Your Thunderbird profile cannot be loaded. It may be missing or inaccessible

[kmbaroyale19]

Yesterday, when I tried opening Thunderbird, the following message appeared " Your Thunderbird profile cannot be loaded. It may be missing or inaccessible". I then tried Firefox and got the same message referring to Firefox. I uninstalled and reinstalled both but still get the same messages.
When I try to open Safari the icon bounces in the menu bar but nothing happens and no message appears.
Google Chrome still works normally - up until now.
I am not aware of having installed any new software in the past few days, or having deleted anything other than mails etc.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I use a MacBook Pro 15" Retina mid 2015 running Big Sur version 11.4 - I know 11.5 is available but decided not to make any changes until this problem is solved.

Many thanks
Neville

 

[chscag]

Did you by chance make a change to your user name or renamed your home folder?

 

[Rod]

Youre running the exact same device as me and the same macOS. If you successfully managed to download a new version of Firefox then it would seem that you still have an internet connection or did. Can you check any other devices on the same network to see if they have trouble connecting to the internet?

 

[Rod]

Other than the above suggestion I have to concur with chscag's suspicion about some sort of change to your Home Folder or User data.

 

[kmbaroyale19]

Thank you for the swift response.
Because I know as good as nothing about how a computer works I have attached a screenshot which may tell you more than I can. I can send as many screenshots as you ask for.
At present I am on vacation and, in order to avoid grief with my wife, can only work on the problem when she is not around.

 

[IWT]

At present I am on vacation and, in order to avoid grief with my wife, can only work on the problem when she is not around.

Hey Neville, just give her your Credit Card and you'll not see her for hours

Ian

 

[Rod]

You say you're on holiday, so can we assume this started after you went on holiday? It seems to me that may be the change. In cases like these we always asked what changed or (no blame intended) what have you altered lately.
If you are currently on a different network that is a big change.
Have you tried creating a new network connection for where you are now?

 

[kmbaroyale19]

The problem started the day before we left on vacation. On that morning we had had no telephone / internet service and I thought my router had failed. Later in the day I learned that all apartments in our house and the neighbouring house had been affected.
About 2 weeks ago I installed Google Chrome because it is the one recommended for certain programmes that I need for work. It continues to work normally whereas Safari and Firefox do not. I am also unable to connect to the App Store. I am able to use the hotel network without any problem.
This morning I have just received a message that my computer cannot connect to iCloud. When requested to enter my Apple/iCloud password, it was rejected. After a further attempt I was told to change my password, which I did. However, this password was also rejected and I was requested to change it yet again. I now appear to be in a loop and am being told, yet again, that the password is wrong - see screenshot..
Before leaving on vacation I tried restoring from TimeMachine. Although the last backup is no more than 3 weeks old, TimeMachine showed a date in 2019 or something equally ridiculous. I always check TimeMachine before quitting, that at least 3 new backups are showing.
The MacBook is also running very slow - it took a long time to find the screenshot on the desktop.
Yesterday, in desperation, I installed the OS update (version 11.5) that I new was due hoping that the demons would disappear but they didn't.
I will try a restart - who knows???
@ian I would gladly give her my credit card if it would solve the problem - my wife isn't into expensive jewellery and designer labels

 

[Rod]

You had a major connection outage at your address effecting the other tenants as well.
Then you did a Restore from Time Machine. What did you restore? Your Time Machine backup dates back to 2019. Is this a TM backup device that you have been using over that time? What do you mean you check that you have at least 3 backups before quitting? Quitting what?

It certainly seems that connectivity is your problem and I think it all happened when your internet connection went down at your home address. It is possible that Chrome was not active at the time and not effected but if you cannot log into iCloud or the App Store then some part of the internet settings may have been damaged.

Please don't change your iCloud password again, it's likely that none of you attempts registered anyway and your original password will be fine, it just muddies the water.

Updating your macOS was not likely to fix anything, it very seldom does.

It still sounds like there may be something wrong with your User Account, or something that changed.

I can only think of drastic measures to fix your problem. Things you would probably rather not do on holiday away from home. Eg, erase your HD, reinstall the current macOS as a clean install and restore your data from a TM backup.
Having said all that I'm a bit concerned about the reliability of your existing TM backup.
Personally I erase my Time Machine backup and start a new one at each major macOS upgrade.

Lastly, are you the only User on this device?
I only ask because you were able to initiate a macOS update which indicates you have connectivity to the Apple Servers but not to your accounts.

