What's happened to my Thunderbird?

That sounds more like problems with email provider and news server than with TB. Whose services are you using?

Plusnet for email. Works on my phone and tablet, and webmail.

Eternal September for Usenet.

You might want to try Claws-Mail, which is where I went when I decided TB was too big and slow. The Windows version is a port, but I used it for years on Win 7, 8 and 10. Works fine for ES on Usenet.

No problem having two email clients installed, unless you're on POP3, and then you can keep emails on the server. This allows quick diagnosis of problems like this. I do have TB installed, but only use it if I have to navigate someone else through the menus, which I've forgotten.

On 19/09/2025 12:50, Max Demian pondered:

Something has its knickers in a twist. Double check exactly where the data is supposed to be written is where its trying to write it, and reboot the computer and then enter the password just once and make sure you have it set to remember it.

Ive had this behaviour once and it turned out that there was an unseen popup box that I hadn't filled in...

I had this around two or three weeks ago.

The user name I'd used for mail for around 8 years (?) billy bookcaseplusdsl (or similar) was being thrown back,

So I revereted to my normal plusnet user name of billy bookcase (or whatever) without the bit at the end, and it worked

bb

Another vote for Claws-mail. I use it for News, and TB for e-mail.

Likely a side-effect of the Plusnet -> Greenby migration ...

The dsl bit is for broadband access from my router. I've never used it for email.

Where exactly does TB store passwords (so I can check they are stored correctly)?

Indeed.

Which while it supposedly happened some time ago. is presumably being implemented in stages.

And which from memory, while still free for 2 or 3 years, will then cost a relatively trivial amount

The only surprise was that I could find nothing about the "fault" anywhere. The fact that Plusnet appear to have ditched all their UseNet Groups.along with UseNet provision by GigaNews ( which at least are no longer available on ES ) wasn't exactly a help. While wading through their web based forums simply didn't appeal,

bb

Have you actually checked your email server settings ?

Or do you just have a very good memory ?

I had to change the user name on TB on both Win 10 and Linux platforms, and OE on an XP machine.

bb

Look in Privacy & Security in Settings, scroll down to Password, click on Saved Passwords, then Show Passwords. They can also be changed when you are given a password prompt after a login problem, click New Password.

somewhere in its config folder.

But they are unsurprisingly encrypted

Heres what some AI says

"To view saved email passwords in Thunderbird, click the menu button (three lines) in the top-right corner, then select Settings > Privacy & Security > Saved Passwords. In the Saved Passwords window, you can click Show Passwords to reveal them. You may be prompted to enter your operating system's password for security before viewing them. "

Works for me except the three lines are top left in my version of T bird

Within two files in the TB profile folder (logins.json and key4.db) the first is plain text, the second is an sqlite database, they're encrypted so the way to view the actual passwords is ...

Tools > Settings > Privacy & Security > Passwords > Saved Passwords

You'll have to enter your master password (assuming you've set one).

If you have multiple passwords stored for the same service, best to clear them out, let it re-prompt to enter and re-save them.

PN's private groups never were on E-S, just on the PN version of giganews

You must have the 'sinister' version.

Not needed

To confirm the password and user name TB is sending to the Greenby/Plusnet Mail Server

Click on the three lines at the top

Choose Account Settings

Choose Server Settings

Choose Mail Server

Then click through the boxes that throws up; one of which will show the user name and password TB is sending to Greenby who now handle former Plusnet emails

Your details won't have changed. What's changed is what Greenby now expect by way of a user name and a password.

bb

I kept a copy of Profile, then ran updater to your version.

Logins.json gets a new entry when I am queried for the password for a USENET server. The server has accepted the password.

But subsequent attempts to use logins.json are likely failing on the malformed Version 2 left-behind entry at the beginning of the file.

Error Console

NS_ERROR_FAILURE: Couldn't decrypt string crypto-SDR.sys.mjs:197

decrypt resource://gre/modules/crypto-SDR.sys.mjs:197 _decryptLogins resource://gre/modules/storage-json.sys.mjs:1056 findLogins resource://gre/modules/storage-json.sys.mjs:706 findLogins resource://gre/modules/LoginManager.sys.mjs:353 _actionAuthUser resource:///modules/NntpClient.sys.mjs:890 _nextAction resource:///modules/NntpClient.sys.mjs:573 _onData resource:///modules/NntpClient.sys.mjs:241

Emptying the logins.json file didn't work. I had to put the new entry back (the one created when I had re-typed USER and PASS), using plausible numbers for the enumeration.

It seems to be stable now, when logins.json just has the new entry. This is likely meant to be one line of text, and I've broken it up to make it easier to read. The new format is version 3, the old format version 2. The file really only has the one id entry, and using 2 and 3 for values here is to attempt to not disturb something else.

{"nextId":3,"logins":[{"id":2,"hostname":"news://news.eternal-september.org","httpRealm": "news://news.eternal-september.org","formSubmitURL":null,"usernameField":"","passwordField":"", "encryptedUsername":"MDaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/", "encryptedPassword":"MDbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb", "guid":"{3a2cad6d-3786-4531-8d09-8549c7a07bff}", "encType":1,"timeCreated":1758302427245,"timeLastUsed":1758302427245, "timePasswordChanged":1758302427245,"timesUsed":1,"syncCounter":1,"everSynced":false, "encryptedUnknownFields":"MDcccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc+ddddddddddddd/e=="}], "disabledHosts":[],"version":3,"potentiallyVulnerablePasswords":[],"dismissedBreachAlertsByLoginGUID":{}}

The "old" entry at the beginning of the logins.json, ended like this

"timeCreated":1632977510045,"timeLastUsed":1632977510045,"timePasswordChanged":1632977510045,"timesUsed":1},

Before the upgrade action, the logins.json line (with working password), ended like this. The migration chopped the end off in mid-sentence.

"timeCreated":1632977510045,"timeLastUsed":1632977510045,"timePasswordChanged":1632977510045,"timesUsed":1}],"disabledHosts":[],"version":2}

I hope I've captured what happened correctly. I had four of these stupid files open at once, and copied the wrong stuff :-/

Paul

Windows and Linux versions of TB are slightly different, just enough to be annoying when trying to talk someone through a configuration if they have the other one. There's also some customisation possible.