Carsten,
over a number of tests in the last day or two, it seems at least likely that the hang is related to SMTP send password dialogue. as mentioned I changed the password, in order to access via webmail. now when I start icedove as soon as the SMTP password dialogue appears, system hangs. this can be initially, after a few seconds, or on 'sending' an email. However icedove has once downloaded emails, without problems. so it seems to be the sending aspect that hangs. thanks again Jonathan
