698321 - Sudden appearance of mirrored IMAP account Inbox and folders (Inbox-10, Inbox-9, ...)

Status: RESOLVED WORKSFORME

(Thunderbird :: Folder and Message Lists, defect)

Description

[Mark A. Craig]

Attachment: Thunderbird - endless IMAP Inboxes.png

User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:7.0.1) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/7.0.1
Build ID: 20110928134238

Steps to reproduce:

I started Thunderbird.


Actual results:

The launch was extremely uncharacteristically sluggish.  While waiting, I noticed that folders in a visible IMAP account had been repeatedly replicated (screenshot attached).  I use the All Folders view.  Fortunately the problem wasn't persistent; when I exited and later restarted Thunderbird, the redundant folders were not there.


Expected results:

I shouldn't have seen it occur at all, persistent or not.  It would seem to indicate an underlying issue that might cause tangible problems.

Comment 1

[Hashem Masoud]

(In reply to Mark A. Craig from comment #0)
This could be server-side issue. Just my guess.

Comment 2

[Ludovic Hirlimann [:Usul]]

can ou easily reproduce on say a new profile Mark ?

Comment 3

[Mark A. Craig]

Sorry for the delayed response.  I doubt that a new profile with an empty dataset is ever going to exhibit this behavior; it's precisely because my IMAP account was stressing Thunderbird somehow that it occurred in the first place.  I have observed this twice more since my first report.  It isn't persistent and there is no apparent harm done, but seeing it is still alarming.  Keep in mind that Thunderbird is being run from an SSD via USB 3.0, so disk access and latency should not be a bottleneck.

Comment 4

[WADA:World Anti-bad-Duping Agency]

(In reply to Mark A. Craig from comment #0)
> Created attachment 570589 [details]
> Thunderbird - endless IMAP Inboxes.png

Inbox-N, [Gmail]-N at folder pane itself is phenomenon due to bug 520437.
Check file name under directory of ...\ImapMail\<server>, ...\ImapMail\<server>\<folder>.sbd, ...\ImapMail\<server>\<folder>.sbd\<subfolder>.sbd, ...
If internal unsubscribe/re-subscribe happened in the past due to connection error and so on, bug 520437 occurs. 

What did you do before you see the problem?

If you copied Tb's profile directory, and if you started Tb with the copied profile directory, and if IMAP server connection is not established upon first use of the copied profile, phenomenon of .png you attached can occur.
See [Test-C] in bug 701688 comment #14.

Same thing can happen if panacea.dat file is somehow corrupted or deleted.
See [Test-B] in bug 701688 comment #14.
If panacea.dat is deleted, starting of Tb takes very long, because checking of all directories and files for mail folder happens. Next by you sounds for me this phenomenon, if you didn't use copied profile.
> The launch was extremely uncharacteristically sluggish.

Comment 5

[Mark A. Craig]

WADA: Thanks for catching the relationship between your bug report and mine!  I clearly reported the same bug.

I honestly can't recall what specifically I might have done prior to the first appearance.  I have not been copying profiles or making changes to my IMAP accounts in a VERY long time.  I can't recall the last time I might have explicitly unsubscribed any folders.  The configuration of those accounts has basically been static for years.  Could it have begun when I copied all of Thunderbird (the Portable version) onto the SSD from another drive?  That happened more than 6 months ago.  Since I am using Portable Thunderbird, I don't know how that might affect this.

So what is the solution?  At first reading of your report (and no insult intended but there is a bit of a language barrier) I thought that it recommended deleting panacea.dat to solve the problem, but then above you seem to say that deleting panacea.dat can also cause the problem... so I'm confused.

Comment 6

[WADA:World Anti-bad-Duping Agency]

(In reply to Mark A. Craig from comment #5)
> At first reading of your report (and no insult intended but there is a bit of a language barrier)
> I thought that it recommended deleting panacea.dat to solve the problem, 
> but then above you seem to say that deleting panacea.dat can also cause the problem...

"delete panacea.dat" in bug 520437 is to clean up garbled file/directory name with suffix, in order to restart from clean status to avoid unwanted further problems.
Needed clean up consists of;
(1) Deletion of any files for mail folder, any .sbd directory with garbled suffix.
(2) Deletion of pointer in panacea.dat to the files/directory with suffix. 
(3) Restart Tb after (1) and (2), and re-aquire all mail folder information from IMAP server and re-fetch all mail data from IMAP server.
(Normal server access is mandatry. If fails or started in Offline mode, phenomena of bug 701688 is exposed.)

Because IMAP folder with suffix doesn't exists at IMAP server, .msf file with suffix is deleted at step (3) by Tb. So, I refered to (2) and (3) only in that bug.
If offline-use=on folder and file with suffix is internally used, <foldername>-suffix is generated in addition to <foldername>-suffix.msf.
If IMAP folder has sub folder and file with suffix is internally used, directory of <foldername>-suffix.sbd is generated in addition to <foldername>-suffix.msf, and any content in <foldername>-suffix.sbd is not deleted automatically.
In these cases, files/directries should be delete manually by step (1).

> So what is the solution?  

