Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

Link new install of thunderbird with old profile.

  • 6 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 4 views
  • Last reply by jonsevy

Tbird lost XPCOM, and we are too old to follow the FAQ and community instructions to find it.

So we uninstalled old (version not recorded) Thunderbird, and then Downloaded from Mozilla and installed 78.7.0 (32-bit)

COMPLICATION: Old program was on small C drive. We installed new one to larger SSD D drive. Big mistake, it seems. We blindly hoped the install would find our profile and move them to the D drive. No.

We studied the 2015 thread with the same Subject as this one. WAY over our heads. If that's the procedure, where can we find expert PAID SUPPORT to do the job for us on Team Viewer, or something like that? We've looked online without success.

Tbird lost XPCOM, and we are too old to follow the FAQ and community instructions to find it. So we uninstalled old (version not recorded) Thunderbird, and then Downloaded from Mozilla and installed 78.7.0 (32-bit) COMPLICATION: Old program was on small C drive. We installed new one to larger SSD D drive. Big mistake, it seems. We blindly hoped the install would find our profile and move them to the D drive. No. We studied the 2015 thread with the same Subject as this one. WAY over our heads. If that's the procedure, where can we find expert PAID SUPPORT to do the job for us on Team Viewer, or something like that? We've looked online without success.
Attached screenshots

All Replies (6)

Windows 6.1 is ancient and has now got to the point it has it's own issues.

However if you open a command prompt (windows key + R and type cmd, press enter) Check there is a Thunderbird folder and it contains a profiles.ini file. open the file (double click should put it in notepad) and copy and paste the contents to a reply on the forum. That way we will be on the same page as to where Thunderbird is and thinks things are located. ( it may be meaningless to your. but all the registered profiles are listed and it will be a great help in determining if your old profile is registered before we try and help you find it.

Thank you, Matt, for your reply. I used to know DOS fairly well, but C:\Users\Jack>find "Thunderbird" produces nothing but a little flashing rectangle (cursor?)

C:\>find "Thunderbird" does the same. Clearly, I don't know how to check if Thunderbird folder and profile.ini exist.

'I know they do...'

I found the C drive Thunderbird folder and profile.ini somehow before, in a table somewhere. Can't track that down, and it seemed so simple at the time that I left no notes. I wasn't using DOS at that time. I backed up my whole system to our external teradrive.

This is killing me. I'm just a User! Is there really no reliable paid Thunderbird support available? Seems incredible. I have used, promoted, and supported Mozilla for years, but it's now beyond me, after several hours of struggling. (Whine, snivel)

When I get Thunderbird up and running again, I'll have 100+ emails that need to be transferred into it from my webmail server (Shaw.ca).

I just found and used %appdata% to track it down:

C:\Users\Jack\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles oap69bin.default-release

The contents of that file is attached.

New D drive installation attached

Looks like 2 profiles, smaller attached

Still without T-bird. Here's where my previous inbox is - on the C drive. How can I link that to my newly installed D-drive T-bird profile?

I guess the sent and other mailboxes are down the same path, no?

Thanks in advance, oh experts!

JBS

PROGRESS: Just finished connecting new T-bird to my server, and it auto downloaded all of the inbox , 543 EMAILS over the past T-birdless weeks. That's good. But the sent box isn't here, and "import" doesn't include my email server.

I should be able to cut and paste the old C drive Tbird mailboxes onto my big, empty SSD D-drive and then tell the new Thunderbird installation (profile?) to look for and store emails there from now on. ACCOUNT SETTINGS, SERVER SETTINGS, Local Directory is set for the old C-drive, but...I cannot find the new install feb. 2021 appdata/roaming/profiles path on my D drive, or any profiles folder dated later than 2019. So strange! Where might they be???

Thanks a million.

JBS

PS QUESTION: I've moved Tbird several times over the past decade. Multiple profiles, etc. on 2 drives, and transferred in from past computers. But I don't remember ever having so much trouble. Is this a new thing with Tbird, or is this early-onset dementia?