I can't find my outlook express address book after successfully migrating it from the old computer. The "address book" tab shows only empty local address book.

I am moving from a Windows XP computer to a Windows 7 computer. My old computer had Outlook Express. I successfully migrated my emails and archived emails to Thunderbird on the new computer. I also migrated the Outlook Express address book, using an external hard drive, but I have not been able to figure out how to find the Outlook Express address book in Thunderbird. The only way I have been able to find the Outlook Express address book, is to go to "tools" and "import" and then import the Outlook Express address book again. When I do that, the Outlook Express address book shows up, with duplicate entries (because I've now imported it twice). And when the Outlook Express address book shows up, it functions properly and I can use it to send emails. But once I close the Outlook Express address book, I cannot find it again. I see from other posts that the "address book" tab in Thunderbird should open a window that has a list of available address books on the left side. But that window in my computer does not show a list of address books. There is just a blank window for the personal address book (it has no contacts in it) and there is nothing on the left side.