Problems moving Thunderbird to new computer
Old computer: Windows 10 Pro, 64 bit Thunderbird 115.10.0 32-bit (Don't know why it's 32-bit version on a 64-bit computer or whether that's relevant)
The Profiles folder is here (with 5 profiles): C:\Users\<User>\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles
The new computer is Windows 11 Pro, 64-bit I just installed Thunderbird (V115.10.0 (64-bit) on the new computer.
On the new computer, the Profiles folder is here: C:\Users\<User>\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles
I followed the directions here https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/moving-thunderbird-data-to-a-new-computer
I basically took the Profiles folder that came with the Thunderbird installation, renamed it (Profiles.orig) and copied in the Profiles folder from the old computer in its place. When I start up Thunderbird, I get this error message:
Your Thunderbird profile cannon be loaded. It may be missing or inaccessible
What am I doing wrong? I've updated Thunderbird on the old computer and copied the Profiles folder over to the new computer again. Same result.
Could it be 1. an issue with the user name on the old computer is different than the one I'm using on the new computer? 2. All files on the new computer are set up as local (the user on the old computer started out as a Microsoft user but I made it local so as not to have to use OneDrive).
I'm stumped. Any help will be very much appreciated. If you need any more details I'm happy to provide them.
Chosen solution
It appears you didn't do the steps exactly as presented, as renaming wasn't part of it. A quick summary of those steps: - exit thunderbird on old PC - copy c:\users\<yourid>\appdata\roaming\thunderbird to external media - install thunderbird on new PC if not already done. Be sure to exit thunderbird if running - copy the backed up thunderbird folder from external media to c:\users\<yourid>\appdata\roaming which will overwrite the default thunderbird folder there - restart thunderbird
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Chosen Solution
It appears you didn't do the steps exactly as presented, as renaming wasn't part of it. A quick summary of those steps: - exit thunderbird on old PC - copy c:\users\<yourid>\appdata\roaming\thunderbird to external media - install thunderbird on new PC if not already done. Be sure to exit thunderbird if running - copy the backed up thunderbird folder from external media to c:\users\<yourid>\appdata\roaming which will overwrite the default thunderbird folder there - restart thunderbird
david,
Thank you. I don't know why I had it in my head that I just needed to move the Profile folder but I did even after reading this multiple times.
My Thunderbird is now up on the new computer and I really appreciate you pointing out what I was doing wrong (glossing over I guess). Among other things I noticed this morning after reading your response was a profiles.ini folder and I imagine that was needed for the Profiles to sync up with Thunderbird.
Again thank you for your reply.
You're welcome. The importance of copying the Thunderbird folder (and not just the profile) is that the thunderbird folder contains two important item: the actual profile that is active AND the profiles.ini file that points to it. When thunderbird starts, it reads the profiles.ini file to know which profile to open. By copying both together, you guarantee that it will work.
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