Thunderbird 7.0.1 won't stop downloading mail

[ChrisGreaves]

I'm stumped.
I thought I'd set switches correctly (in image below) for what is currently the only account on my new installation, but Tbird continues to d/l messages before my 3rd party spam filter (mailWasher) can do its thing.

Is there some mystical setting I'm not aware of?
Help from any 7.x user would be much appreciated.

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[viking33]

Chris.
What version of TB are you using?
I'm using 7.01 and there is another setting to UNCHECK, if you don't want TB to automatically download new messages.

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[ChrisGreaves]

What version of TB are you using?

Hi Bob, and thanks for the prompt reply, notification of which was automatically downloaded to my inBox (grin!)

I'm using 7.01., downloaded this morning, installed about three hours ago.
a.k.a. Reasonably up-to-date, for once.
What I see in "server settings" for my only account is pasted in my first post in this thread.
I don't see that third check box that you show in your grainy-snapshot.
If you think that wood-grain makes a difference I'm happy to try switching.

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[jonwallace]

Hi Chris and Bob.

Chris, I see you're using imap, and Bob's settings are obviously for a pop3 account. I always think of imap as being like a window onto my mail account, whereas pop3 messages are downloaded as required. I saw in an earlier post, that thunderbird filled in your settings for you, did it maybe fill in the imap version of the file server rather than the pop version (which would act the way you are expecting)?

[viking33]

What...grainy??? It's very clear.
Beauty in the eye of the beholder.

Anyway, I think John may have the answer, regarding iMap vs. POP3.

[HansV]

Chris was joking - the reference is to wood grain.

[viking33]

Chris was joking - the reference is to wood grain.

I knew that, Hans. Just a quick retort, also a joke.

[ChrisGreaves]

Just a quick retort, also a joke.

Talk about two short planks ...

Now lemme go check out the wonderful Imap/Pop obser vation ...

[ChrisGreaves]

Chris, I see you're using imap, ... thunderbird filled in your settings for you,

All Hail, all great eagle-eyed font of wisdom. :bowdown:
I see it now.
I had become so focused on the text boxes and their content, which is what usually trips me up - and is why I have screen snapshots of every dialog box in an updated document - that i didn't see that setting which appears as a label, in this dialog.

I will change it and see what happens.
(later) I think I have learned that it can't be changed easily.

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(Above)This is the only thing I could find that might have an impact on my settings (after looking at every tab in every option).
I changed it to "No proxy", reloaded TBird and see that I am still in IMap.

A search turned up these two threads:
Thunderbird 3 Pop vs IMAP
Thunderbird: How to change account from IMAP to POP?
One thread is from a year ago, one from four years ago.
In the words of the immortal Ella Fitzgerald - How Long Has This Been Going On?

Ray 1 year ago
An update on my post:
After reading many posts on this subject, I posted the password error from TB 3 into Google and found an obscure post that solved my problem. So,
Create a new account
Stop the automatic scan (Setup)
Change Incoming to Pop on Port 110, SMTP on Port 25, both none on security.
Create the account

Now, the nugget I found: Edit the account settings, Server Settings and make sure user name contains the the fully qualified name, i.e., mailname@mailserver.com
Now Pop3 functions properly. At least for me.

Give me 10 minutes to play Whack-a-mole with Thunderbird ...

[ChrisGreaves]

Give me 10 minutes to play Whack-a-mole with Thunderbird ...

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You don't get much time, and I agree with posters in the two afore-mentioned threads - the "Stop" button is very small.
(I risked my life aiming to tap the PrtScr key while leaving enough time to get to the Stop button!)
There's a catch: "Stop" enables the "Continue" button, but that's not the target; you have to click the "Manual Config" button, which is way out in left field.

More in the next post.

[ChrisGreaves]

More in the next post.

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I changed the "Your name" to include "2" in the hopes that that would show up as the account, no such luck. I better remember to change it back before I start using this account.
There's the drop-down that allowed me to switch to POP3.
I still have to input Port details etc. TBird has probably overwritten the really useful settings that worked earlier this week with its idea of moderninity, or something.

