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profiles file exists but is not executing. all I see is my address book. TB asks to create new account

  • 13 replies
  • 2 have this problem
  • 13 views
  • Last reply by FFoxSync

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When I tried to open TB this morning, all I got was a "create account" screen. Only my address book. Attempted safe mode restart, same result. Looked at profile folder in File Explorer, contains 40 sub folders and 267 files. Contents of profiles.ini [General] StartWithLastProfile=1

[Profile0] Name=default IsRelative=1 Path=Profiles/xdaeidhb.default Default=1

When I tried to open TB this morning, all I got was a "create account" screen. Only my address book. Attempted safe mode restart, same result. Looked at profile folder in File Explorer, contains 40 sub folders and 267 files. Contents of profiles.ini [General] StartWithLastProfile=1 [Profile0] Name=default IsRelative=1 Path=Profiles/xdaeidhb.default Default=1

Chosen solution

Create a new existing pop mail account for the main email address. Then point it to look at the original pop mail account.

  • Right click on new pop mail account in Folder Pane and select 'Settings'
  • Select 'Server Settings'
  • bottom right look for 'Local directory:'
  • click on 'Browse' button
  • select the original pop mail account mail.x.com.
  • click on OK

Restart Thunderbird. Info: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Recovering_deleted_mail_accounts

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All Replies (13)

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Please check out the following and offer some info so the forum understands what is currently stored. Windows OS...Profile Folders are usually in this location:

  • C:\Users\<Windows user name>\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles

How many 'profile name' folders are in the .....Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles folder? There will be 'xdaeidhb.default', but is there another ?

In the 'xdaeidhb.default' folder.... Click on 'Mail' folder You should see a 'Local Folders' mail account. Is there only one 'Local folders' mail account or another of same name but with a number? If you had any 'pop' mail accounts they should also be listed. Do you see any 'pop' mail account name folders? Click on pop mail account folder. Do you see contents, mbox files and .msf files ?


Click on 'ImapMail' folder If you had any 'imap' mail accounts they should be listed. Do you see any 'imap' mail account name folders? Click on imap mail account folder. Do you see contents, mbox files and .msf files ?

Did you have pop or imap accounts or both? Did you have any emails stored in 'Local Folders' mail account?

Modified by Toad-Hall

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There is only 1 folder in profiles I have only POP accounts, no imap folders/files showing The single Local Folders has only 5 files, all dating to 7/13/19 or earlier with only 1kb (DAT), 3 or 4kb (msf) or 0kb. There are 3 mail.x.com folders; mail.x.com, mail.x-1.com and mail.x-2.com. All 3 last modified today There are 2 smart mailboxes; one modified 9/9/2015 and the 2nd today. Thanks so much for your help, anything else I can check?

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Exit Thunderbird - if running.

re :There is only 1 folder in profiles That is good. It means the 'profiles.ini' is pointing to the correct profile name folder.

'Mail' folder: re:There are 3 mail.x.com folders; mail.x.com, mail.x-1.com and mail.x-2.com. Q: Do you have 3 pop mail accounts ? If yes, then each of these equates to one pop mail account. If you have one or two then one or more of these was created because the original was not able to be read. But nothing to worry about.

re :There are 2 smart mailboxes; one modified 9/9/2015 and the 2nd today. 'smart mailboxes' are created when 'Unified' view is used. There should only be one.

  • Please delete both of these 'smart mailboxes'.

A new one will be created when you restart thunderbird and use the 'Unified' view.


In 'xdaeidhb.default' folder: Please locate and delete the following files......

  • folderTree.json
  • panacea.dat
  • session.json
  • xulstore.json

Start Thunderbird.

Please report back on results

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To the best of my understanding, I only have 1 account. Within that account I have 3 email addresses, each a Pop setting.

After deleting the named files, when I restart TB I get a screen headed by TB Mail-unified folders; 2 sections: accounts (view settings and setup account) and advance features (search messages and manage filters)

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Are you able to do this: Menu icon > Folders > select 'All'

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did it, nothing happened

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All Folders drop down appeared but all are empty

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Chosen Solution

Create a new existing pop mail account for the main email address. Then point it to look at the original pop mail account.

  • Right click on new pop mail account in Folder Pane and select 'Settings'
  • Select 'Server Settings'
  • bottom right look for 'Local directory:'
  • click on 'Browse' button
  • select the original pop mail account mail.x.com.
  • click on OK

Restart Thunderbird. Info: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Recovering_deleted_mail_accounts

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OK, I'm up and running again, tho I have lost a lot of saved messages and archives. Still trying to track down the password for one address so I can't do anything with that one yet. Thanks for all the help.

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Unable to restore from 'imported profile' after latest update.

Lost everything - all (6) email accounts deleted. Sorry, but I think having to create a new profile - and spend hours trying to figure out what is going on/wrong and finding solutions to fix this - is by no means good enough!!! To me it's a failure of Mozilla-TB. Which - until the last update had always been reliable.

'NAIVELY' had I clicked ‘yes’ to update TB - assuming like most software updates it would run without interference - BUT without warning or hints to back up everything first - the update had wiped out my complete profile and address book !!!.

I almost had a breakdown when I found EVERYTING had vanished!!!! Being self-employed with 6 email accounts/addresses, I can not afford to spend hours trying to fix this. In the end I did a system reset/restore but it did not get my address book back. Low and behold I spend in excess of 5 hours getting my customer emails back and accessing new emails. Time I haven't got which cost a lot.!

However, now every morning TB asks to update - I am drrreading it, Grrr - and click it away. Why can't TB fix this failure?

Question now is: How do I stop TB from updating. I want to keep everything as is and don’t want to spend any more unnecessary time to fix an TB error /failure.

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The problem *I'm* having with TB is it's INSISTENCE that it has to create a NEW profile. I had been using the 68.2.2 build from the website, as LinuxMint hadn't updated to the 68.x series yet (in their repos).

Then I saw that 68.2.1 was available, so I wanted to go back to a repo-managed build. Well, TBird INSISTS that the profile that had worked in 68.2.2 won't work in 68.2.1. SERIOUSLY???? A sub-sub revision, and it can't use it?

I've removed whatever references to 68.2.x I could find in my prefs.js file, removed various .json files, edited the profiles.ini to ONLY see the profile I need, yet it *STILL* refuses to use the profile. And considering I have probably 12-15 accounts set up there (some of them are kept as archives of discontinued accounts) I have NO interest in having to re-create the entire configuration all over again. ESPECIALLY since it's a sub-point difference, which should be little more than a handful of bug fixes.

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Otter88 and jelabarre59

Neither of you have the same issue as the person who posted the original question. You would have needed to read all the comments to understand you do not have the same problem. Their issue was very specific in loss of knowing what mail account to point to. They did not have a profile issue. There is a 'Chosen Solution' for their specific issue.


When you post a comment to someone else's issue, you are sending that comment to the original person who posted the question and they may not be willing or able to assist you. The only reason I received emails is because I had forgotten to stop following a question with a 'Chosen Solution'.

Please create your own question and provide all details so plenty of helpers get to see your problem.

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Whatever. I ended up having to restore my backup from LAST MONTH to fix this, because TB couldn't figure out the difference between two sub-point releases.