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  • Profiles

Computer failure - loss of thunderbird emails - recovery of Thunderbird on much newer desktop windows 11 computer

Dell windows 11 computer self destructed and crashed hard. Lost Thunderbird emails but have an Acronis cloud backup. Have purchased a new Dell EBT 2250 computer with wi… (read more)

Dell windows 11 computer self destructed and crashed hard. Lost Thunderbird emails but have an Acronis cloud backup. Have purchased a new Dell EBT 2250 computer with windows 11 pro.

QUESTION 1: What are the proper procedures of installing Thunderbird and recovering my past "stuff" which was located at C:\users\My-Username\AppData\Roaming where Thunderbird kept my email data..If I install Thunderbird on the box, it would create that structure to create the Thunderbird data folder.

QUESTION 2: What are the proper procedures in recovering Thunderbird past data before I open it to my email server (Yahoo) where I have directly been maintaining my new emails via browser. I was going to install Thunderbird, then replace the Thunderbird folder under the user/username/AppData/Roaming, but when installing TB forces you to give an email account and P/W to log into your email. I do NOT want to have the email at Yahoo brought down before I can confirm I have restored all my past emails from my backup Thunderbird fold.

Question 3: Is there a way of installing TB in order to get the structure it uses, then overlay the TB structure under my user id?

I didn't want to restore my new Desktop with the OS recovery method because of the completely different hardware that OS would encounter once it tried to come up under a completely different hardware environment.

Thanks to anyone who can help me in what I should do, Floyd Smith

Open 1

Can't delete profile

With the profile system, which I just used to try and fix another problem. Deleting them doesn't work I've tried manually deleting the profiles as well but they still sho… (read more)

With the profile system, which I just used to try and fix another problem. Deleting them doesn't work I've tried manually deleting the profiles as well but they still show up in the UI and it just recreates the folder again if you try to delete it or open it. If you use the UI to try and delete it the instance and page it opens is simply blank. And now the profile I'm trying to delete isn't open. I'm trying to delete it from "original profile" and when I do it opens the a new instance of firefox with the profile I'm trying to delete with in the address bar: about:deleteprofile but the screen is empty.

Open 4

lost all email accounts and address book

Yesterday I was having trouble sending emails from one of my email accounts. I had not fixed that when I shut down for the night. Today when I turned my computer on, bo… (read more)

Yesterday I was having trouble sending emails from one of my email accounts. I had not fixed that when I shut down for the night. Today when I turned my computer on, both my email accounts and my address book was gone

Open 5

Mailboxes Catastrophically Deleted If Thunderbird Opened In Offline Mode After Profile Location Change

06 May 2026 USA Just to inform users: All mailboxes and all mail in profile are catastrophically and irretrievably deleted when I: 1. Change the location of the profile … (read more)

06 May 2026 USA Just to inform users:

All mailboxes and all mail in profile are catastrophically and irretrievably deleted when I: 1. Change the location of the profile folder. 2. Make appropriate change in profiles.ini reflecting the location change. 3. Launch Thunderbird in Offline Mode (launching in OFFLINE mode is the fatal event). 4. Mailboxes will appear during this one launched session

    but

5. If Thunderbird is closed while still OFFLINE, then a re-launch of Thunderbird in any state will reveal

     that all mailboxes and all mail have been deleted.

All mailboxes, and of course, all mail in the profile are catastrophically and irretrievably deleted. I was lucky that I made a backup before changing profile location.

The deletion of mail and mailboxes occur at the close of Thunderbird's OFFLINE state. An examination of the profile folder indicates the destruction has occurred upon closing of Thunderbird in OFFLINE state.

It is not the re-launch of Thunderbird that causes the catastrophic deletion. The deletion occurred when Thunderbird was closed in its OFFLINE state.

