I-Thunderbird 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 was forced to erase my PC because it was infected with malware. I saved my Tbird profile to my HDD before erasing. I pasted the saved profile to %Appdata% >Thunderbird, copying 1,777 items. When I brought up Tbird, I got the Account Setup window, so I don't think the profile was actually there. What did I do wrong?

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?

Hi,

I'm trying to move Thunderbird from my Windows 10 laptop to one where I just installed Linux (Zorin Pro 17.3). I followed the instructions here: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/moving-thunderbird-data-to-a-new-computer

I installed Thunderbird 140.4.0 esr, which is the latest version. Both laptops now have that version installed.

But when I open TB on the Linux computer, and close the Account Setup window, and go to the Troubleshooting screen, next to "Profile Directory" it says "Open Directory", but when I click on that, nothing happens. So how can I paste my TB profile? Do I have to start a new profile first, and then copy over that?

I installed TB from the "Software" area, which I believe is a Flatpak. I'm very new to Linux, so just fumbling around here. There were 3 options of Thunderbird. I installed the one that had the most information and seemed most up to date. That was confusing.

I would LOVE some help on this.

Thanks!

I am about to change desktop computers - upgrading to Windows 11. How or can I transfer all my Thunderbird data, saved emails, address books,layout, etc, to my new computer? Can I export everything to an external hard drive and then import to the new PC? Many thanks for any advice. heers, Ron

I have two Microsoft accounts on the same computer: one corrupt and one good. Thunderbird format/layout that I prefer is in the corrupt account. I downloaded Thunderbird to the good account but the format/layout is totally different. Consequently I would like to copy my preferred format/layout from the corrupt account to the good one. How do I go about it?

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?

Ho effettuato un backup con la procedura guidata ma il file è più grande di 2Gb. Ha creato il file zip ma quando provo a dezipparlo per importare le cartelle dice che potrebbe essere corrotto. C'è un modo per recuperare il profilo? Grazie

I need to copy my Thunderbird profile from my Linux partition to the MSWindows one. All the tutorials I've seen claim I can just let MSWin create it's AppData directories, exit TB, then copy my profile and profile.ini over to there.

Doesn't work. It ignores my existing profile and starts creating a new one, and wants me to enter a new account. have 10 different accounts, filters, and other customizations, and I am *NOT* going to manually recreate everythin

15.18.0 how to export to mobile from settings in the desktop thunderbird so i can use my android phone--if it will help, on my desktop there is no Export to mobile in settings!!!!!!!

Hi, Not sure where to begin. Had issues w/mouse and decided to reimage. Copied all files from C:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird. Now have no msgfilteres, folders in Local Folders, or an Address Book.

I used info from https://windowsloop.com/backup-restore-thunderbird/. Was this wrong? Where did I mess up?

Thanks

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'm sure this is a really dumb question but I'm all set to unzip my profile backup into new machine. I see it named in the Quick Access window, but a double click on it brings an error message that I have to unzip it first. Clearly I'm learning both my laptop and win 11 at the same time, and I don't know where/how to unzip it. I'm confused, I hope my question isn't. Can anyone talk me thru getting it unzipped so I can import it into Tbird in new machine? Thanks, Stacy

Trying to "copy" my Win10 Thunderbird setup to Manjaro Linux. Have read the help page on moving to a new PC, but there are a few "differences" from the article and none of the obvious things I tried are working. (note this has worked in the past going between Win machines)

Win10 TB version is 115.10.0; Manjaro TB version is 141.0. I can locate the windows dir and copy it; it is "Thunderbird". The Linux dir is ".thunderbird". I've tried copying the win dir tree over and renaming it to .thunderbird but that was a bust. TB just recreated a .thunderbird dir with defaults in it.

So I am wondering what to try next. There is a .1 version of Win TB, with that have a more compatible dir structure for linux? Something else to try??

Thanks

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.

I have an 8 year old PC that I have been using Thunderbird on its entire life. I have 5 email accounts (from my own website if that matters) on it for personal use that have tons of information.

