Why does TB freeze when I click account settings? (Going from Bad to Worse!)
A few days ago I posted a question about migrating backup emails in TB. I got some help, but not a definitive answer to my problems. Unfortunately, my wife and I seem to have created an additional problem which has to be resolved before we go back to the file migrating issue. TB now freezes when I attempt to check an account's settings. This may have been caused by our attempt to copy an old email folder (an .sbd file), into my current profile. This is how it went:
We copied one backed up .sbd folder to C:\Users\FF\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\pnp8j2nf.default\Mail\Local Folders We saw no changes in TB.
Then, in TB, we created a folder under Local Folders, giving it the same name as the .sbd we had copied. The contents then became visible in TB.
When I tried to check an account's Settings, TB froze. Restarting TB didn't help. Then we tried to backtrack our previous steps by deleting the newly created folder in TB and the .sbd file in Local Folders. I have rebooted TB and PC, but TB still freezes when we try to check Account Settings.
Thinking that we might have corrupted the Profile, we also re-named the 8 character Profiles .default under C:\Users\FrankF\AppData\Local\Thunderbird\Profiles and C:\Users\FrankF\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles, hoping TB would generate a new Profile, but now TB will not start without the profile.
We are wondering if we should delete profiles.ini or delete its contents to force TB to create a new profile. Any advice on what is causing the freeze and how to correct it? Thanks in advance.
Chosen solution
Apparent victory! I copied my saved files (trrevilc.default) to
C:\Users\FF\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles and edited profiles.ini, changing -
[Profile1] Name=TB fix IsRelative=1 Path=Profiles/kdtnv197.TB fix Default=1
to
[Profile1] Name=PlanetXP IsRelative=1 Path=Profiles/trrevilc.default Default=1
and Voila! my cherished old emails and accounts re-appeared... tho I am having a problem w one email account.
I am still wondering (after I backup C:\Users\FF) how best to delete the other profiles. Suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks again.
Read this answer in context 👍 0All Replies (8)
Maybe you could still use the Mozbackup tool if you have all your original profile folders and files, the ones you backed up.
Make sure the profile you want backed up by MozBackup is at at "C:\Users\"YourUserName"\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird". Then all you'd need is to remove (keep a backup though) that profile currently at "C:\Users\"YourUserName"\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird". Then uninstall and reinstall Thunderbird.
Finally, use MozBackup to restore your backed up profile.
To be specific, by "remove that profile," do you mean to delete file profiles.ini, to delete the contents of file profiles.ini, or to delete the "profiles" folders? Any details you can give would be much appreciated.
What I meant was remove the folder (don't delete it just in case, move it to a different location) located inside C:\Users\"YourUserName"\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles
That's the folder Thunderbird looks at to figure out your data, you'll be restoring that with MozBackup, so it's best if you remove it first.
Make sure that after removing that, you uninstall and reinstall Thunderbird so that the installation will make a fresh profile folder.
MozBackup will take care of the rest when you restore the profile. Once you're done restoring the profile, launch Thunderbird and check if your accounts and folders are OK. If you see anything strange, just exit Thunderbird, wait a little while and then launch it again, that should resolve any hiccups from restoration.
Thanks. Will give it a try after a night's sleep. Zzzzzzzzzzzz
I think edit nothing by hand, copy and modify a shortcut to open the profile manager to select your copied profile.
"...open the profile manager to select your copied profile"
OK, I created a new profile, and was prompted to Start TB... did so and then created an email account... and then the Profile Manager window closed - without any prompt to select anything.
When I go back to Profile Manager and select the newly created profile (TB fix) and open TB, all I see is the one email account I created, not my saved files.
Also, at C:\Users\FF\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird I find profiles.ini which states: [General] StartWithLastProfile=1
[Profile0] Name=default IsRelative=1 Path=Profiles/pnp8j2nf.default
[Profile1] Name=TB fix IsRelative=1 Path=Profiles/kdtnv197.TB fix Default=1
but at C:\Users\FF\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\kdtnv197.TB fix there are just the newly created files.
At C:\Users\FF\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\trrevilc.default is the XP saved files which I am hoping to view at some point.
1. What do I do next? 2. Should I eliminate the space in all iterations of "TB fix"? 3. How can I create a shortcut to Profile Manager?
Modified by ff-indiana
Chosen Solution
Apparent victory! I copied my saved files (trrevilc.default) to
C:\Users\FF\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles and edited profiles.ini, changing -
[Profile1] Name=TB fix IsRelative=1 Path=Profiles/kdtnv197.TB fix Default=1
to
[Profile1] Name=PlanetXP IsRelative=1 Path=Profiles/trrevilc.default Default=1
and Voila! my cherished old emails and accounts re-appeared... tho I am having a problem w one email account.
I am still wondering (after I backup C:\Users\FF) how best to delete the other profiles. Suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks again.
Modified by ff-indiana
I would avoid spaces (and most other non-alphanumerics) in profile names. It may be a legal filename in your operating system, but we can't assume the same for Thunderbird's profile management.
Or to put it another way; I've never seen a profile name generated by Thunderbird that included anything other than letters or numbers, or the period.
Modified by Zenos