To successfully change the profile location I must: 1. Make the change to profile location. 2. Make the appropriate change to profiles.ini 3. BE SURE to make the FIRST LAUNCH of Thunderbird in ONLINE mode--ONLINE only. 4. Once 1,2,3 are done, then Thunderbird does not corrupt the profile folder.

Conditions that MIGHT make my configuration uniquely affected: 1. I use Proton Mail Bridge in conjunction with Thunderbird. 2. My Profile folder is on a network share that is letter-mapped in Windows. 3. I have about 10 email addresses in Thunderbird that are Outlook IMAP, Gmail IMAP, and of course, Proton Mail.

I've been using Thunderbird a couple of years in this configuration with no problems. I just decided to rename my profile. So, this is my first discovery of the problem.

Open 2 27

Cannot get firefox to open profiles

Firefox kept losing all of my saved bookmarks and passwords. Each time it updated everything would disappear. I went to the folders where the bookmarks and passwords ar… (read more)

Firefox kept losing all of my saved bookmarks and passwords. Each time it updated everything would disappear. I went to the folders where the bookmarks and passwords are stored and the profiles were there but Firefox did not list them when I searched (about:profiles). Tried numerous times to move the files to the current folder but the program still could not see them. Tried copying, moving, changing names of files, etc. Finally uninstalled firefox and attempted a new installation but it will not even open because it says it can't find profiles even though there are profiles in the profile folder. Now what do I do?

Open 1

Much to my regret, I clicked on New Profile, and now all my shortcuts are gone. How to I go back????

Much to my regret, I clicked on New Profile, and now all my shortcuts are gone. How to I go back???? Or, I suppose I could find out how to add shortcuts. But, just so you… (read more)

Much to my regret, I clicked on New Profile, and now all my shortcuts are gone. How to I go back???? Or, I suppose I could find out how to add shortcuts. But, just so you know, I am ANGRY that I am wasting time on this! Why couldn't you have left well enough alone????

Open 1 9

I am being asked by Firefox to create "new profile" which I cannot seem to do.

After closing Firefox, I often get a message for "creating a new profile". It seems difficult to do this and it would be very helpful to have a link where this can be eas… (read more)

After closing Firefox, I often get a message for "creating a new profile". It seems difficult to do this and it would be very helpful to have a link where this can be easily done. Thanks for all your help. Alok Bhargava [edited email from community support forum]

Open 1 18

Missing or inaccessible profile

Out of nowhere today I encountered with Firefox seemingly crashing. My laptop said it needed to reboot. Once rebooted I began to get the missing/inaccessible profile er… (read more)

Out of nowhere today I encountered with Firefox seemingly crashing. My laptop said it needed to reboot. Once rebooted I began to get the missing/inaccessible profile error. I tried to uninstall / reinstall but continue to get the error. When I search through for the missing profile per all guidance and troubleshooting Windows says it's not found. When I use the "run" it doesn't bring me to a folder but to a notepad type screen (copy paste below). I do not see where I have any options. Would it be effective to just delete all Mozilla from my laptop? I uninstalled / reinstalled but same error.


[Install308046B0AF4A39CB] Default=Profiles/5yyitbs7.default-release Locked=1

[Profile1] Name=default IsRelative=1 Path=Profiles/cd6wstjp.default Default=1

[Profile0] Name=default-release IsRelative=1 Path=Profiles/5yyitbs7.default-release

[General] StartWithLastProfile=1 Version=2

[BackgroundTasksProfiles] MozillaBackgroundTask-308046B0AF4A39CB-defaultagent=2eq3b8bj.MozillaBackgroundTask-308046B0AF4A39CB-defaultagent MozillaBackgroundTask-308046B0AF4A39CB-backgroundupdate=1syr00zv.MozillaBackgroundTask-308046B0AF4A39CB-backgroundupdate

Open 1 9

I need to merge my profiles

Been using Firefox for 20+years in poway, ca now in Oregon City, somehow I ended up with 3 profiles, I would like to merge at least the bookmarks and delete 2 To stop con… (read more)

Been using Firefox for 20+years in poway, ca now in Oregon City, somehow I ended up with 3 profiles, I would like to merge at least the bookmarks and delete 2 To stop confusion, thanks Ralph Kirn

Open 1 36

How to fix "Your Firefox profile cannot be loaded. It may be missing or inaccessible."