This is a long shot but try going to the Apple Menu, scroll down to Log Out and click it (assuming you know your user name and login password for the MBP). You will then be presented with the login screen try logging in the usual way and check if you have connection to the internet via Safari.

 

[kmbaroyale19]

You had a major connection outage at your address effecting the other tenants as well.
Then you did a Restore from Time Machine. What did you restore? Your Time Machine backup dates back to 2019. Is this a TM backup device that you have been using over that time? What do you mean you check that you have at least 3 backups before quitting? Quitting what?

It certainly seems that connectivity is your problem and I think it all happened when your internet connection went down at your home address. It is possible that Chrome was not active at the time and not effected but if you cannot log into iCloud or the App Store then some part of the internet settings may have been damaged.

Please don't change your iCloud password again, it's likely that none of you attempts registered anyway and your original password will be fine, it just muddies the water.

Updating your macOS was not likely to fix anything, it very seldom does.

It still sounds like there may be something wrong with your User Account, or something that changed.

I can only think of drastic measures to fix your problem. Things you would probably rather not do on holiday away from home. Eg, erase your HD, reinstall the current macOS as a clean install and restore your data from a TM backup.
Having said all that I'm a bit concerned about the reliability of your existing TM backup.
Personally I erase my Time Machine backup and start a new one at each major macOS upgrade.

Lastly, are you the only User on this device?
I only ask because you were able to initiate a macOS update which indicates you have connectivity to the Apple Servers but not to your accounts.

This is a long shot but try going to the Apple Menu, scroll down to Log Out and click it (assuming you know your user name and login password for the MBP). You will then be presented with the login screen try logging in the usual way and check if you have connection to the internet via Safari.

Thank you Rod.
No, I did not do a Time Machine restore because I did not want to go back to 2019.
When I do TimeMachine backups I usually leave it connected for several hours and, before disconnecting, I enter TimeMachine and check that it has backed up several times during that period.
Yes, I have been using this TimeMachine device for several years but have never had to restore from it.
Google Chrome was almost certainly not active because I use it only for programmes for work.
I am the only user.
I return home tomorrow and I believe I have a bootable memory stick which I made a few years ago. The problem is, if I find it, I don't know how to use it. I make no secret of the fact that I am a Dummy. I have been using Mac since 1992 (Macintosh SE with 2 MB RAM, two of which I still have). Perhaps I have been lucky but I have rarely had any serious problems. This is the reason I know nothing about them - they just work - like a light switch.
I have just now seen your recommendation to logout and login again. I will try this after sending this post and then come back to you.

 

[kmbaroyale19]

Rod, it didn't make any difference. It takes a long time for all icons to appear on the desktop.

 

[kmbaroyale19]

I have noticed that when I click on a screenshot (on the desktop) for example it appears to open but is not visible. At the same time Preview which is the programme that I use to view screenshots also moves but does not open. I am able to open the screenshot however when it is an attachment.
When I right click on Preview in the dock I see a list of photos - see screenshot. If I then click on Options / Show in Finder, the a row of jpeg icons appears, as in the third screenshot. I don't know if any of this is relevant but I want to provide as much information as possible.
If I compare the PowerBook Pro with my old 1997 MacBook (which still works perfectly although updates ended years ago) I see that under Sharing & Permissions it says "You can only read" - see screenshot, whereas the MacBook says "You can read and write". Is there a reason for this and can I change it?

 

[Rod]

How your permissions are set in your screen shot are just fine, same as mine. Can you change them? Yes, but I wouldn't. I believe this was a change that occured when SIP (System Integrity Protection) was introduced.

Have you tried running Disk Utility > First Aid on Macintosh HD. It's starting to sound like you have a lot more issues than just connectivity.

I can't help thinking it had something to do with the outage you and your neighbours suffered.
Let us know the results of the First Aid process.

 

[kmbaroyale19]

How your permissions are set in your screen shot are just fine, same as mine. Can you change them? Yes, but I wouldn't. I believe this was a change that occured when SIP (System Integrity Protection) was introduced.

Have you tried running Disk Utility > First Aid on Macintosh HD. It's starting to sound like you have a lot more issues than just connectivity.

I can't help thinking it had something to do with the outage you and your neighbours suffered.
Let us know the results of the First Aid process.

