Oh dear. What led you to think you needed msf files?

Each msf file has a partner file, the same name but no extension. Those are the real data files. And you really need the sbd files to glue it all together.

There are about 20 .msf files each with a file with no extension. I did a thorough search for .sbd files. Found two in the trash. I opened one and got a .msf file and a file with no extension. Clicked on the latter and the popup wants an app to open it with. None of the apps pertain to Thunderbird or Mozilla.

The path is in my C Drive \- - - - -\- - - -\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\x2afylf1.default\mail\pop.cox-2.net

What is someone's suggestion, please.

Anyone asking how to backup Thunderbird will normally be advised to save their entire profile. You might be able to rebuild a new profile from fragments of an old one, but that's going to be hard.

Fortunately, the pathname you gave there does suggest that you haven't removed your old profile yet.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-where-thunderbird-stores-user-data

May I ask what led to you needing to reinstall Thunderbird?

If you have started over with a fresh installation, you can import your old message store files (Inbox, Sent, etc) using the ImportExportTools add-on.

May I ask what led to you needing to reinstall Thunderbird?

My cable company upgraded their security system. I have 3 accounts with them and all thru Thunderbird. I spent a couple of days with the cable company and was advised that the problem was with my email program. The problem was that the password I use with the cable company would not be "captured" by Thunderbird. Thunderbird "took" the changes to two of the accounts but not the third causing me to reinstall that account.

I'll be reading the link you sent later today. Thank you.

Several directions I'm reading: 1) from your answer: If you have started over with a fresh installation, you can import your old message store files (Inbox, Sent, etc) using the ImportExportTools add-on. Where is this ImportExportTools add-on? 2) in this ink: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-where-thunderbird-stores-user-data#w_restoring-a-profile-backup Which of these three topics do I use? Restoring a profile backup orRestoring to a different location or Moving a profile

3) I'm not understanding of the reason to close Thunderbird.

So far, this information is not clicking in my head. I need more or simpler instructions.

Most issues with passwords can be resolved by removing all stored passwords. Tools|Options|Security|Passwords→Saved Passwords.

I continue to be amazed at how ready some users are to tear down a working account and reinstall it just to reset a password. There are rare occasions where something becomes screwed up and reinstalling Thunderbird, (or more likely, starting over with a clean profile) is the only easy way to clear these up.

1) https://nic-nac-project.org/~kaosmos/mboximport-en.html

2) I wanted to point you to information about the profile. You quoted a path that relates to a profile, so I would consider using the profile manager to set Thunderbird to use that profile. In the absence of the details you later provided, we can't tell if you're reinstalling Thunderbird in place, or making a new installation somewhere else.

But you have a new installation, you have your three accounts set up, so now you can use the add-on to import just the messages store files. I wouldn't advise to you to restore the old profile now since you appear to have all the right settings and it is working.

3) Various files in the profile are read into memory when Thunderbird starts, and written back to disk when it closes. So any copy you make while Thunderbird is open is not necessarily going to contain the latest changes.

Additionally, there is a lock file to indicate that the profile is in use. This is created when Thunderbird starts and is removed when Thunderbird closes. If you copy that lock file, your copied profile will appear to be busy and Thunderbird won't start. But this is, as they say, moot, because I don't think you need (or should be trying) to restore all of your old profile.

Hello: I had to tear down my account because, at the time, I could find no information on how to reset my password that worked in my account.

I clicked on the link you suggested. It would not open because of a safety issue. Thank you for trying.

You say But you have a new installation, you have your three accounts set up, so now you can use the add-on to import just the messages store files. I still cannot find the ADD-ON you suggest. Is it in the Thundrbird program or Windows 10?

Since it seems unlikely that I can import those folders/files that I need, is there a program that I can use to open them so I can at least read them?

Thank you.