When I try to browse or download another copy, the error message "Your Firefox profile cannot be loaded. It may be missing or inaccessible" appears. How do I fix this? Th… (read more)

When I try to browse or download another copy, the error message "Your Firefox profile cannot be loaded. It may be missing or inaccessible" appears.

How do I fix this?

Thanks

Open 1 27

copying a profile brings up a profile attached to my old firefox login

Help! I updated my account to a new email months ago. I have been trying to set up a new different profile. Copying a profile or trying to add a profile adds the newly m… (read more)

Help! I updated my account to a new email months ago. I have been trying to set up a new different profile. Copying a profile or trying to add a profile adds the newly made profile to my old email address instead of my new email address. In the new profiles created, I am unable to login to my new email and password.

Open 1 9

why do I need a profile when I am the only one using my computer and programs

I really don't need a profile in Firefox and if I delete the profiles listed, you will wipe out all my bookmarks/settings. Why do I need to see a yellow triangle on the F… (read more)

I really don't need a profile in Firefox and if I delete the profiles listed, you will wipe out all my bookmarks/settings. Why do I need to see a yellow triangle on the Firefox app icon?

Open 2 45

The browser automatically starts, ignoring the disabling of this setting when the PC starts.

I have a problem with the browser automatically starting when I start my PC. I have this feature disabled (!) ("Open Firefox automatically when your computer starts up" t… (read more)

I have a problem with the browser automatically starting when I start my PC. I have this feature disabled (!) ("Open Firefox automatically when your computer starts up" turned OFF) Everything was fine, but then I started using the "profiles" feature - browser start's to open automatically when i start up my pc.

when I created a new profile (in addition to the main one). The problem appeared, and that was a long time ago (at least half of year ago it was already as now). I hoped that it would be fixed and didn't write to support. Windows and the browser itself have been updated several times since then - this did not help.

Changing the settings in different profiles, creating / deleting them, and other basic actions did not help. What happens is that the browser ALWAYS opens when I start the PC (Profile selection tab, i have turned ON "Select profile when Firefox start up")

I tried turn off \ delete all plugins, turn on\turn off almost every default setting, no effect. What should i do?

Browser version - 150.0 (64-bit) (from "settings-about firefox") Windows 11 Pro 25H2

Currently have 4 profiles in Firefox - but problem appeared after creation on 2nd profile. "Open Firefox automatically when your computer starts up" turned off in every profile.

Open 1 18

Multiple accounts

My wife and I both have Thunderbird accounts. The issue is that when we open Thunderbird, both accounts show on one screen. Is there any way to separate logins and only… (read more)

My wife and I both have Thunderbird accounts. The issue is that when we open Thunderbird, both accounts show on one screen. Is there any way to separate logins and only show each of our accounts on the screen?

Thanks, Sam Orner

Open 3 9

Can't find stored files I have had for many years,

When I opened Thunderbird two days ago it came up with the following message: To use your current email address, fill in your credentials. Thunderbird will automattically… (read more)

When I opened Thunderbird two days ago it came up with the following message: To use your current email address, fill in your credentials. Thunderbird will automattically search for working and recommended server configurations. It asked for Full Name; Email: and Password. Fearing it was a scam I filled in my server settings manually. My server is Centurylink but my email address is embarqmail.com so when I filled in my info the send was smpt.centurylink.net port 587 (which was fine) The problem was with receive: I guess my old setup was pop.embarqmail.com port 110 and I put in pop.centurylink.net port 995 which is what Centurylink's website called for. Well this one worked and it downloaded 800 messages but no saved folders and the Thunderbird screen layout looks different from the one I am used to. A few minutes later the pop.embarqmail setup downloaded the same messages but still no saved messages. It looks like I have 2 profiles. Did the last one I entered override the old and wipe out files I had stored. Is there a fix for this mess I have created and can I retreive my old folders and messages? I tried doing a system restore and it didn't work due to corrupted files. Oh, I'm still using windows 7. Thanks

Open 3 18

All my emails are gone when Thunderbird opens, and I am asked to set up an account - which I do, BUT the same thing happens the next time Thunderbird is opened - no emails, no account.