Rod,
Disk Utility is the first thing I tried but here are current screen shots.
I have just arrived back from vacation and am glad to see that I still have the 256GB SSD that I removed at the beginning of June when I upgraded to 512GB. I put it into an enclosure with the idea of using it for extra storage but luckily I didn't have time to delete anything on it. There really has not been much activity on the PowerBook since then, at least nothing that I desperately need. I am considering booting from this old SSD, updating my emails etc. on it, deleting the troublesome internal disk and then restoring from the old one. What do you think?
The new SSD has worked perfectly since it was installed. Although I say new it was second hand, removed from a working MacBook Pro and it has always passed Disk Utility tests.

 

[Rod]

Sadly Disk Utility is not that reliable. It's interesting that you say the 512GB SSD currently in your MBP is second hand because a lot of the symptoms you describe in your recent posts sound suspiciously like a failing HD but I did not consider that too likely because your problems seemed to be mostly internet based connectivity problems all which started, perhaps coincidentally, when your dwelling and surrounding dwellings had a sudden WiFi outage.

Is your old HD bootable? If so it would be a very good test of the current SSD in your MBP. If it works without problems we can conclude that something has happened to your 512GB SSD. Depending on your connection type you may find the external enclosure may be a bit slow especially if its USB but look for the other problems eg opening screen shots and of course connection to the App Store and iCloud. Hope you have those passwords handy. My guess is it's probably unchanged because the messages you received are typical of "no connection" states.

 

[kmbaroyale19]

Rod,
we returned from vacation yesterday evening. The Mac was in permanent use on the hotel wifi and operated exactly the way it does here therefore I believe the problem is not connected to the internet connection.
Today I have been chatting with 4 different Apple Support Advisors over the course of 4 hours. One of them also suggested restarting the modem and the Mac. I even deleted the internet settings and reconfigured the connection but nothing has changed.
The old 256GB SSD in the enclosure still works perfectly. This means that I can use it as the startup disk and am able to access my e-mails.
When I open System Preferences there is the number 2 in the corner of the Apple ID icon - see attachment 1.
Above the preference icons it says Update Apple ID Settings and when I click on details it says "Some account services will not be available until you sign in again"
When I then click on the Apple ID icon I get the message in attachment 2.
When I click on continue then I get attachment 3.
Clicking continue brings a request to enter my Apple ID password. By the way I am able to change the password and have done so several times during the last 36 hours.
When. I enter my password and press Enter I then receive a code on both my iPad 6 and iPhone SE as well as notifications that my Apple ID is now being used on a MacBook.
When I enter the code we return to the Apple ID screen - attachment 4
When I try to sign out of the Apple ID screen the wheel starts spinning and I have to use Force Quit to exit System Preferences.
I notice that iCloud drive is not selected on the Mac - see final attachment whereas it is on the iPad. Is this significant?

 

[kmbaroyale19]

That final sentence is wrong. The iCloud drive is selected on the old 256 GB SSD not on the iPad.
As I said the old SSD works perfectly. Is this perhaps the answer??

 

[MacInWin]

When I try to sign out of the Apple ID screen the wheel starts spinning and I have to use Force Quit to exit System Preferences.
I notice that iCloud drive is not selected on the Mac - see final attachment whereas it is on the iPad. Is this significant?

What does that first sentence mean? You don't want to sign out of Apple ID after just signing in. Just leave System Preferences.

Not selecting the iCloud drive on the Mac means that you are not using any cloud storage for any files. That also means that files on the Mac won't sync to the iPad, but if you don't want to do that, you don't need to have iCloud drive store anything in iCloud.

 

[kmbaroyale19]

Thank you for that information - as I always state I am a Dummy when it comes to how a Mac (or PC) works.
I have been trying various recommendations for the last 14 hours and the Mac is now running on the external SSD. Since the old SSD had iCloud selected perhaps I should also use that setting on the new one in order to sync calendars, notes and contacts etc. Am I thinking correctly?
Now I am heading off to bed because tomorrow is my one day of toil in the week. I will touch base with you tomorrow or, at the latest on Thursday.
Regards
Neville

 

[Rod]

Since the old SSD had iCloud selected perhaps I should also use that setting on the new one in order to sync calendars, notes and contacts etc. Am I thinking correctly?

Yes, I would ensure that both drives are signed into iCloud with the same Apple ID.
On your screen shot #2 I can see at the left bottom corner that your Device List is Unavailable. That indicates to me that not all of your devices are signed into the same account but it does look as though you are signed in on that device.

Have you tried to open the App Store on that 256GB SSD?