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This screen rattled me.
My outgoing account is at Rogers.com, but my incoming mail is on a different server.
By "username" do they mean just for my outgoing server, or has TBird gone really bird-brain-dead and decided that noone needs separate servers?
(I still have to play with outgoing mail)

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Now we're getting somewhere. You can call me "Pops" again!
I had to change my user name; the in-server uses a plus sign rather than an @ sign, but the first dialog box, TBird, wouldn't let me use a "+" sign.
The three server settings check boxes are turned of

But I can't change the Local Directory away from the C-drive "documents and settings" mentality to my data partition "T:\Greaves\Admin\Thunderbird".

I feel a new thread lurking in the wings ...

[ChrisGreaves]

I feel a new thread lurking in the wings ...

Thunderbird has lost many points in my esteem.
I have spent far too many hours (and many of yours) struggling to reverse Thunderbird's idea of what's good back to something that worked well enough for my needs in the past.
If this is all in the name of "security" then the spammers and the terrorists have won, since my time is being consumed fixing internal problems rather than being productive.
I am puzzled about comments in the two external threads; one thread is from 1 year ago, where the lead respondent said, and here I quote: "The development team is working on improving the Account setup wizard for Thunderbird 3.1".
I recall telling Al (and sending him, I think) an older version TBird 1.5.1 that I was using a year or so ago.
If account setup was a mess in v3, how come its still a mess in v7?
My mistake was sitting on the bleeding edge of technology.
Then "It has been 8 months since this auto install IMAP problem came to light. The authors/distributors still have not fixed the problem." and "I still think it's ridiculous that we have to do all this crap just to check email the way we want. The whole point of email clients is to make it easy."

Enough already!

My MAIN puzzle is that I'd swear I was using TBird v3.? quite happily these past 12 months and had never-a-whiff of this sordid business until this week's install.

I see the rant-o-meter is getting close to zero, so I'll go and have another cup of coffee ...

[Bigaldoc]

I'm sorry to say I don't understand what's been the root of your difficulties, Chris, so I've stayed out of these recent threads since you were already getting help from others.

I've been a TB user ever since way, way back and for the most part upgrade every time there's a new version. I've not ever had IMAP rear its head or had the difficulties you've been having with servers.

If you also have been using TB continuously and UPGRADING, I don't know. From one version to the next it has always gone smoothly and I have four different email accounts. Sorry, I just don't know what to tell you except my wish for good luck with getting it into the shape that you want and need.

[PaulB]

I can only echo what Big Al says. I've used TB ever since it was TB (and its previous Netscape incarnations). The email account information set up and stored in my TB user profile has always transitioned seamlessly from one version to to the next with no issues at all.

[ChrisGreaves]

I can only echo what Big Al says. I've used TB ever since it was TB (and its previous Netscape incarnations). The email account information set up and stored in my TB user profile has always transitioned seamlessly from one version to to the next with no issues at all.

Hi Paul and Al "Post=63511 ", both.
I agree with both your sentiments; I've used TBird since at least "Thunderbird Setup 1.5.0.4" - the earliest release I hold on file here, and have for-ever recommended it over MS Outlook for some users.
Since I didn't complain (much) when I installed TBird on this Notebook in Dec 2010, we must assume that it installed normally, in the sense that I used my 8-page document of screen-shots and settings to paint-by-the-numbers through the installation manually, as I have ever done since 2006 when I switched from Eudora.

My current guess is that two events combined:
(1) I decided to go the whole hog and use TBird 7.1; I have in the past always stayed well behind the bleeding edge, or at least, tried to.
(2) TBird has instituted its own database of settings along the lines of father-knows-best; perhaps my upgrade from v3 to v7 was enough to bring this outside database of settings into action.

The proof-of-the-pudding (at least my hyphen key is working well this morning!) will be my next re-installation; let's see if TBird7 and its database can conspire to return me to a seamless process. Yesterday might have been my quantum leap across the boundary of fully-manual installation to fully-automatic.

It's obvious from threads in other boards that I'm not the only one caught by surprise.

