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Accidently created account twice. Cannot access server settings. Downloads email to two different folders. Can I safely uninstall without losing mails?

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  • Last reply by christ1

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On new computer, wanted to change account from IMAP to POP3. Created account but now I cannot get into server settings (An account already exists.......) and emails download to two different folders. Can I safely remove either IMAP or POP3 or uninstall Thunderbird without losing emails. Still have emails on old computer and don't want to remove until it is correctly set up and working properly on new computer. Thanks in advance.

On new computer, wanted to change account from IMAP to POP3. Created account but now I cannot get into server settings (An account already exists.......) and emails download to two different folders. Can I safely remove either IMAP or POP3 or uninstall Thunderbird without losing emails. Still have emails on old computer and don't want to remove until it is correctly set up and working properly on new computer. Thanks in advance.

Chosen solution

Can I safely remove either IMAP or POP3

If you delete the POP account, that would make any messages already downloaded from the server inaccessible. You can safely delete the IMAP account.

When creating a new account, make sure to give it a unique name.

or uninstall Thunderbird without losing emails.

You can uninstall and re-install Thunderbird as many times as you want, you'd just be wasting your time. Profile files are stored separately from the Thunderbird program files. The program files are static and do not change (except when you upgrade the Thunderbird application version). Because we store profile and program files separately, you can uninstall Thunderbird without losing your messages and settings, and if something goes wrong with a Thunderbird update your information will still be available. It also means that you don't have to reinstall Thunderbird in order to delete your information or troubleshoot a problem. https://support.mozilla.org/kb/profiles-where-thunderbird-stores-user-data

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Chosen Solution

Can I safely remove either IMAP or POP3

If you delete the POP account, that would make any messages already downloaded from the server inaccessible. You can safely delete the IMAP account.

When creating a new account, make sure to give it a unique name.

or uninstall Thunderbird without losing emails.

You can uninstall and re-install Thunderbird as many times as you want, you'd just be wasting your time. Profile files are stored separately from the Thunderbird program files. The program files are static and do not change (except when you upgrade the Thunderbird application version). Because we store profile and program files separately, you can uninstall Thunderbird without losing your messages and settings, and if something goes wrong with a Thunderbird update your information will still be available. It also means that you don't have to reinstall Thunderbird in order to delete your information or troubleshoot a problem. https://support.mozilla.org/kb/profiles-where-thunderbird-stores-user-data

Modified by christ1