How can I transfer the contents of Local Folders in Thunderbird from one computer to another, if both computers are already running Thunderbird?
On my old (Win XP) computer I had saved hundreds of messages in Local Folders.
I got a new Windows 8.1 computer a few months ago. I installed Thunderbird and have been using it ever since. But I would like to copy the contents of the Local Folders from the old to the new computer.
Is there a way to transfer them on a memory stick and get them loaded into Thunderbird on the new computer?
Solution choisie
Thank you sfhowes. Your instructions were clear and I was successful in moving the messages.
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You would have to close Thunderbird in the destination computer. You cannot edit or change profile files while the application is running.
I don't understand the answer. How can I transfer the messages to Thunderbird in the destination computer if the application is not running?
On the XP computer, select Help/Troubleshooting Information, click Show Folder to open the profile folder in Explorer. Open the Mail subfolder, then the Local Folders subfolder. There, you will see files with the name of your folders, but with no extension. These are the mbox files that contain the messages; copy them to the memory stick.
On the other computer, repeat as above to open the profile folder, exit TB, and copy the mbox files into the Mail/Local Folders directory. Open TB, and you should see the folders under Local Folders.
Solution choisie
Thank you sfhowes. Your instructions were clear and I was successful in moving the messages.