Thunderbird:Testing:Memory Usage Problems: Difference between revisions

Thunderbird slowness can be caused by CPU, memory and disk activity and come from many sources. The steps below are simplified to be clear and easy to follow, and cover the many possibilities. '''To have the best possible chance of success, please step through the full list.'''   

= Diagnose and Report =

* We avoid creating a new data profile, because creating a new profile can create its own set of issues. But a new profile is one possible solution.

* '''Do not delete files'''. Instead, rename or move files in case "bad files" are needed for developers to examine.

* Steps are <u>temporary</u> *tests*, not a request for you to permanently disable a feature or antivirus software.

* '''Do one or two steps at a time, then evaluate before doing more steps. As you proceed, document the results for each step number so you can post the information in a support request.'''

** Document precisely <u>when</u> the behavior occurs (startup, shutdown, etc"), and <u>every step</u> (action, menu click, character typed to reproduce the problem. And use '''numbers''' for amounts of memory and cpu, time duration, # of folders and messages - not vague words like fast, slow, small, large.

# Are you using the newest Thunderbird? <small>Check Help > About in Thunderbird to see what '''<u>channel</u>''' and version you are running. Then visit https://thunderbird.net/download to see what version is available for '''<u>your channel</u>'''. NOTE: most users are on the "esr" channel, not "release". Also check the [https://www.thunderbird.net/system-requirements/ current System Requirements] to see whether your OS is supported.</small>

#Start Thunderbird in [https://support.mozilla.org/kb/troubleshoot-mode-thunderbird Troubleshoot Mode]. If it helped then start in normal mode and if the problem returned:<small>

#*Visit Add-ons and Themes - disable two or more extensions, themes or language packs at a time to determine which might be causing the problem. Are any in the [[#Other_Software|list of Problem Extensions]]?   

#*Contact the '''author''' of suspected bad add-ons using their support website or email. </small>

#'''Start OS in safe mode. Instructions: [https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12376/windows-10-start-your-pc-in-safe-mode win11+win10], [https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/how-to-boot-windows-7-in-safe-mode/0216561f-4e12-47d6-8637-85fd98469f01 win7], [https://support.apple.com/kb/PH25617?locale=en_US MacOS]. If performance is improved in safe mode, then'''<small>

#* test with antivirus disabled or removed - because we constantly see reports of antivirus causing slowness, and disabling isn't always reliable. Check [[Thunderbird:Testing:Antivirus Related Performance Issues|AV performance issues]] for examples for your software, including [[Thunderbird:Testing:Antivirus_Related_Performance_Issues#Defender_aka_Microsoft_Windows_Defender_aka_%22Antimalware_Service_Executable%22_(ASE)_aka_MsMpEng.exe|Microsoft Defender]]

#* test with firewall disabled or removed [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1133857 Ad-Aware example]

#* check for software loaded at boot time as a possible cause

#* run only one antivirus, one firewall, one malware (never multiples of each - more is not better)

#* on macOS, try with [https://support.apple.com/kb/PH25607 Time Machine disabled]

#* check for newer version of AV/firewall software, and check with vendor's support site for problem reports </small>   

# Do you see "Unresponsive Script" or "Not Responding"?  Is Thunderbird excluded in your [[Thunderbird:Testing:Antivirus Related Performance Issues|antivirus software]]?  

# Has a proxy ever been defined, and is it working correctly or was the proxy removed?  (A proxy can cause "Unresponsive script")

#Does it help to set <code>accessibility.force_disabled</code> to '''numeric''' 1 in Settings > Config Editor?

# '''If you have gmail accounts, is problem gone after [http://kb.mozillazine.org/Using_Gmail_with_Thunderbird_and_Mozilla_Suite#Subscriptions unsubscribing the "All Mail" folder]?'''

# Is "Unified Folders" enabled in "Folder Modes" at the top of the folder pane?  Or are have you created virtual folders? These iterate over multiple folders and can affect responsiveness.

# '''Folders should be well maintained'''. Help > Troubleshooting Information lists large folders. Folders may also be broken, which can be fixed with right+click on folder, Properties > Repair. Signs of problems and common maintenance steps:<small>

#* Do you see high memory or delay for a specific folder when opening, deleting or archiving, moving a message?  

