Is this the same computer where you experienced similar loss https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1380030 ? How did you recover from that?

Your profiles can be found with https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/using-multiple-profiles, or Help > Troubleshoot Mode, about:profiles, or windows file explorer.

What do you find?

Thanks Wayne I didn't recover my previous crash. I had to reinstall and reconstruct all my data.

TB insists on creating a new profile. This means I need to re-enter all my email addresses. More critically, I need to find my data = contacts and contact lists (NB), Calendar, Local saved emails. I think I need to copy from old profile to the new one all this data. I might need to do this in both roaming and local folders. What files/folders do I copy?

The same thing happened to me today, as far as I can tell.

My profile with several gigabytes of data, configuration for multiple email adresses, some locally stored messages, calendar etc was completely wiped out. I'm left with an empty profile (15 MB on disk) plus an identical new one called "default-release". I think I've only really lost maybe a few sent emails plus a some configuration time, but it could easily have been far worse.

115 feels like a beta test and had already caused some lost emails and deep sighs, but this was worse than expected.

This was on Linux, openSUSE Leap 15.5. Thunderbird was updated to 115.1.0 seven days ago and was running fine at first. All the files I now find in ~/.thunderbird were created within the last hour, with no trace of the earlier profile except in the directory name.

Currently, Thunderbird is not auto updating to supernova version 115* https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/thunderbird/115.1.1/releasenotes/

So if you were told there was an update then it was not Thunderbird. It means you must have some updater software on your computer which is looking for updates and it located: https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/thunderbird/115.1.1 Then it informed you about this 'update' which you downloaded and installed.

In Thunderbird

• Help > More Troubleshooting Information
• Bottom of 'Application Basics' is 'Profile' - click on 'about:profiles'

It opens in a new tab to tell you all the profiles installed. It will tell you which one is currently set up as default. It will list all the profiles.

Suggest you use this method to open the current new profile and also the original profile.

• You would be looking for the 'Root Directory' location and it will have a 'Open Folder' button (In Linux - 'Open Directory' button).
• Click on 'Open Folder' button to see contents of that profile name folder.

Once you have both profiles open in new independent windows...

• Exit Thunderbird now - this is important.

You will see various folders and files.

Calendar: If you just have the 'Home' default calendar then 'calendar-data' folder could be copy pasted to new profile - replacing the default empty calendar-data folder.

AddressBooks:

• Personal Address Book - 'abook.sqlite' file
• Collected Addresses - 'history.sqlite' file

Both of the above can be directly copy pasted into the new profile name folder replacing the empty default ones. (I would delete the empty ones first then paste in copied files or allow replacing/overwriting) Any other eg: 'abook-1.sqlite' file can only be imported via Address book, so this must occur later on after restarting Thunderbird.

It's worth getting a copy of the old profile 'pref.js' file and putting it on the desktop. It may contain information for working out what was the name of the address book which is using 'abook-1.sqlite' file.

• Click on 'Mail' folder to see all Pop account name folders and Local Folders account.
• Click on eg: Pop mail account to see contents.

You need to copy all files that do not have any extension - they are mbox files, they have same name as folders you normally see in Folder Pane and they contain emails or they point to a subfolder. You need to copy any folder that has a.sbd extension.

As these are POP mail accounts you can copy and paste them into the new Pop account folder in new profile.

When it comes to the 'Local Folders' mail account - you can copy the entire 'Local Folders' folder - go to new profile - clickon 'Mail' folder - delete the current empty 'Local Folders' folder and then paste the copied 'Local Folders' folder into the 'Mail' folder.

Start Thunderbird.

Import other address books. In Address Book Import > SQLite databases click on 'Continue' locate the old profile and select eg: abook-1.sqlite and click on 'Open' Choose 'Create a new directory called 'abook-1'and click on 'Continue' As it should have all the same format it should get imported ok. Then in address book check it's contents and then you can rename the address book to a more suitable name - that name you may discover in the 'pref.js' file you put on the desktop - it can be opened using eg: Notepad. Scroll down to the where the 'ldap' section starts.

Thanks Toad-Hall, This sounds like exactly what I need. I presume these copies are all in the ...AppData/Roaming folder and nothing in the Local?

For ctroein, I found that TB is installing "Mozilla Maintenance Service" What this does is use the Windows update function to detect a TB update. It is a clever way to remove some background computing. However, if like me, you do NOT want updates, then uninstall this. There is also a flag in TB to disable but don't remember what it is just now. I believe it signals the Service function to work. I think if it is uninstalled you will not get the auto update in background when not looking.

It seems to me that Windows and many apps are too free with giving updates. What happened to good programming and letting users know when there is a critical update as in a severe bug or a security issue to patch?

Will try all these copies tonight.

re :I presume these copies are all in the ...AppData/Roaming folder and nothing in the Local? Correct.

re :"Mozilla Maintenance Service"....What this does is use the Windows update function to detect a TB update.

It allows the Mozilla Maintenance Service to get auto permission from Windows to allow the update to be applied, without requiring you to click Yes in the Windows User Account Control (UAC) dialog. Not everyone wants to be prompted with a UAC pop up everytime an update needs to be applied.

So enabling the Mozilla Maintenance Service merely overrides the UAC pop up, thus auto allowing the update to be applied. You can force Windows to always prompt you to pop up the UAC to ask to allow update via:

• Settings > General
• scroll to 'Updates' section
• uncheck the checkbox 'Use a background service to install updates'.

You can still have Thunderbird check for updates but ask you when to update or not, that is an entirely different option. That is an option you can select in the 'Updates' section.

So, I have Thunderbird prompt me when update is available and when I say install update, I then also get another UAC prompt to ask if it is ok to proceed.

This is not the same as having other updater software on your computer as that type of software will not be aware of the updates being made to specific versions. It will only be aware of what new release has been made available via official website and they may not be the same update. In fact, when a major release is occuring, it is normal to offer the new release, but not offer the new release as an update at that point in time.

these solutions do not help

and for what it is worth, when I went back to 102 I shut auto-update off in Thunderbird. Thunderbird auto-updated me to 115 and 115 destroyed my address book, doesn't display emails, and now 102 is broken and I am trying to fix it.

re :and for what it is worth, when I went back to 102 I shut auto-update off in Thunderbird. Thunderbird auto-updated me to 115

If you set up settings as I stated then Thunderbird cannot and does not auto update without you saying yes and if UAC was switched off then Windows would not allow Thunderbird to auto update either. You would see a UAC request to update. So you would have to select to install and then select it's ok for Windows to allow it.

If you did not get anything like that then you have another program on your computer and it is forcing the updates. It probably checks for and updates all sorts of programs on your computer. That other program may be a Software Updater program or it may be part of your Anti-Virus product which offers auto check software on computer for updates and install it.

You need to find out which one is doing it and then tell it to not check for nor update Thunderbird. What Anti-Virus are you using ?