[ChrisGreaves]

If you also have been using TB continuously and UPGRADING,

Hi Al.
Using continuously, yes.
Upgrading at each new version, No.
I got my server setttings working well in some rendition of v3 and stayed with that, because it worked for me.
I am sure I skipped versions 4, 5 and 6.
Perhaps the leap from 3 to 7 is just too much to expect a seamless transition.
Although I see that my "Thunderbird Setup 3.0.2.exe" is dated 02/25/2010, not so long ago.
I was installing "Thunderbird 2.0.0.4" on Sunday, March 14, 2010

[Bigaldoc]

... <snip> ... my quantum leap across the boundary of fully-manual installation to fully-automatic.

Ooh, may I ask one more question, please Chris? When you say "automatic" do you mean that when you got a prompt that there is a new version, you allowed TB to update itself?

The only reason I ask is that I try NEVER to allow software to upgrade itself from INSIDE the application. I always download a copy, close the app and then run the installer which I downloaded. I think from your other words that you do the same, but I wanted to clear that up. I ask because it could be that TB does strange things if you allow it to upgrade itself. Never have done that one.

[ChrisGreaves]

... <snip> ... my quantum leap across the boundary of fully-manual installation to fully-automatic.

When you say "automatic" do you mean that when you got a prompt that there is a new version, you allowed TB to update itself?

No, Al, I should have made it clearer. I meant the stuff nowadays where Thunderbird sees "chris greaves" and grabs settings from a server farm somewhere a long way away from my home office here in Toronto. Probably next door to Skitterbug.
That's the part where I think Tbird, Skype et al. should have a message pop-up that says "Do you want to re-assemble this account painful character-by-character, or would you like me to populate your text boxes for you?".
Actually that would make a good 3rd mode:
Mode 1: Type in each setting by hand.
Mode 2: Instant-settings retrieved from the server farm
Mode 3: Settings retrieved from the server farm, but used to populate text check/boxes only as the user chooses "next"; saves typing, saves errors, but allows some customization.

Then:
"Would you like me to use these settings to update our server farm".

I got blindsided by the instant-dump of stuff into my TBird account setup. I'm an old man ....
On top of that I have a more-than-sneaking suspicion that TBird is recording all my latest mistakes ...⁽¹⁾

I try NEVER to allow software to upgrade itself from INSIDE the application.

Absolutely. Me too. That's part of the reason for my twin 500GB external drives - "keep a copy of everything, just in case".
I dislike the auto-update feature of some programs.

⁽¹⁾ Duplication of effort since I am already doing a pretty good job of recording all my mistakes right here on Eileen's Lounge!

[ChrisGreaves]

But I can't change the Local Directory away from the C-drive "documents and settings" mentality to my data partition "T:\Greaves\Admin\Thunderbird".

Now that Tbird7 is installed This page Got my mail flowing into a common set of folders.

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Now I can go ahead and add the other 5 email accounts, and have ALL incoming mail merge into the one InBox.
Note the interim TRASH201110NEW set up to receive stuff from all over the hard drive, for now.
I'll end up with a TRASH folder for each month ...
Ahhhhh!
Thank you, Loungers!

[jonwallace]

Chris,

My handy guide to getting your settings from your old thunderbird to your new one.

First some questions: Have you copied all the emails you want to keep to somewhere safe? Or did you leave your email on the server (I did when I was breaking (in) my new PC)? And did you save or still have access to your old TB profile?

If yes :

• If you've been using your new tb installation, then archive off your emails (there's probably an extension for that)
  Install thunderbird, slap in any old rubbish as the server settings then quit the program. (if you've been using Thunderbird you don't have to do this bit)
  create a shortcut to thunderbird and edit it's properties to add -profilemanager to the end of the target(to get you into erm...profile manager.)
  Start TB with this shortcut then click "Create profile" in the dialog. Follow the prompts and choose wherever you want your profile to be. (mine's is on a network drive as is Thunderbird so that I have it wherever I log in, but then I'm a smart****)
  Close down TB again.
  Navigate to your old profile in one window and your new profile in another then copy all the gubbins (technical term) from the INSIDE the old folder to INSIDE the new one.
  Run Thunderbird and update your addons(if you've got any) and confirm that I'm a genius and you've got all the bits from your old TB installation.
  If you've archived off any emails from your new installation, then restore them.

elseif no :

• Your on your own

endif
Have fun
John