Thunderbird menus and dialog boxes are blank

[axx]

Binary package hint: thunderbird

lsb_release -rd
Description: Ubuntu 10.04.1 LTS
Release: 10.04

apt-cache policy thunderbird
  Installed: 3.0.6+build2+nobinonly-0ubuntu0.10.04.1

Since updating to Lucid Lynx yesterday, Thunderbird won't load properly: the windows are mostly blank (reading pane), the submenus and the dialog boxes are blank (the initial "system integration" box for instance) and the menus buttons don't appear.
Apart from this, Thunderbird loads properly, downloads mail etc.

This is a on a two screen setup (laptop + external monitor). Interestingly, on the external monitor, the Thunderbird window is completely corrupted, on the laptop's screen, only the menus are blank and the folder/account list and message list are readable.

This bug seems very likely related to bugs #564011 and #555382, though in this case, the problem appears *without* any visual effects enabled (System > Preferences > Appearance / Visual Effects set to "None" and Compositing disabled in gconf-editor > apps > Metacity / General).

Also, this could have something to do with the infamous GMA500 "Poulsbo" graphics the laptop uses, the drivers of which are know for their high level of shittiness.
For this reason, I'll also attach the X.org.log, which might be of interest.

Let me know if I can add any useful information.

Thanks for your help, cheers :)

[Chris Coulson (chrisccoulson)]

Does this happen if you start with a new profile (you can try this by running "thunderbird -P -no-remote"?

[axx (axx)]

Can't say, the Profile Manager dialog box is blank, so I can't choose a new profile. ;-)

I guess that half answers the question though.

By the way, the problem also happens when starting Thunderbird with "thunderbird -safe-mode".
Also, while on the subject of Thunderbird extensions, in the state Thunderbird is in right now, it won't let me install extensions (the "5,4,3,2,1, install now" button stays stuck on 4).

[Chris Coulson (chrisccoulson)]

Does Firefox also exhibit the same behaviour?

[Chris Coulson (chrisccoulson)]

Could you also try with seamonkey, which is based on the same Gecko version as thunderbird?

[axx (axx)]

Firefox is fine, no issues than I can see of feel.

SeaMonkey shows the same problem, starting with the "Import Wizard" dialog box which appears completely blank on the external monitor and incomplete when displayed on the laptop's screen (radio buttons don't react, no "OK" button, only Cancel), and the "usual" window drawing issues, missing menus, lack of submenus.

So a Gecko problem then?

I see there are onto it on the GMA500 forum thread too: http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=9697438&postcount=1634

[axx (axx)]

Quick update, I tried installing Thunderbird from the Mozilla Daily PPA (version 3.0.7~hg20100808r4894+nobinonly-0ubuntu1~umd1~lucid I believe), that didn't solve anything, the same problems are still there.

I've also installed 3.1rc2 from Mozilla's website (as suggested by Lucazade on the forums), and that works, no visual artifacts and I could install Lightning.
So that's a temporary workaround for those interested.

[Daniel Dräs (g-kar)]

Got the same issue on a fresh install of lucid lynx here on a single monitor setup (Desktop PC).

[Daniel Dräs (g-kar)]

WIth some more testing and searching around I figured out that compiz would not run. After tweaking X.org with the ppa of https://launchpad.net/~xorg-edgers/+archive/ppa, compiz worked and also thunderbird works just fine.
so this seems not to be a soly thunderbird issue.

[Nathan Mills (wyrdough)]

This also happens for me without compiz on a single screen, using the radeonhd video driver. I haven't seen the issue in any other programs, including Firefox.

[Hugh Hyatt (hughhyatt)]

The same thing happened to me today. Yesterday Thunderbird was working fine. This did not occur upon an install of Lucid Lynx; I installed Lucid Lynx a couple of weeks ago although I did do a routine update this morning. I have a single monitor (laptop) setup. Starting with -ProfileManager or -safe-mode also gives blank windows. Firefox works fine. I did not try Seamonkey and I don't understand the tweaking of compiz so I didn't try that either.

