Yonke imikhiqizo Community Forum

Hi, Just got computer back from shop where - rather than upgrade - they did a clean install of Win11. I was under the impression from them they'd backup everything on a new "backup" drive they installed to double my capacity as part of the upgrade process.

They're version of backing up Thunderbird left me with a folder "Thunderbird_profile_backup.zip" that is 9,698,657kb in size.

I am attempting to install Thunderbird on the essentially new computer and restore all data from the previous installation.

Is this even possible anymore at this point?

I have data in that file that is important not only financially but archived family info from now deceased members... I'd really like to recover it.

In short help! lol.

Mark

My thanks again to sfhowes, Rick and others for assisting me to get back my ability to once again send e-mails from Thunderbird. Now for the next step.

Just days ago, I migrated my years of Thunderbird e-mails on a POP protocol to IMAP. Before doing so and before also uninstalling my old Thunderbird because of e-mail sending problems and then reinstalling a new version, I saved a profile. Now with the most current version of Thunderbird, I lost (i)a decades worth of saved inbox e-mails (but for the last 2 years), (ii)I lost all of my sent e-mails but a few odd ones, (iii)I lost my archived e-mails in Local Folders and (iv) I lost all of my contacts and saved group e-mail address lists.

My profile is saved on an external hard drive. Obviously the new installed version of Thunderbird must have somehow found the last 2 years of my inbox e-mails but nothing beyond that as mentioned above. Can you share please a recommended procedure where I can better import what I assume I saved correct on the profile I saved twice (I saved a master folder named Profile and separately saved 4 folders - 2 folders ending in default and 2 ending in default-release. Thank you.

I am on Thunderbird Flatpack version 115.5.1 and I want to transfer to Thunderbird for Android, how do I do that, please? I am running on Chromebook using the Linux partition. I have exported the profile to a zip file, but Thunderbird for Android won't read it. The zip file is 2.5GB so maybe it is too big. But I am not adept at Linux and I can't find my way to the profile files for a manual copy. When I go into Troubleshooting Information the Profile Directory - Open Directory button does nothing. Alonside it it says "(Lolcal drive)". Maybe I should upograde Thunderbird first, but how do I do that, please?

I have been trying to migrate all my accounts to maildir, but Export/Import doesn't work.

Even after I ensure that the old profile is backed up in another location and deleted from the previous path, and then I try "/mac path/thunderbird -P" and the first thing I do is set "maildir" as the storage for new accounts in settings.

After that, I imported (only accounts and settings) from the backed-up profile .zip, but the mail store type per account gets overridden by the old profile, it seems, and is set to "mbox" (uneditable).

Is there a way to retain the settings except for the mail store type? I am fine with entering every password again; I just hope to not have to do all the config again (settings for subscribe, junk, etc… and… what not) again for all those accounts.

Can I do it via prefs.js, etc.? If so, will I have to modify something in those files? What files will be needed?

I have a huge and vital archive of past emails in Thunderbird on my old Windows 10 PC. The hard drive containing the Thunderbird profile has now failed and I can't access its contents. I have a new Windows 11 PC and have installed Thunderbird on it. I thought I had backed up my Thunderbird profile on an external drive, so have copied this backup onto the new PC, and have tried to use Thunderbird's Import function, but I get an error message each time, saying 'import failed unexpectedly'. The backup I'm using was saved using a data backup program called Bvckup2 and consists of folders called '$Archive', 'Cache2', 'Safebrowsing' and 'StartupCache'. Am I doing something wrong? Is it possible I've been backing up the wrong thing? Am I going to have to send the failed hard drive to a data recovery specialist and hope that they can access it?

I have had Thunderbird on Laptop #1 for years. There are many folders on it. I have many message filters I rely upon to sort my messages. Laptop #1 is Thunderbird 15.18.0 (32 bit) on on esr update channel. I am working on having a different Laptop #2. I have installed Thunderbird 144.0.1 (64-bit) Release Channel on Laptop #2.

My email client uses POP mail.

I wish all of the folders and setting I have on Laptop #1 to migrate to Laptop #2. That has not happened. Please advise if you know what I need to do to accomplish this. As should be apparent, I am not an IT pro.

Thank you very much for any help you can offer.

Due to problems searching my entire collection of email folders I am about to follow advice found here: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/rebuilding-global-database.

The how-to in the cited article is clear and easy to understand, but since I am mucking with my entire email history, and because the re-indexing process is so universal, I want to have a backup plan in case something goes wrong .... a way of getting my Thunderbird resources back to the state they were in before attempting to re-index the resources stored in the TBird globabl database.

Can I just save a copy of my entire Tbird profile before attempting the rebuild ... and restore it if something goes wrong in the rebuild. (Are there resources in, say, .../Library/Application Support that also would need to be backed up?)

