Why Is Thunderbird Not Working After Update? Complete Guide

Have you recently updated your Thunderbird email client and encountered that Thunderbird not working after update? If yes, then this is the blog made for you only. Thus, sometimes when we get the latest edition of Thunderbird, a few uncertain glitches or bugs also come with it, which obstruct the users’ productivity and make them experience that Thunderbird not responding after update error. Therefore, to help you in this matter, we prepared this complete blog post. It covers everything from the reasons and manual solutions to the pro ways and their benefits. Hence, without any further ado, let’s dive in!

Why is Thunderbird Not Working After Update?

There are multiple reasons that make Thunderbird not responding after update, and some of the most common ones among them are as follows:

• The primary cause can be the freezing of older plugins or add-ons that got disabled and unsupported after the update.
• Also, any possible corruption in the Thunderbird profile or MSF file during the update also leads to Thunderbird not working after update.
• Apart from this, if the system has a third-party antivirus that is blocking Thunderbird, then this error takes place.
• In addition to that, another reason for this issue is if the Thunderbird new edition download is incomplete or not done correctly.
• Plus, one more prominent reason behind Thunderbird not working after update is when the operating system updates, and it conflicts with Thunderbird permissions.
• Last but not least, it is also possible that Thunderbird’s profile data is inaccessible and thus it is not loading properly, which causes Thunderbird not starting after the update.

How to Fix Thunderbird Not Responding After Update Error?

There are multiple solutions that can help resolve Thunderbird not working after update. However, not all of them will work appropriately or give guaranteed results. Still, have a quick look at them and find out which one works for you.

1. Run Thunderbird Using Safe Mode

1. For this, simply press the Shift key and start Thunderbird.
2. Once done, click on the Continue in Safe Mode option.
3. When Thunderbird opens, click on the Tools menu.
4. From there, choose Add-ons and Themes.
5. Now, disable all the recently downloaded add-ons.
6. Finally, restart Thunderbird like always, and now the error Thunderbird not working after update might be fixed.

2. Remove the Corrupt Thunderbird Index File

1. First of all, close the running Thunderbird.
2. After this, browse and go to the Thunderbird profile folder.
3. For this, press the keys Windows + R and type “%APPDATA%\Thunderbird\Profiles”.
4. Once done, open the folder which has .default at the end of the folder name.
5. Now, delete all the MSF and global-messages-db.sqlite files.
6. Finally, restart Thunderbird, and the issue will be solved.

3. Turn Off the Hardware Acceleration

1. Make sure to start Thunderbird in safe mode.
2. Once done, click on Tools and choose Settings.
3. Then, go to General and select Performance.
4. There, uncheck or turn off the option Use hardware acceleration when available.
5. At last, close and restart Thunderbird to fix the Thunderbird not working after update issue.

Read Also: Expert Guide to Manage Thunderbird Expand All Threads By Default Option

4. Reinstall Thunderbird With Accuracy

1. First of all, open the Control Panel.
2. There, find and uninstall Thunderbird.
3. Further, go to the location “C:\Program Files\Mozilla Thunderbird” and delete if there are any remaining files.
4. After this, go to the official website of Thunderbird and download the latest edition.
5. Once done, run it on the device, and the issue of Thunderbird not responding after update will be resolved.

5. Backup Data or Switch the Email Client

If none of the above manual solutions to fix Thunderbird not working after update are working, then one can choose the expert’s suggestion to use a reliable software such as MailsWare Thunderbird Data Converter tool. It has 30+ saving options, which include file extensions as well as email clients to download or export data from Thunderbird swiftly, with all the attachments or attributes intact. The simple steps to use this tool to resolve Thunderbird not responding after update are as follows:

1. Install the tool and launch it on your device.
   
2. From the given selection modes, choose the Thunderbird data.
   
   
3. Now, select the saving option that is either any file format or direct to an email client.
   
4. Further, give the requested details or the saving location.
   
5. Finally, click on Convert to proceed further.
   

Pro Tip: Open the settings of your system anti-virus or firewall and check that Thunderbird should not be blacklisted from there. Apart from this, the user can also check and update the graphics drivers as well as the OS to the latest edition.

Limitations of the Manual Way

• There is no guarantee that they will work for your case.
• These solutions are very complex and cannot be easily followed by non-tech users.
• The risk of data loss or data alteration is also very high with the manual way to fix the Thunderbird not working after update issue.
• These methods are indirect and are not recommended by industry experts.
• They consume a lot of resources, which makes it inefficient.

Benefits of the Professional Solution

• It keeps the user’s data safe and secure from any possible loss.
• This tool has 30+ export options, which allow them to easily switch email clients from Thunderbird to Gmail,  Outlook, Yahoo, and more.
• There is also a free demo edition of this tool, which allows the user to test it before getting the paid license.
• It supports bulk action and keeps the elements such as attachments, multimedia, header, footer, layout, etc., the same.
• This is the most recommended solution by experts as it takes a backup of the important data and lets the user freely do the drill with Thunderbird data.

Conclusion

By the end of this blog, it is very evident that the professional solution to fix Thunderbird not responding after update is far better than the complex manual solutions. Thus, one can repair the corrupted Thunderbird files, export them in the desired file format, or directly transfer them to the desired email clients of your choice without the hassle of manually importing them. It has various other advanced features as well, which make it a one-stop solution to deal with Thunderbird data.

Read Next: Ultimate Guide to Resolve Thunderbird Not Showing All Folders