What is your problem? What do you want to resolve?
(1) Currently created files/directries with suffix.
    As bug 520437 still remains, suffix is used if unsubscribe/re-subscribe
    is done by you. So solution of this case is "not to do re-subscribe". 
    As bug 520437 still remains, suffix is used if unsubscribe/re-subscribe
    is somehow done internally. So there is no solution of this case. We can do
    clean up only if bug 520437 somehow occurred. 
(2) Phenomenon like your screen shot(phenomenon seen in bug 701688).
    Even if file/directory with suffix is used by bug 520437, phenomenon like
    your screen shot won't occur, unless copied profile is used or panacea.dat
    is somehow deleted or corrupted. So solutions are ones like next; Don't use
    copied profile, don't delete panacea.dat after recovery from bug 520437, ...
    
> Could it have begun when I copied all of Thunderbird (the Portable version) onto the SSD from another drive?
> That happened more than 6 months ago.
> Since I am using Portable Thunderbird, I don't know how that might affect this.

You apparently copied Tb's profile and started to use the copied profile 6 month ago. You perhaps simply saw a part of phenomena of bug 701688 6 month ago.

On what medeia is your Portable Thundebird placed?
Do you use the Portable Thundebird at different PCs?
If used at different PC, the portable media may be mounted as different drive. In this case, same thing as "copied profile is used" can occur on panacea.dat file.

Comment 8

[WADA:World Anti-bad-Duping Agency]

Wayne, problem is not suffix of file name itself. Suffix of file name(phenomenon of bug 520437) is merely a result of internal unsubscrbe/re-subscribe(existence of bug 520437 is very convenient to know internal unsubscrbe/re-subscribe in the past.) Bug 520437 itself won't produce problem in normal IMAP folder access, except in small funny phenomenon in very special cases. 
Main problem in this bug is why internal unsubscrbe/re-subscribe occurred so many times even though user didn't do unsubscribe/re-subscribe.
Attached screen shot to this bug is a phenomenon of bug 701688. If unsubscribe/re-subscribe happened in the past, folder with suffix is shown at folder pane in the phenomenon. And, if similar problem to bug 701688 happens, internal unsubscrbe/re-subscribe happens then suffix is increased due to bug 520437.
"Portable Thunderbird use" seems to cause problem like bug 701688.

Re-opening.

Comment 9

[WADA:World Anti-bad-Duping Agency]

FYI.
Phenomenon like attached your screen shot is easily be observed by profile copy.

(1) get an free Gmail account or free Yahoo! mail account, enable IMAP if Gmail,
    to test with very small account only(a few folders only, small folders only). 
    send some mails to yourself via Web interface to create mail data,.
(2) create new Tb profile(call prof1, xyz.prof1 as profile directory),
    define the newly obtained IMAP account only,
    (if Yahoo!, change user name to one like [e-mail] from userid) 
    disable IDLE command use at Server Settings/Advanced for ease of testing,
    disable new mail check upon start up and every NN minutes
    to prohibit automatic server access after restart of Tb.
    click Inbox
    => connection to server is establised, then all available folders is shown.
    see all folders, including sub folders of [Gmail] if Gmail IMAP.
    create mail folders which is defined in Copies&Folders, if required. 
    enable Junk move at Junk Setting, and create Junk folder if required.
    unsubscribe an IMAP folder, then subscribe it again, to force bug 520437. 
(2) restart Tb with the new profile several times, and access mail folders,
    to confirm that Tb is normally running.
(3) restart Tb. To prohibit automatic server access upon next restart of Tb,
    select other than IMAP folder at folder pane,
    (Local Folders, folder under Local Folders, or the Gmail IMAP account)
    and terinate Tb.
(4) copy profile directry of ...\xyz.prof1 to ...\xyz.prof2,
    add prof2 to profiles.ini with profile directory=.../xyz.prof2.
(5) start Tb with copied prof2
    => No server connection is established at this stage.
    => Folder pane display like your screen shot is observed.
    (if Tb is terminated and restarted at this stage, phenomenon of bug 701688,)
    ("any folder except Inbox disappears from folder pane", can be observed.   )
(6) click Inbox
    => connection to server is establised, then all available folders is shown,
       and garbled/suffixed folders disappears.
    => Because internal unsubscribe/re-subscribe happens, suffix of .msf file
       is increased due to bug 520437.
       Because internal unsubscribe/re-subscribe happens, all mail headers are
       re-fetched, and all mail data is re-downloaded if auto-sync is enabled. 

Above is a variant of phenomena of bug 701688.

If no IMAP server connection is established upon first use of copied profile at step (5), and if Tb is restarted without any IMAP server access before the restart, phenomenon reported to bug 701688 occurs.
If Tb is restarted with Offline mode, "no server connection after restart of Tb" always occurs, so phenomena of bug 701688 is always observed.
Because profile is copied to PC of "no internet access" in that bug's case, any restart of Tb becomes same one as "start with Offline mode" and no server connection is established at any restart of Tb in that bug's case. Thus "any folder except Inbox disappears from folder pane" alway occurs upon second restart of Tb after profile copy.

Comment 10

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

Mark, do you still see thie problem when using a current version?

Comment 11

[Mark A. Craig]

I don't.  I don't think I could recreate this behavior now if I tried.

Comment 12

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

Thanks for the update