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Can't create new folder under Local Folder

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  • Last reply by Velocat

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When I try to create a new folder under local folders it does not show up after clicking the create folder button. If I click create folder button again it tells me a folder by that name already exists. So I assume it is creating a new local folder but I can't view them somehow. I am trying to create local folders so I can copy emails from an old pop mail account that I can then transfer to a new computer.

When I try to create a new folder under local folders it does not show up after clicking the create folder button. If I click create folder button again it tells me a folder by that name already exists. So I assume it is creating a new local folder but I can't view them somehow. I am trying to create local folders so I can copy emails from an old pop mail account that I can then transfer to a new computer.

Chosen solution

re :There is only one profile on the new computer. This sounds like the original default one created when you installed Thunderbird.

re: usb drive I used to transfer the data has the Thunderbird folder with two profiles in it.

Access usb drive. Which 'Profile name' folder - 'xxxxxxxx.default' where the x's are letters and numbers, is the same as the one on the old computer? I'm assuming you still have old computer so you can check. If unsure, one of them will be right, so if it does not work first time, you can try the second one.

Make sure Thunderbird is not running on new computer. Paste the usb 'profile name' folder into new computer here - in the 'Profiles' folder: Appdata/Roaming/ Thunderbird/'Profiles' folder

Go up a level to see contents of Appdata/Roaming/ 'Thunderbird' folder. Open the 'profiles.ini' file using Notepad. The line which says something like this: Path=Profiles/abc2d802.default Change the letters and numbers to match the 'profile name' folder you just added. Save the file. Start Thunderbird.

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There is no point moving emails from a pop mail account into 'Local Folders' mail account in order to move emails to another computer. In both instances the emails are stored in mbox files on your computer in the same profile name folder. So rather than be concerned about creating folders, perhaps it would be a good idea to look at what you want to achieve which is puttin emails on new computer.

Could you provide some info so I understand current situation and advise you on how to move old pop emails to new computer.

It is possible to copy the entire old profile and move it to new computer, so Thunderbird uses old profile. But this will remove anything already setup on new computer.

On new computer: Have you installed Thunderbird ? Did you run it once to create a default profile name folder? Have you created any mail accounts and downloaded emails? ...if you answer yes to this last question, then it might be easier to export pop mbox files and then import them into the new 'Local Folders' mail account. Depending upon info you supply, I'll offer advise on how to proceed.

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On old computer I recently created another account since our isp switched from pop to imap.

Two weeks later I installed tbird on the new computer and created an account with the imap server settings and copied the profile folder from the old and placed on the new computer. But the pop account folders are not there.

Emails are downloading fine on both old and new computer so I'm good with starting this account over on the new computer or exporting the pop mbox files, whichever you think is best.

And thank you for the help.

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re:On old computer I recently created another account since our isp switched from pop to imap.

Am I correct in presuming you have both a pop and an imap account for same email address currently on old computer?

re: Two weeks later I installed tbird on the new computer and created an account with the imap server settings and copied the profile folder from the old and placed on the new computer. But the pop account folders are not there.

But what exactly did you copy and where did you put it?

If you Exited Thunderbird on both computers and accessed profile folders on old computer and copied the entire Appdata/Roaming/ 'Thunderbird' folder and then accessed the Appdata/'Roaming' folder on new computer and pasted the 'Thunderbird' folder into the Appdata/'Roaming' folder; in the process you would overwrite the existing Thunderbird folder or deleted it first. In this case you should see exactly the same as the old computer because you are using the identical profile information.

But if you copied the 'profile name' folder - (by default it is called 'xxxxxxxx.default' where the x's are letters and numbers ) and pasted it into the Appdata/Roaming/ Thunderbird/'Profiles' folder, then you will still be running the original default profile name. The 'profiles.ini' file will know nothing about the 'profile name' folder you pasted into the 'Profiles' folder. You will still see the imap account because you created it on new computer in the default profile name folder - they were not removed/overwritten. You will not see the pop mail account because Thunderbird does not know about that pasted in 'profile name' folder. So on new computer, do you have two 'profile name' folders in the Appdata/Roaming/ Thunderbird/'Profiles' folder?

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Yes there was both a pop and an imap account with the same email address on the old computer.

There is only one profile on the new computer.

(The odd thing is the usb drive I used to transfer the data has the Thunderbird folder with two profiles in it. Don’t know how I messed that up but there it is)

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Seçilmiş Həll

re :There is only one profile on the new computer. This sounds like the original default one created when you installed Thunderbird.

re: usb drive I used to transfer the data has the Thunderbird folder with two profiles in it.

Access usb drive. Which 'Profile name' folder - 'xxxxxxxx.default' where the x's are letters and numbers, is the same as the one on the old computer? I'm assuming you still have old computer so you can check. If unsure, one of them will be right, so if it does not work first time, you can try the second one.

Make sure Thunderbird is not running on new computer. Paste the usb 'profile name' folder into new computer here - in the 'Profiles' folder: Appdata/Roaming/ Thunderbird/'Profiles' folder

Go up a level to see contents of Appdata/Roaming/ 'Thunderbird' folder. Open the 'profiles.ini' file using Notepad. The line which says something like this: Path=Profiles/abc2d802.default Change the letters and numbers to match the 'profile name' folder you just added. Save the file. Start Thunderbird.

Modified by Toad-Hall

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The first profile name folder I tried was it. Problem solved. Thank you for the help.