POP mail accounts can only access the server Inbox. This is not a Thunderbird quirk, it is how all pop mail accounts work regardless of email client. These emails are downloaded to your computer and stored on your computer.

IMAP mail accounts synchronise with server to show a remote view of the server folders and emails, so IMAP mail accounts see all the folders on the webmail account folders. Those emails are stored on the server.

So, to get those emails onto your computer into your POP mail account you need to do this.

In Thunderbird.

First modify some settings. I suggest this because usually, Pop mail mail accounts download and delete copies off the server, but as there is much downloading going on, you would not want to risk losing something whilst the process of moving mass emails is happening. So set it up to download and leave a copy on the server unless you delete it first.

'Tools' > 'Account Settings' > 'Server Settings' for the mail account

or

'Menu icon' > 'Options' > 'Account Settings' > 'Server Settings' for the mail account

• select 'Leave messages on the server'
• select 'Until I delete them'
• click on 'OK' to save settings

Create some folders and move all emails from Inbox into those folders, you should do this anyway to help organise emails.

Then log on to your webmail account using a browser. Select one of the folders eg: Sent and move all of those emails into the webmail Inbox.

Then in Thunderbird, click on 'GetMail' and all of those emails will get downloaded to your Thunderbird mail account Inbox. Then move all of those emails ino your mail account Sent Folder.

Repeat this process of moving emails into the server Inbox and then downloading and then moving those emails into suitably named folders.

This will get those emails off the server and onto your computer in your Thunderbird mail account.

When you have got all the emails onto your computer. Suggest you create a backup. See info at this link.

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_backup
• http://kb.mozillazine.org/MozBackup

Then in Thunderbird, change a setting to remove most of the copies off the server, this will prevent you from using up your quota, it is not obligatory, so see if this suits your purpose. Keeping a month of recent emails on the server can act as a backup for recent emails and if you perform regular Thunderbird Profile backups, you should be able to retrieve all emails between the two methods in the event of loss.

'Tools' > 'Account Settings' > 'Server Settings' for the mail account

or

'Menu icon' > 'Options' > 'Account Settings' > 'Server Settings' for the mail account

• select 'Leave messages on the server'
• select 'For at most 32 days'
• select 'Until I delete them'
• click on OK to save settings

The end result should be this.

• All emails downloaded to computer.
• Backup of all of these emails.
• Removal of all but most recent emails off the server.

Hello Toad-Hall,

Thank you so much for your detailed help. It was brilliant and put me on the right path. All my emails are now on my pc, but I can't work out how to back them up. I've just 4 hours trying to work it out! I've just posted another question. It seems Ubuntu 13.10 is a bit different from all the explanations out there.

thanks again.

Profile location: read section under 'Linux and Unix'

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Thunderbird

more ubuntu info:

• http://askubuntu.com/questions/114015/how-do-i-back-up-thunderbird-emails
• https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Thunderbird

Although most of the user interface in thunderbird is the same, there are a couple of menu differences.

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Menu_differences_in_Windows,_Linux,_and_Mac

If your version of Thunderbird does not show all the toolbars then I would suggest you enable the toolbars as most help refers to them.

• 3bar Menu icon > Options > select 'Mail toolbar', 'Menu Bar', 'Status bar', 'Quick Filter bar'

Hello Toad-Hall,

Thanks for the links. I did find all of those. On the first I tried entering the codes mentioned into 'terminal', and got... bash: Profile: No such file or directory On the second, when opening the TB folder followed by the only folder after that I get... // This file can be used to configure global preferences for Firefox // Example: Homepage //pref("browser.startup.homepage", "http://www.weebls-stuff.com/wab/"); It's all interesting stuff! Really apprecaite your help. Anymore ideas? Thanks again.

Profile folders are hidden folders. Go to your home folder & press " ctrl + h " to view hidden folders. copy & backup " .thunderbird " folder

Hello Toad-Hall, Thanks again for your help. I copied the TB folder to another hdd and then checked its properties...163 bytes, nowhere near enough! All there was is this folder with the following in...

// This file can be used to configure global preferences for Firefox // Example: Homepage //pref("browser.startup.homepage", "http://www.weebls-stuff.com/wab/");

Sorry if I'm being a dunse.

Thanks for your time.