#* Do you empty Trash and Spam (junk) folders on a regular basis? '''These should not be larger than a few thousand messages, and you should not use these folders for long term storage. Does performance improve if you empty them?''' An alternative to manual emptying is setting automatic retention value in Folder Properties.  Also see [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1226726, [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/menu-reference#w_empty-trash File menu], {{bug|1192827}}

#* Do any Inbox or filtered folders have several thousand messages?  If so, especially for Inbox, consider deleting some messages or moving some to another folder with [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/archived-messages Archive] or some other method.

#* Are [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/compacting-folders compacts] routinely performed?  Compact must be automatic or done regularly (at least weekly) using [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/menu-reference#w_compact-folders manual File > Compact Folders]?</small>

# Do you have any remote Calendars?<small>

#* Try disabling two or more calendars at a time.  

#* If you have many recurring, never ending calendar appointments, try reducing the time period and number of them. Less likely starting with version 128's fix for {{bug|1844408}}. Examples: [https://www.reddit.com/r/Thunderbird/comments/16c89wo], [https://www.reddit.com/r/Thunderbird/comments/18ypd8r/comment/kgcyox8/]

#* Try setting calendar.caldav.multigetBatchSize > 100 in Settings > Config Editor (100 is default, you must create the preference [https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1543953])</small>

# Does setting preference <code>ui.prefersReducedMotion</code> to '''numeric''' value 1 help in Settings > Config Editor??  

# Does File > Offline > Work Offline (with Work Offline now "checked") help, which stops checks for new mail, news and RSS feeds.<small>

#** Does disabling interval checks for new mail help? (Account Settings | Server Settings | uncheck "Check for new messages every N minutes").  If it helps, then ... is a low value (1-3 minutes) specified for checking for new mail? Does increasing it to 5-10 minutes help?

#**Is a low value (1-3 minutes) specified for draft autosave at Options | Composition | General | Auto Save every N minutes. Does increasing to 5-10 minutes help?

#**Are any non-Inbox IMAP folders configured to check for new messages via "always check this folder" in properties?  Or is hidden preference mail.check_all_imap_folders_for_new set to true? These increase load on both Thunderbird and the mail server. {{Bug|729504}}</small>

#Does problem resolve by disabling Global Search indexing? <small>Tools|Options|Advanced|General| uncheck Enable Global Search and Indexer (linux: Edit|Preferences|Advanced|...  Mac: cmd , advanced tab) '''and restart Thunderbird.'''  (note, disabling indexing also disables global searching - ctrl+K)

#* If the problem did go away - did Thunderbird have extremely high disk IO, seem to be stuck on indexing per Tools|Activity Manager, or is global-messages-db.sqlite (file used for global search) in your [http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Thunderbird profile folder] too big? Rule of thumb - the file should not be more than 10-20% of the combined size of all messages in directories Mail and ImapMail.

#** Please [https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/enter_bug.cgi?product=Thunderbird&format=guided file a bug] about your problem.</small>

# Are any of these indexing methods enabled in Thunderbird:<small>

#* MS-Windows Integrated Search enable/disable at Tools > Settings > General > System Integration > Allow Windows Search [https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1294985#c9], [http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?p=14787494&sid=65155af350753b1b533816f9aa186ec2#p14787494], [http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=2998289&sid=b7f14103cb12448f427da681a0ba45c8&p=14571029#p14571029], [http://groups.google.com/group/mozilla.support.thunderbird/browse_thread/thread/93ab6d849bd87918/db493affc19d6520?lnk=gst&q=%22TB+3.1+Freezes%22+%22also+found%22#db493affc19d6520], [http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?p=14283935&#p14283935], [http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=2957945&p=14430851#p14430851], [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1102258], [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1154444], [https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/discussions/thunderbird-is-extremely-slow-after-the-new-ui-update-115-4-2/m-p/49791/highlight/true#M17793]

#* Mac Spotlight at Thunderbird > Settings > System Integration</small>

# If you see high CPU usage in Windows taskmgr, Mac activity manager, or linux top, sort the CPU column (details tab for Windows) to see if [http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?p=12641015#p12641015 mozilla updater.exe], Window's update or some other process is hogging CPU.

