Tried all methods of import

On the old machine, see if you can locate the users\<yourid>\appdata\roaming\thunderbird folder if you can, try this - close thunderbird if running - enter %appdata% in search box on windowss task bar and press enter - that should open file explorer in the appdata\roaming folder - if there is a thunderbird folder there, rename it just for safekeeping - paste the old thunderbird folder now - restart thunderbird.it will attempt to open the profile and run

post back on any problems .Your current thunderbird is possibly several releases newer. post the version number and, if you remember, the version number of the old pc.

Yeah, that is the problem - I took that directory from the appdata and copied into the new (v150) version on the new machine. I don't have a way to boot the old machine to get the version number - well, I guess I could spend a lot of money to repair it - but it would most likely be around the 60s according to Gemini - and now the new machine with the latest is 151. Perhaps there is an archive somewhere I can download an older v60 to install on the new laptop? Nothing seems to come up obvious with a quick search. Thanks!

Are you stating that when you run thunderbird with the old profile it runs, but there are problems? I need more information, please. I can point you to older versions, but that is usually not the solution. thank you

I launched Thunderbird without issue, but did not set up the email account (I don't need it to connect) so minimized that box and then tried all three methods the ones from within TB (like import zip, etc) simply say they can't open the file(s). I have also tried going to the directory and "open just once" with thunderbird which did not work, the files are in the appdata path - the only way I got the first message in the email box was to use the hamburger, open from file, then message but it only has the one message of the 172mb file (obviously, it says open message, not messages) - perhaps I need to setup a dummy default account and then run the copy files into the appdata path? seems like a lot of work but I am game for anything.

You seem to be trying to fix this yourself without sharing useful details. Did you do exactly as I suggested? If so, what was the result?

Apologies, don't mean to offend. I very first pasted it into the appdata folder that was local (not roaming) in the "default" directory which is the first screenshot I posted.

Then, as instructed, put it in the roaming (not local) thunderbird folder (after renaming it for backup) then created a new TB folder. When I launched TB it came up (and again asked to create a mail account, which I minimized) and in the roaming TB folder it just created again the three directories and installs.ini (screen shot I am tacking on to this reply.) The TB app still says "no messages found" after creating those directories/files in the appdata/roaming folder.

Happy to share anything/everything, apologies if I let the shorthand get away from me sometimes.

Your screenshot is not a profile, only a folder for one account. Do you have a full profile? Can you post a screenshot of what you do have?

I'm obviously missing something, is the profile a set of files I was supposed to grab off the old hard drive? I naively assumed I could just move the inbox in one file like I do with outlook .pst files... let me know which profile I am looking for and I'll dig in. Thanks!

The profile is at users\<yourid>\appdata\roaming\thunderbird The thunderbird folder contains everthing: addressbook, accounts, email messages, and settings. Everything. To use it, - enter %appdata% in search box on task bar and press enter - this shoul open file explorer in the appdata\roaming folder - exit thunderbird if running - DELETE or rename the thunderbird folder - paste your old appdata\roaaming\thunderbird folder there - restart thunderbird and it should recognize the profile

Did it again, same result, does not come up in TB. It just simply adds the three folders and a couple of .ini files to all the data I copied in, just like the screen shot. I will open up the old hard drive and see if maybe I copied the wrong set of info. Or I will just pay for a new video card and get the old system running so I can do an "official" back up from the old TB v60 so it might just be cleaner. Thank you very much for your efforts.

I think I see the problem. The thunderbird folder has been corrupted. At the bottom of your screenshot is the profiles folder. Your profile is there. look in it. If just one folder in the profile folder, that is the profile. If more than one, look in each to find indication of more current dates on files. Once you find it, it's a quick fix. - start thunderbird - click help>troubleshootinginformation - scroll to 'profile folder' and click 'open folder' - exit thunderbird - DELETE everything in that folder and PASTE your discovered profile here - restart thunderbird