How to copy all Thunderbird profile info from one computer or backup to another computer or same computer after a reinstall of OS.

Full info already in the Help articles. Link here:

• https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/moving-thunderbird-data-to-a-new-computer

RE Backup copy:

• C:\Users\Morten\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\t9iu1a9l.default\Mail

Copy the 'Thunderbird' folder as it has everything in it.

On new computer: Make sure Thunderbird is not running. Access:

• C:\Users\Morten\AppData\Roaming folder.
• The 'Roaming' folder may have a 'Thunderbird' folder if you have just installed Thunderbird.
• Delete that default 'Thunderbird' folder.
• Paste into the 'Roaming' folder your backup copy of 'Thunderbird' folder.
• start Thunderbird.

If you have already installed Thunderbird and created mail accounts and downloaded new emails into it, you may only want import specific mbox files contaiing emails.

backup copy: C:\Users\Morten\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\t9iu1a9l.default\Mail folder

the 'Mail' folder holds your pop mail accounts and also 'Local Folders' mail account. Each account would have mbox files containing emails. mbox files do not have any extension and they have the same name as the folder which you would see in the Folder Pane in Thunderbird.

You can import those backup mbox files into the new mail accounts, but I suggest you do not over write current mbox files. eg: create a folder called 'oldInbox' and import the old Inbox mbox file into that folder instead. You can move emails later for organising. Or import them into 'Local Folders' where you can create a new folder for receiving them.

The best way to import those mbox files is to use an addon extension called 'ImportExportTools:

• https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-US/thunderbird/addon/importexporttools/

How to install an addon:

• https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/installing-addon-thunderbird

It does not work, but what is more alarming is, that not even a hard copy are able to do a satisfactionally copy. Many of the files turned up empty, when examined them with notepad. I should think that you have a problem leaving the user's left befind with no solution. I shoud think that the least You could do is to let the user's export their mail's to outlook and agin import them from. I have lost 5 year's of backup with login and password's etc. That is not very satisfactory. Sorry to say it.

re : Many of the files turned up empty, when examined them with notepad.

Are they empty in the original backup copy?

re :It does not work I told you two methods. Are you talking about 1) Copy pasting the entire Thunderbird folder or 2) using an addon extension to import mbox files? Both methods work perfectly well, but that is assuming your backup copy is also in perfect order.

re :I should think that you have a problem leaving the user's left befind with no solution. All backups are the responsibility of the user. Everyone is responsible for their own computer and their own emails.

If I lost emails on my computer, I would not be blaming you. I could have lost them because the computer crashed completely whilst I had files open. So I lost the files. An Anti-Virus program could have tried to fix something and ended up messing up the file, so I lost emails. I should not have let any AV product try to fix anything in Thunderbird. I could have deleted them off the server via a phone and then wondered why all my emails had disppeared from an imap mail account in Thunderbird. I had deleted them. I might not have compacted folders on a regular basis to keep file structure healthy, so file became unknowlingly corrupted and then I tried to compact that corrupted file and lost emails. The list of potential things that could go wrong is endless.

Sometimes it down to the user, sometimes it is the fault of a OS crash etc. That's why people make regular backups.

Have you made more than one backup in the last five years ?

You mention Windows crashing - tideus widows crash. Did the Windows Operating System crash or only Thunderbird crash ?

Windows not only crashed my keyboard input but also destroyed the keyboard itself. So I was left behind with the mouse alone. So I had only the option to take as much hardcopy as possible. So I could only take a hardcopy as mentioned above. But that windows did not take a copy of all the files are perhaps not your responsible, but Thunderbird aught at least give the user the option to to take a backup from some sort of a drop-down menu in the "Files", and not an add-on. Do not leave the user left behind in an impossible situation. Leave that politic to Microsoft, alone. You should not take part in that. br morten

Windows OS crashing can effect any files that are open at the time of the crash, not just Thunderbird files.

You can setup a schedule to perform a backup of folders, but you would need to make sure Thunderbird was not running whilst this occurred.

Alternative, which I do. Purchase an external disk drive and perform a backup of all important folders on your computer, so you have a backup of all documents, images, gaming profiles and the 'Roaming' / 'Thunderbird' folder. Then once a month, backup Thunderbird folder and any other folder that has had important information stored.

Using a mouse is perfectly ok.

Currently, in Thunderbird, you can already save emails as .eml files to anywhere on your computer or external drive or the cloud etc etc. You can also already export any address book and save to anywhere you choose in a variety of formats.

In Thunderbird Help > TRoubleshooting Information > 'Open Folder' button already gives you access to your 'profile name' folder. Exit Thunderbird. then go up the levels in directory and copy paste the Thunderbird folder to a suitable location as a backup. This is a simple quick backup of everything contained therein.

As you mention, the addon extension 'ImportExportTools' also offers a means of exporting emails in variety of formats including mbox files. There is also a means of backing up the 'profile name' folder.

re :Do not leave the user left behind in an impossible situation. In your case, it sounds as if you have not been doing any exports of emails or address books nor backups of any kind until after a crash had occured. It would have been futile trying to backup something that had already gone. These backups would be used in the event of your OS or Thunderbird failing or even a user error, people do accidentally delete stuff. Thunderbird did not leave the user (you) in an impossible situation; you have possibly left yourself in an impossible situation.

I can appreciate you are feeling not particulary happy about the situation, but the blame is not Thunderbird.

I did ask if the backup copy itself contained empty files, I'm assuming that is what occurred and it was due to Windows OS crashing and causing damage to open files.

I'm still not sure what if anything you managed to backup. Did you copy the 'Thunderbird' folder or just the 'Mail' folder?

You mention the 'Mail' folder. Open the backup 'Mail Folder. It should have a list of pop mail accounts and Local Folders. Do you see them ? click on a pop mail account name folder to see contents. Make sure the 'Size' column header is visible. Post an image, so the forum can see what is still in the pop mail account.

If you stored emails in 'Local Folders' mail account. Open that folder, enable the 'Size' column header and post an image.

Can you please tell the forum which method you used to merge into new installaton: 1) Did you Copy and pasting the entire backup Thunderbird folder ? 2) Did you use ImportExportTools addon extension to import mbox files? Note: You would only use 2) if you had installed Thunderbird and already created fresh pop mail accounts.