I bought a new computer and have not been able to move my old data to it. The old computer uses Windows 10 with Thunderbird Version 115.5.2 (32 bit). The new computer uses Windows 11 and I have tried several Thunderbird versions with the current one being 128.12 0esr (32 bit). I have added one of my email accounts to my new computer, but it contains none of my previous data (emails, contacts, directories, etc.), just a bare bones account that only receives new email.

I have repeatedly tried to move my entire source computer setup and data going through all of the described steps including copying the previous Thunderbird folder to a flash drive. I then follow the directions for copying and pasting my source data into the new computer's "roaming" section. It goes through all the steps including asking if I want to overwrite existing files. I have almost 14,000 files and as the process continues, I can see file names being added just as I would expect.

After everything is complete, when I restart Thunderbird, the only access I have is once again to the bare bones new email account. There is no data, nothing at all, from my source computer.

Help please, this has gotten beyond frustrating.

I reset my PC and saved the wrong profile path, so i cant restore my thunderbird profile the normal way. However, I exported the profile to my phone and the thunderbird android app, where it is still stored. Can I export my profile from the App to then import it on the PC version? thx for your help!

I just migrated my Thunderbird from my old MacBook to my new Mac Mini. I tried following the official instructions and the instructions in the linked thread, but I experienced the same problem the other users did— that Thunderbird, on the new Mac, would act as if it was setting up a new account, even after replacing the entire Thunderbird folder in the user's Library folder. With some investigation, I was able to detect how to fix the migration, though I can't tell you why Thunderbird behaves this way.

Here are the instructions I followed: [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/que.../1397228]

The process of copying the old Thunderbird is correctly described. However, there is still some funny business on the receiving end.

What I determined was that Thunderbird, for whatever reason, wasn't reading the information in the profiles.ini and installs.ini in a way that launched the migrated installation. Instead, it still created a new installation and a new profile and overlaid those on top of the information in the migrated files, making the newly created profile the default and ignoring the migrated profile when launching.

In order to correct this, I needed to manually edit the profiles.ini and installs.ini file (in a simple text editor) to use the NEW installation but substituting in my MIGRATED profile for the newly created one.

I'm sorry I didn't take screen shots before deleting the files, but the important thing is to edit both files so the both are using the NEWLY CREATED installation ID but that both files only reference the OLD profile ID (deleting all other mentions of the newly created profile and deleting mentions of the old installation ID. This is just a copy/paste operation.

I've attached screenshots of mockups of what my new profiles.ini and installs.ini look like. The important thing is that both have the NEWLY CREATED installation ID (not the one copied from the old Mac) with the OLD profile ID.

I wasn't sure whether 'Settings' was the best topic, so if it's not, I apologize.

I'm trying to move my big Thunderbird email environment from Windows 11 to Linux Ubuntu so I can run Tbird on Linux with all my email available.

I've moved the entire database over to Linux to where I want to put it and modified the profile.ini file to point to it, but whenever I start Tbird on Linux, it acts as though there's no profile.

WINDOWS CONFIG:

I put the Tbird database at c:\apk\profiles\thunderbird

This is the location of the profile.ini file

   c:\users\paulkinz\appdata\roaming\thunderbird\profiles.ini

This is the contents of the profile.ini:

   [InstallD78BF5DD33499EC2]
   Default=c:\apk\profiles\thunderbird
   Locked=1

   [Profile0]
   Name=Default User
   IsRelative=0
   Path=c:\apk\profiles\thunderbird

   [General]
   StartWithLastProfile=1
   Version=2

LINUX CONFIG:

Tbird database located at /home/paulkinz/apk/profiles/thunderbird

location of the profile.ini file: /home/paulkinz/snap/thunderbird/common/.thunderbird/profiles.ini

This is the contents of Linux profiles.ini

   [Profile0]
   Name=default
   IsRelative=0
   Path=/home/paulkinz/apk/profiles/thunderbird
   Default=1

   [General]
   StartWithLastProfile=1
   Version=2

I changed StartWithLastProfile to be 0, but everytime I run Tbird, it doesn't look at where I've put the Tbird database and changes this item to 1.

And a curiosity question - why does it put the Tbird database under some random directory name like 'default.5yr2afk4' or something? What's the value in not putting it in some common place like it does the profile.ini file?