# Is your '''[https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-tb Thunderbird profile]''' or any part of Thunderbird <u>not</u> on a local disk? If not local, does it preform better when it is moved to the local disk?<small>

#* network drive (file share) can be slow due to network transmission or slow media (SMB, NFS, AFS, samba)</small>

# Consider slow disk or high disk activity<small>

#* check whether any OS or application update process is in progress, for example [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1226979 Windows update]</small>

#Check activity in Tools > Activity Manager to see if a folder or ISP (mail provider) is being lame. Examples: Yahoo and Gmail (and others) may cause message folders to be redownloaded.  <small>[https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1202731 slow downloading email (Centurylink)]</small>

#Common resource requirements and hardware checks:<small>

#* Does your system have the [https://www.thunderbird.net/system-requirements/ minimum hardware requirements] for the current version, especially [[#Memory_Overview|memory]]? NOTE: minimum recommended size may not be sufficient for Thunderbird and <u>your</u> system's workload. Paging, even if you have a fast SSD, will kill performance - check activity manager, activity monitor or top.

#* Consider hardware problems - run checks against disks, SSD, memory. We get several reports a year, for example [http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?p=14414969#p14414969], [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1090651]

#* Check BIOS settings: [[http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?p=14773844#p14773844 hanging when sending messages if VT-x is enabled in BIOS]]

#* If Thunderbird is running in a VM (virtual machine), is it better when not virtualized?</small>

#* Is prefs.js file in the Thunderbird profile directory larger then 500 KB? Then it might have excessive tag entries from the RSS issue discussed above, or some unexpected, repetitive entries.

#* Do you have thousands of contacts in your address book?  

#* On Linux? A package might be causing the problem [https://www.reddit.com/r/Thunderbird/comments/183tc5h/suddenly_slow_thunderbird_on_linux_gentoo_how_to/]. Are you running an old version? Consider updating. [http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?p=13605851#p13605851 hangs on Ubuntu 10.04, 14.04 works]

#* On macOS, try disabling Thunderbird's access to Mac Contacts in Mac System Settings > Privacy & Security > Contacts.

#*If [[#Memory Overview|Thunderbird memory usage is more than 1.5GB or more]] then folders may be corrupted or are not being closed. Please get a diagnostic log of Thunderbird activity with '''MSGDB:5,timestamp''' using [[MailNews:Logging|logging instructions]], then [https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/enter_bug.cgi?product=Thunderbird&format=guided file a bug], and attach the zipped log file using "Add an attachment".</small>

#'''If none of the above helped, or you have a reportable problem or question, please use the next section below.'''

Create a [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/new/thunderbird/form support request] or [https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/enter_bug.cgi?product=Thunderbird&format=guided new bug report] with

[[#Before starting|the information you have collected]]:

* '''State that you reviewed this document''', and which step numbers made things better or worse.  

* Use '''Numbers''' when referring to amounts of memory, cpu, time duration, folders, messages - not vague ... fast, slow, small, large.

* '''Number''' of messages in your largest folder.

* Full Thunderbird <u>version number</u> from Help > About, or Help > Troubleshooting Information

* List what is happening in Tools > Activity Manager.

* State whether your [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-where-thunderbird-stores-user-data Thunderbird profile data] is in a non-standard location.

 

* Any bug report(s) match your problem? See [[#References|topmost entries in the "Unresolved bugs" list]], and open [https://mzl.la/3P82Lyd memory] and [https://mzl.la/3Xg2Bsg performance] bugs.  

* Attach any message which demonstrates the issue, saved from Thunderbird as .eml file.

* '''Screen shots'''.

* URL to a [https://support.mozilla.org/kb/profiling-thunderbird-performance performance profile which you created].

'''Fixed bugs/Resolved issues:'''

* Secunia PSI  

* THE SHIELD {{bug|542156}}  

* Eset NOD32 {{Bug|541197}} Repeated attempts to create huge temporary file during message synchronization due to Eset NOD32 causes slow gloda indexing  

* F-Prot Antivirus may cause very slow access to mailbox files. See: [[Thunderbird:Testing:Antivirus Related Performance Issues|Antivirus Related Performance Issues]]

* [[Thunderbird:Testing:Antivirus_Related_Performance_Issues#Microsoft_Windows_Defender_aka_%22Antimalware_Service_Executable%22_(ASE)_aka_MsMpEng.exe|Microsoft Defender]]