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I'm moving to a new PC and have two different versions of Thunderbird: It's complicated

Thunderbird Installation and updates
gf1701 replied
gf1701
gf1701

I read the instructions on moving my profile to a new computer. The hitch is that on my current, Windows 10 computer, I’m apparently using a 32-bit version of Thunderbird. I only discovered this when I updated it (through Help) and saw that it updated to a December, 2024, 32-bit release. The transfer instructions state that there may be a problem if I try to use a Thunderbird profile from one version to a different version. To prevent that possibility, I either have to update my Windows 10 Thunderbird to the latest, 64-bit release, or specify the 32-bit install on Windows 11. Problem is, I don’t know whether or how I can update Windows 10 computer to latest Thunderbird 64-bit version. Can I? If not, will Windows 11 run a 32-bit release? Suggestions?

I read the instructions on moving my profile to a new computer. The hitch is that on my current, Windows 10 computer, I’m apparently using a 32-bit version of Thunderbird. I only discovered this when I updated it (through Help) and saw that it updated to a December, 2024, 32-bit release. The transfer instructions state that there may be a problem if I try to use a Thunderbird profile from one version to a different version. To prevent that possibility, I either have to update my Windows 10 Thunderbird to the latest, 64-bit release, or specify the 32-bit install on Windows 11. Problem is, I don’t know whether or how I can update Windows 10 computer to latest Thunderbird 64-bit version. Can I? If not, will Windows 11 run a 32-bit release? Suggestions?

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Lin
Lin
  • Top 10 Contributor

Chosen Solution

There should be no major problem using a profile created by a 32-bit version with a 64-bit version. I might suggest installing the 64-bit version of same release of Thunderbird on the new computer as on the old. Then, once everything is working to your satisfaction, allow the program to update if you feel the need to (make sure any add-ons you use are compatible with a later version before you upgrade.)

You may need to re-enter your credentials on the new machine.

So, don't bother updating Thunderbird on the old computer. That would just confuse the matter. Just make a copy of your Profile and transfer it to the new computer. Here's an article with advice about that:

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/moving-thunderbird-data-to-a-new-computer

If your email store is valuable to you, this is a good time to consider making regular backup copies of your Profile, in case something ever goes wrong, which is inevitable with computers.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/thunderbird-export

gf1701
gf1701 Question owner

Thanks. I did as instructed. Everything is working.

P.S. I had a little bit of a problem with the Mozilla Support instructions about copying the profile (telling me to "go up 3 levels"), but by looking at the contents of the existing profile files, it was obvious where I needed to copy my old profile file. All my local folders are there.

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