"Profile.ini" will not import into Thunderbird, causes crash
I set up Thunderbird on Debain 13 OS "Trixie" and then migrated (or tried to) my profiles.ini and attendant email folders to Ubuntu 24.04. I have done this before between Linux and even Windows installs, copying the folders over. Usually that is all you need to do to migrate emails and 'set up'. However, migrating from Debian to Ubuntu causes issues, namely the import is rejected by TB. At first, I thought perhaps Debian is using a newer version of Thunderbird and Ubuntu uses an older version, so I upgraded Thunderbird to a newer version. Import of profiles and folders still crash. This is using the profile import tool in TB.
I have a lot of emails via IMAP and it takes a long time to set them up and about ten gigs worth of emails. Is there anything that can be done?
Chosen solution
I found the culprit, while Ubuntu uses apt-package versions of Thunderbird, Ubuntu defaults to snap package. You cannot import the profile from apt-package to snap versions of TB. By purging snap from the Ubuntu system, I was able to bring in apt package versions and then the profile import occurred.
This had NOTHING To do with size limits, which is ridiculous.
Just conflicts with install types.
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@Rick 10GB is the total for the whole box and the emails are kept locally, in addition to IMAP servers. This is an aggregate across different email accounts. Therefore, this should not affect an import. Really, it is just a matter of importing the configurations that I am concerned about. It is a pain to spend a day to do this when I prefer not to. That is why we have 'tech', to not bother with redundant tasks.
But what I guess @Rick is saying, that if you have an email inbox with a total of 10 gigs (that's all emails in aggregate), Thunderbird will no longer work as an email client. That the settings will refuse to import the email configuration at 10GB. Then Thunderbird ought to disclose that saying, "Thunderbird stores UP TO 10GB, no more!!!" Even though IMAP servers and local folders hold the email.
Modified by Inukshuk
Chosen Solution
I found the culprit, while Ubuntu uses apt-package versions of Thunderbird, Ubuntu defaults to snap package. You cannot import the profile from apt-package to snap versions of TB. By purging snap from the Ubuntu system, I was able to bring in apt package versions and then the profile import occurred.
This had NOTHING To do with size limits, which is ridiculous.
Just conflicts with install types.
Inukshuk said
But what I guess @Rick is saying, that if you have an email inbox with a total of 10 gigs (that's all emails in aggregate), Thunderbird will no longer work as an email client. That the settings will refuse to import the email configuration at 10GB. Then Thunderbird ought to disclose that saying, "Thunderbird stores UP TO 10GB, no more!!!" Even though IMAP servers and local folders hold the email.
That is not the case, and it is not what I am saying.
I based my comment on Thunderbird's recommendation not to export profiles larger than 2 GB. I am not aware of a specific, practical size limit on exporting and importing. For limits on what Thunderbird can hold, see here: https://kb.mozillazine.org/Limits_-_Thunderbird
The alternative to exporting and importing is copying the profile folder. That is why I asked if you could copy it instead of importing it when importing failed. Whether one imports or copies, Thunderbird continues to work just the same as an e-mail client. I was going to lead you through the copying process next.
I'm glad that the problem was solved.
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