[Hugh Hyatt (hughhyatt)]

axx wrote on 2010-08-11: "I've also installed 3.1rc2 from Mozilla's website (as suggested by Lucazade on the forums), and that works, no visual artifacts and I could install Lightning. So that's a temporary workaround for those interested."

This didn't work for me. I got exactly the same results with 3.1.rc2 as I get with 3.0.10. BTW I'm running it under Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx).

[Hugh Hyatt (hughhyatt)]

Running 'pkill thunderbird' and then starting Thunderbird cleared this problem up.

[Giovanni Rapagnani (matteo666)]

I had a similar issue under Ubuntu 10.04.1 LTS.

I figured it out by setting the option System->Preferences->Appearance->Visual Effects from "Normal" to "None".

This is my graphic interface:
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc Radeon RV250 [Mobility FireGL 9000] (rev 02)
 Subsystem: Dell Device 011d

Xorg loads the following modules:
II) LoadModule: "extmod"
(II) LoadModule: "dbe"
(II) LoadModule: "glx"
(II) LoadModule: "record"
(II) LoadModule: "dri"
(II) LoadModule: "dri2"
(II) LoadModule: "ati"
(II) LoadModule: "radeon"
(II) LoadModule: "vesa"
(II) LoadModule: "fbdev"
(II) LoadModule: "fbdevhw"
(II) LoadModule: "fb"
(II) LoadModule: "ramdac"
(II) LoadModule: "exa"
(II) LoadModule: "evdev"
(II) LoadModule: "synaptics"

[Tommy Trussell (tommy-trussell)]

I upgraded from Ubuntu 9.10 to 10.04 today, and ran into this. The dialogs in Thunderbird were unusable. Most Thunderbird windows copied portions of the image from the desktop and windows underneath. Even when fields were visible, it was impossible to get focus. The File menu usually worked, but most other menus just popped up an empty rectangle. So far, nothing else has been incompatible with compiz, but I haven't done much else today but reinstall and test my old data.

I assumed it was due to upgrading from my old Thunderbird data to the 3.1.x but blowing away my old .mozilla-thunderbird and the new link to .thunderbird didn't help.

As described in #15, setting Visual Effects from "Normal" to "None" fixed it.

$ lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 82945G/GZ/P/PL Memory Controller Hub (rev 02)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82945G/GZ/P/PL PCI Express Root Port (rev 02)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family High Definition Audio Controller (rev 01)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family PCI Express Port 1 (rev 01)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH7 Family USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 01)
00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 01)
00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 01)
00:1d.3 USB Controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 01)
00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 01)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 PCI Bridge (rev e1)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801GB/GR (ICH7 Family) LPC Interface Bridge (rev 01)
00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) IDE Controller (rev 01)
00:1f.2 IDE interface: Intel Corporation N10/ICH7 Family SATA IDE Controller (rev 01)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family SMBus Controller (rev 01)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc RV370 5B60 [Radeon X300 (PCIE)]
01:00.1 Display controller: ATI Technologies Inc RV370 [Radeon X300SE]
03:08.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family LAN Controller (rev 01)

My Xorg.0.log modules loaded are:

(II) LoadModule: "extmod"
(II) LoadModule: "dbe"
(II) LoadModule: "glx"
(II) LoadModule: "record"
(II) LoadModule: "dri"
(II) LoadModule: "dri2"
(II) LoadModule: "ati"
(II) LoadModule: "radeon"
(II) LoadModule: "vesa"
(II) LoadModule: "fbdev"
(II) LoadModule: "fbdevhw"
(II) LoadModule: "fb"
(II) LoadModule: "ramdac"
(II) LoadModule: "exa"
(II) LoadModule: "evdev"

[Tommy Trussell (tommy-trussell)]

oops I just noticed the original reporter said his did NOT improve by turning off visual effects.

I'm going to subscribe to Bug #555382 ... Sorry for the noise.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for thunderbird (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]