Thunderbird v78
A. A few days ago, a Glary Utilities scan told me that there was an update/upgrade for Thunderbird. It had been two years (v52.7.0, I think) since I last upgraded, so I decided to go ahead. The new version downloaded and installed just fine, but it opened into what I would call a blank slate. None of my email address books were there and all my file folders with saved emails were not there. There did not appear to be a way to import this info.
B. Since the earlier version was still there and working fine, I decided to wait until I had more time to figure out how to work this out. Today when I started my computer and opened what I thought was the older version of Thunderbird, the new version came up. All of the Thunderbird icons now only open the new version.
C. There are two Thunderbird icons on the start menu, which had been opening the two different versions of Thunderbird; now, they both open the new version. I connected my main email account so I could check my emails, so that works, but only emails from late August on were downloaded (I assume the provider server only goes back that far, but that is not an issue).
D. It seems that, without my explicit permission, the new Thunderbird version is unilaterally taking over the email client functions that the older version provided. Had I known this would happen, I would not have downloaded the new version. I am reluctant to uninstall the new version for fear of losing everything.
E. Anyway, I would like to recover the email file folders and their contents. It doesn't matter to me if they are imported into the new version (preferable) or recovered via reinstating the old version. It would be nice to get back the old address books with the associated mail lists, but it would not be a big job to reconstruct them as they are stored in Excel files. I have not been able to find anything pertaining to my problem.
F. I tried calling one of the help numbers I found online (800-308-1474), but the rep said, in a nice way, this was how the new version works and live with it. However, he did indicate he could refer me to a third-party provider who might be able to recover my files for a fee ($129). I was reluctant to do that. It just seems that there should be a way to import these files from the older version, but I can't find it.
Modified by Wayne Mery
All Replies (5)
Reliance on external updaters is asking for trouble, and in this instance you got it because Thunderbird did not update itself, the update was downloaded and installer from another location to an internal update.
I would guess all you need is to restart the profile in use as I discuss here. https://thunderbirdtweaks.blogspot.com/2019/09/i-lost-my-profilemail-on-update-to.html
For the future make sure Thunderbird internal updater is enabled and you disable any form of external updates. We have seen some truly horrible messes with premature updates to 78. V78 was released for new users, but updates were delayed for eight weeks until V78.2 was released so some late found update bugs could be fixed. The external updaters just dumped people into the midst of the bug jungle and made no apologies for it.
Matt pretty much hits the nail on the head.
I've taken the liberty to edit your original post into paragraphs. Please in the future take the time to post more clearly, so that we who are supporting you can better understand.
Taking the ideas in reverse order ...
F. Thunderbird does not offer phone support. Be wary of anyone that provides it. See https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/thunderbird-faq#w_where-can-i-get-help-with-using-thunderbird
Matt nicely covers A, D and E.
Regarding B and C, I suspect you now have Thunderbird installed in both c:\program files\ and c:\program files (x86)\ Can you tell us of that is correct?
A. Sorry, Wayne. This is my first time posting a question, and I did not know the protocols.
B. I only find Thunderbird in c:\program files (x86)\, not in c:\program files\.
C. The link that Matt provided did a good job of listing the steps to take. I went through them and only found two profiles, both to v78, in About Profiles.
D. I tried creating a new profile as described, but when I got to "Choose folder", the same two v78 profiles came up and nothing else.
E. I had previously searched my PC using "Thunderbird", and I had a lot of results including earlier versions (v52, for example). Does this suggest my old profile might still be there?
> E. I had previously searched my PC using "Thunderbird", and I had a lot of results including earlier versions (v52, for example). Does this suggest my old profile might still be there?
It suggest that the program may been installed in a non-standard or unexpected location.
What directories contain thunderbird.exe ?
A. I think I did this correctly. I searched for "thunderbird.exe" using Windows Explorer. There were five entries in Downloads (versions 78.2, 57.7, 52.1, 45.8, 45.7). There was one entry in Program Files (x86) and one entry in Users\User\AppData\Local. Both of those entries appear to be for v78.
B. My main email is through my local cable provider on Long Island, Altice Optimum. When I linked Thunderbird to that account, none of my previous folders or emails repopulated, which got me started in trying to find a resolution. However, yesterday I linked my aol account and the gmail account of an organization I belong to, and all those old emails and all of the folders I had created for them in the previous version of Thunderbird reappeared and repopulated. I don't know if this means anything, but I thought I should share it.
C. I did not connect this issue with a problem I had with Windows, but I am wondering if they are related. On September 11, I rebooted my computer after upgrading my ESET antivirus software, and it quickly went to a blue screen. The stop code was "Kernel Mode Heap Corruption". My investigation suggested this was due to a recent download, which I thought might be related to the upgrade, which had occurred right before that. I went through five restarts, and finally Windows ran normally. Right after that I noticed the problem with Thunderbird.