Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

Why a part of my subfolders disappeared on the new PC after migration?

  • 3 replies
  • 0 have this problem
  • 27 views
  • Last reply by sfhowes

more options

Hi, I installed TB on my new PC and did my migration (copy & paste the Thunderbird folder from the roaming folder of the old PC to the new PC). I opened TB on the new PC to find out that some of my subfolders (about a third) as well as all the e-mails inside have disappeared. I tried deleting the folder and re-transferring again but cannot see those missing folders and emails. Does anybody have any ideas on how to solve the issue? As I am using the account for work, I need to recover all those missing e-mails and subfolders. Many thanks in advance for your help.

Hi, I installed TB on my new PC and did my migration (copy & paste the Thunderbird folder from the roaming folder of the old PC to the new PC). I opened TB on the new PC to find out that some of my subfolders (about a third) as well as all the e-mails inside have disappeared. I tried deleting the folder and re-transferring again but cannot see those missing folders and emails. Does anybody have any ideas on how to solve the issue? As I am using the account for work, I need to recover all those missing e-mails and subfolders. Many thanks in advance for your help.

Modified by chouxsteph

All Replies (3)

more options

Were the missing folders in an IMAP account? If so, try right-clicking the account in the Folder Pane, Subscribe, Refresh, and see if the missing folders can be checked (subscribed).

more options

Hi Sfhowes, Thank you for your answer. Unfortunately, this account is a POP account, not an IMAP. ( As far as shown in the account settings within TB). The subscribed option is greyed out and cannot be clicked. I have checked the new PC's Roaming folder and said missing files are inside. I really do not understand why they are not showing.

What could be the other options to transfer and be sure to see all the subfolders and emails?

  • I did a copy and paste of the profile folder and the profile.ini.

Thank you.

more options

Look for an mbox file in a Mail/<popservername> subfolder of the profile (a large file with no extension, named after a folder) and copy it into Mail/Local Folders, with TB closed. Restart TB and see if the folder appears under Local Folders in the Folder Pane.

Check the Server Type in Account Settings, as only IMAP accounts have Subscribe in the menu; POP accounts don't have Subscribe, greyed out or otherwise.