Thunderbird is suddenly opening without any of my emails or folders, and asking me to set up an email account - so I put in my email details (I'm with aol) - and it conne… (read more)

Thunderbird is suddenly opening without any of my emails or folders, and asking me to set up an email account - so I put in my email details (I'm with aol) - and it connects to the aol server and my folders re-appear (initially without emails in them, but when I click on the folders the emails start downloading afresh from aol). So it seems that all will be well when the emails are all downloaded again. HOWEVER, after closing Thunderbird and opening it again, all my emails are gone again, and Thunderbird is yet again asking me to set up an account. I can do this again, and the same thing will happen again. Everything is lost again when Thunderbird is closed, and when I start it again, I will be asked to set up an account, and all my emails are gone yet again. I have been using Thunderbird for years and years and years. Suddenly out of the blue this happens, and I'm stuck with using aol's web mail platform directly (not great!!!) Also, Thunderbird suddenly looks different - like it's been updated (which I assumed initially had happened) but the update history still only shows the final release for Windows 7, so this is a bit puzzling, and an odd coincidence that the layout and appearance of Thunderbird has changed at the very same time it stops working for me.

Open 1 18

Can't see my profiles in the new profiles UI

I have been using Firefox profiles for years, long before the announcement of the new profiles UI. The new profiles UI launhed with FF 144. I'm on the latest version, wh… (read more)

I have been using Firefox profiles for years, long before the announcement of the new profiles UI. The new profiles UI launhed with FF 144. I'm on the latest version, which is 149.0.2 and I still don't have the new UI. Specifically, I do not see my profiles in the new UI.

When FF launches I see the new UI but my profiles are nowhere to be see as you can see in the screenshots:

https://postimg.cc/gallery/tFXz00m

I have 2 profiles and they each have their own name.

Instead I am presented with 2 option "Original Profile" and "create new Profile". When I click on orignal profile, Firefox opens my default profiles which has its own original name. However, when go throught the new UI o switch profiles, I do not see my other profile. Moreover, if I click manage profiles, I don't see either of my profiles.

The only way I am able to launch my 2nd profile is the old fashiong via "about:profiles".

Why can't I see my profiles in the new UI?

On my 2nd profile, I don't even have the new profiles UI.

Why dont't I have the new profiles UI months after you launched it?

Please help!

Open 8 108

It looks like "turning off hardware acceleration" is not applied to the initial "Firefox - Choose User Profile" !, What should I do ?

Hello All, I'm using Firefox (149.0.2 snap) with LUbuntu 24.04.4 LTS. Because of a wrong graphic driver, I had to turn off hardware acceleration in FF. When FF is starte… (read more)

Hello All,

I'm using Firefox (149.0.2 snap) with LUbuntu 24.04.4 LTS. Because of a wrong graphic driver, I had to turn off hardware acceleration in FF.

When FF is started the Initial "Firefox - Choose User Profile" is unreadable (see attached : wrong_screen.jpg), but if I continue (click somewhere in the window) , all the opened tabs are readable.

Once in FF, if I want to select another profile from the application menu -> .. -> manage profiles, then the "Choose User Profile" window is fine (see attached : good_screen.jpg).

I tried to start FF with the "-P" option to specify wanted profile but it continues to start with the unreadable "Choose User Profile" window.

Could someone give me a solution, except finding the good hardware driver for my computer?

Thanks Bouilla.

Open 1 45