For reference: my macos is up-to-date Sequoia, 15.6.1 and Tbird version 142.0

Hi, I use TB 115.18.0 (32-bit) on win 7 machine. In order to transfer it to another computer I tried to copy the profile to a new disk and it failed. An error message stated that "The destination you have specified does not exist". I manually copied the profile folder, and found that the problem occurs when attempting to copy the file (no file type is given. File name is printed bolt) as follows: mozilla profiles>cc739xtg.default>mail>local folders>unsent messages. (1,835,282 KB file) Unsent messages.MSF (6KB file) was copied with no problem. I did not find a way to open unsent messages file to read its content. Unsent messages does not show in my TB folders. As far as I understand there are no unsent messages in my TB accounts. 1. How to overcome the unsent messages file copy problem? 2. Can I try to delete both unsent messages and unsent messages.msf files without damage the profile? 3. How can I open unsent messages file to read its content? Thank you for your assistance. David

Hi, I have used Thunderbird on a Win10 PC against a first mail service that now has been closed. I have to move to a Win11 PC and second mail service. How and what are the best steps to make this moves and keep my old mails in Thunderbird? Best regards Thunderbird fan

(Still) Migrating from Windows 10 desktop to Windows 11 Laptop. I exported my profile from the desktop, and checked the version of Tbird it is running. Then I opened the new laptop and had to update that machine to latest version. I know I should have updated the old desktop Before I did the export, so I'll have to go back and export it again, right? But the desktop, now up to date, is running 140.2 and the new laptop is updated to 142.0 both 64 bit. Will I be able to import the profile from the old to the new if the version numbers aren't the same? Both say I have the latest updates. Thank you. Stacy

I just installed Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS to an old computer and I want to export my profiles and contacts from my other Windows computer Thunderbird, over to the new Linux version of Thunderbird. I suppose the other option is to re-import from Gmail contacts. Please advise. As others migrate from Windows to Linux this could be a common question.

I've usede Safari for years, but want to try Firefox. I've tried to import data, bookmarks and so from safari, but can't do it. Firefox says: Select the Safari file. But which one? And where do I find it? I've find the app Safari – but there's a lot of files underneath it.

I am trying to setup Thunderbird on a new Windows 11 PC. My current PC is running Windows 10. I am thoroughly frustrated to the point where I might just switch to Outlook!

First some basic parameters.

On a "techie" skill level I am about a 3 on a scale of 10. I have been a Thurderbird user for a long time, 15+ years. The Thunderbird version on the Windows 10 PC is 140.3.1esr(32-bit) The Thurderbird version on the Windows 11 PC is 143.0.0(64-bit) I managed to stumble through a Thunderbird migration change 6 years ago when I purchased my current Windows 10 PC.

Here are the issues I am having.

1. I do not know how to locate and transfer to the new PC all of my contacts. 2. I do not know how to locate and transfer the sent mail history. 3. The Windows 11 PC version is not synchronizing with the mail server (Comcast.net). When I read, delete, or move an email it is still showing as unread on my other devices. (The Windows 10 PC, iPad, iPhone) Conversely, if I read an email on one of the other devices, it still shows as unread on the Window 11 PC. 4. The is no Junk mail showing in the Junk folder on the Windows 11 PC, but junk mail will show in the Junk folder on the Windows 10 PC. I clean the Junk folder regularly. However, the junk mail is being filter out on the Windows 11 PC because it is not showing in the Inbox. 5. (Somewhat minor) On the Windows 11 machine the preview panel is on the right. On the Windows 10 machine the preview panel on the bottom. I prefer the bottom. I don't see in settings were to change this.

What I have done so far: 1. I compared setting for setting from the old PC to the new PC. I noticed in the new Windows 11 version there is no settings called "Message Synchronizing". 2. I was able to locate the file that contained all of my local files. I copied it to the new PC and directed Thurderbird to use this file. Works fine. 3. I have read the Help instructions for "How do I find my profile", "Moving a profile", Backing up a profile", Restoring a profile backup", Method using a transfer device", and "An alternative method for manual transfer between Windows 10 and Windows 11 computers".

As state above, my skill level is about a 3. When I start dealing with hidden files I am getting beyond my skill level.

My questions are: 1. Since Thunderbird seems to be setup and running, although not how I like, is it necessary to do the transfers described in the Help articles. Would I be over writing the manual setup I have completed when I compared the setup pages from the old and new PCs? 2. Can the files name for where the contacts are store be provided so I can manually copy over? I would think this would not be a hidden file. 3. How do I get the Windows 11 version to synchronize with the Comcast mail server? If the synchronizing occurs, will I get all of the "Sent" history or is this in a file that needs to be copied. FYI, the emails I sent from the Windows 11 PC has synchronized to the Windows 10 PC. 4. What are the settings for the Junk mail. The settings on the Windows 10 PC and the Windows 11 PC are the same. 5. Last but not least, how do I get the preview pane on the bottom. :-)

Thanks, and HELP!

Mike Jacks

Thunderbird is working on osx.

Installed and working on windows 11.

Then realised that I could migrate!

Followed this article

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1257585

However there are profiles in both %appdata% and %localdata%

Just copying over the Thunderbird folder from Osx to windows as per

".../AppData/Roaming on Windows, replacing whatever Thunderbird folder that may already exist"

Does not seem to work.

bold text None of the topics seem to fit. I've tried to search in support for an answer to my question, but with no luck. I know how to tell the filter where to put the selected messages, but I don't know why I can't figure out how to allow the same filter to work for both profiles in the same installation on the same computer. It seems like an obvious option to either allow it to work across profiles or to allow me to copy the filter specifications to another profile. Also 'Run Now' doesn't seem to work.

Basically, i need my tabs restored. I tried lurking around. I lurked moar. I chatGPT it. I even tried to find tech support. Nothing helpful ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

I have a lot of tabs that i need and they accumulated over months of my chrome usage. I successfully restored history and other things, but not open tabs. Well, how do i restore them or do i have to manually open all of them?

Note: i deleted chrome already