither appears to be remotely connected with the situation I mentioned in comment #3 nor the original message; others appear to have added comments which are also problems, but not exactly the same one as in the original bug message.   
As far as I can see we have identified a problem, identified the cause (prefs not being properly saved) and identified a work-around. I know this software is free, but I can't understand why prefs are not saved, and why somebody hasn't solved a problem which has now been running unchecked for 14 months.

Comment 10

[WADA:World Anti-bad-Duping Agency]

(In reply to comment #9)
> (In reply to comment #8)
> > See Bug 213300 and Bug 303271.

> neither appears to be remotely connected with the situation I mentioned
> in comment #3 nor the original message; others appear to have added comments
> which are also problems, but not exactly the same one as in the original
> bug message.

Ian Billings, your comment #3 case looks to be completely different problem from all other comment poster's one. Your case is :
 - prefs.js can not be written, then file with suffix(prefs-N.js) is written
   every time when Thunderbird tries to write prefs.js.
This situation can easily be recreated in normal environment by ;
 (1) Edit prefs.js by text editor (update lock is requested to prefs.js)
 (2) Try to change preference settings thru Tools/Options menu.
This situation can also occur when file attribute of prefs.js is set to "Read only" (For example, back up of prefs.js is taken to CD and is restored from CD.)
If problem continues to occur even after "rename prefs-3.js as prefs.js", check file attribute of your prefs.js. Is prefs.js writable?

Comment 11

[Andy Sun]

I have encountered the same problems, and the change of prefs.js apparently does not work.  This has been a problem in thge old Netscape Mail and I thought it has been addressed.  But I guess not.

Comment 12

[Robin Bransbury]

Save account settings worked fine under TB1.0.7 (20050923) sadly 2.0.0.6 (20070728) the prefs are taken across by the new build but now no change can be saved. The mail server changed name but TB2 will NOT accept the change. Will not save on exit. Make the account anew and vital things like save messages on server will not save so using mail with two machines is now impossible. Can't use V2. Any ideas on going back to V1?? Please!!!. Only one prefs.js is created with the date of the original install of V2. It's R/W so open but is not touched when account settings are changed. Great shame as it's mostly splendid if unusable. 

Comment 13

[David :Bienvenu]

Robin, does anything appear on the error console? Tools | error console.

Comment 14

[agua]

Hi,

I have the same problem as Robin, using Thundebird 2.0.0.6 (20071022) on Ubuntu Gutsy. I cannot change ANY settings of my existing accounts using the account manager.

The error console message I get when I try to close the account manager by clicking OK is the following:

Fehler: [Exception... "Component returned failure code: 0x8000ffff (NS_ERROR_UNEXPECTED) [nsISpamSettings.initialize]"  nsresult: "0x8000ffff (NS_ERROR_UNEXPECTED)"  location: "JS frame :: chrome://messenger/content/AccountManager.js :: saveAccount :: line 648"  data: no]
Quelldatei: chrome://messenger/content/AccountManager.js
Zeile: 648

For me, this bug is also critical, I have to set up an account that uses POP3 over SSL, and this cannot be configured during the creation of a new account (which works). Right now, I don't see how I can set up this account in Thunderbird 2.

Comment 15

[Gregory Horvath]

Hello guys!
I've had this problem (or at least similar) and found a temporary solution.
On my system (OpenSUSE, Thunderbird 2.0.0.14) I had the error:

Error: [Exception... "Component returned failure code: 0x8000ffff
(NS_ERROR_UNEXPECTED) [nsISpamSettings.initialize]"  nsresult: "0x8000ffff
(NS_ERROR_UNEXPECTED)"  location: "JS frame ::
chrome://messenger/content/AccountManager.js :: saveAccount :: line 648"  data:
no]
Source File: chrome://messenger/content/AccountManager.js
Line: 648

There I found a line that says:

 // if we made account changes to the spam settings, we'll need to re-initialize
 // our settings object
 if (server && server.spamSettings)
    server.spamSettings.initialize(server);

Now this line, that wants to initialize the spamSettings (AFAIK), is sometimes broken. In my case, I can reproduce this bug with just browsing around the settings window (vieweing settings a lot, like 20 or more pages), and then the OK button is broken, and the error comes. So my solution wants to be, to put a try - catch in this line like this:

 // if we made account changes to the spam settings, we'll need to re-initialize
 // our settings object
 if (server && server.spamSettings) {
    try {
        server.spamSettings.initialize(server);
    } catch(err) {
        // Handle errors here, or at least inform the user to restart
        //hunderbird to make Spam settings work as he just set it up.
    }
 }

I hope I could help,
regards
Gregory

Comment 16

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

can you reproduce using version 3 beta?
 http://www.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/thunderbird/early_releases/
 backup your profile before testing

(Robin's address bounces.)

Comment 17

[[:Aureliano Buendía]]

WFM

Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; rv:2.0b5pre) Gecko/20100824 Shredder/3.2a1pre ID:20100824032806

Comment 18

[Kent James (:rkent)]

There is clearly an issue that needs fixing in the savings of account settings, but I don't know if this is the right bug for it (but it could be). You see this issue pop up regularly in Get Satisfaction.

I suspect what happens is that the user does some change (like deleting an account, or there is a bad file somewhere.) That causes the account manager to (perhaps silently) fail in the javascript, which prevents saving all account settings of a particular type.

One STR that might work: try setting some of the target folders to a folder in an account, then delete that account or those folders.

Comment 19

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

bienvenu, can any use be made of comment 15?  (perhaps already fixed?)

(In reply to Kent James (:rkent) from comment #18)
> There is clearly an issue that needs fixing in the savings of account
> settings, but I don't know if this is the right bug for it (but it could
> be). You see this issue pop up regularly in Get Satisfaction.
> 
> I suspect what happens is that the user does some change (like deleting an
> account, or there is a bad file somewhere.) That causes the account manager
> to (perhaps silently) fail in the javascript, which prevents saving all
> account settings of a particular type.

yeah. bug unconfirmed and no reproducible steps from reporters to date, who don't seem to be around (no response to comment 16, Gregory's address is dead). Plus some of the old reports were probably fixed.

So perhaps we should close this bug, and create bug reports out of the reproducible cases from gsfn.

Note not many open bugs report this type [1]:
bug 536768 - Storing junk filter settings for several email.  
Bug 481424 - can't dismiss (OK or cancel) account settings after setting up my account

[1] "account changes not saved" (poor approximation) - http://tinyurl.com/6yc2vq9


> One STR that might work: try setting some of the target folders to a folder
> in an account, then delete that account or those folders.

Pedro, could you test this?

Comment 20

[David :Bienvenu]

(In reply to Wayne Mery (:wsmwk) from comment #19)
> bienvenu, can any use be made of comment 15?  (perhaps already fixed?)

There's no try catch in the current code, i.e., the suggestion wasn't implemented, but it certainly could be. But at the same time, we should try to fix the underlying issue, whatever it is, by finding reproducible steps.

Comment 21

[:aceman]

Comment 15 will be implemented in bug 709581 comment 11.

The Copies & folders problem can be bug 557030.

Comment 22

[:aceman]

Can anybody still see the reported problem and it is not covered by the two bugs I mentioned?

Comment 23

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

agua and Robin addresses are dead afaict.  The others may be gone as well.