Profile Manager missing?

[jonathan7007]

Searching here raised no solution.

I had to switch data disks in my laptop. I need to point TB (up to date) to the copied profile in a new location. I quit TB and I forced the end of the process in the Task Manager. Every combination of the strings for launching the profile manager do not work. (-P, -profilemanager)

I get the error message, "Your Thunderbird profile cannot be loaded. It may be missing or inaccessible."

If the old disk is attached as an external the old profile will load. I have already moved the old profile folder to a folder on a mSATA disk on the laptop, and I need to keep the profile there going forward.

What other steps can I take?

[tanstaafl]

That sounds like your profiles.ini file on the boot drive is corrupt or has a invalid entry. If that occurs it will not launch the profile manager. Thunderbird does not tolerate any errors in profiles.ini, even for profiles that you want to ignore.

See http://kb.mozillazine.org/Running_from_ ... hunderbird for how to temporarily bypass the profiles.ini file and verify your profile is good. Ignore the fact the title mentions USB drive.

See http://kb.mozillazine.org/Moving_your_p ... hunderbird for how to tell Thunderbird where your profile is, especially the "Nothing you do works" section.

[jonathan7007]

Thank you for your response and suggestions. I read the pages and tried many ways to boot to Thunderbird so I can "move the profile". I could not get that to work (was careful with syntax and spelling) so went into the Profile.ini file to edit it in Notepad as needed.
This is what it showed after I changed the the file:
[General]
StartWithLastProfile=1

[Profile0]
Name=JR
IsRelative=0
Path=F:\"Thunderbird\Profiles\y7ui0x8o.default"
Default=1

...where F:\ is an mSATA drive I decided to use for profile storage to get quick responses from Thunderbird. (I had to change the location in any event.)

Trying to run my usual TB .exe with the new profile.ini syntax didn't allow TB to launch at all, telling me the same error message quoted above.

I did install TB Portable to my laptop as per one of the pages but the writer doesn't tell us if that is installed just to provide a working path to an un-corrupted profile manager, or as an alternative everyday e-mail client. For example: if I run the portable version and manage to officially locate the old profile, can I "move" the old profile with the portable version and have that profile recognized by the desktop client?

So I typed this into the run box:
ThunderbirdPortable.exe -profilemanager

However this didn't open the profile manager. Double clicking the portable version doesn't find the old profile, either, but it does run and offers to start building a new profile. My frustration is that running the desktop version will not open anything.

Perhaps my next step is to uninstall and re-install Thunderbird. Then a new profile will have to have old folders saved back into it.

If I give up and rebuild, all my IMAP mail should re-appear, right?

[tanstaafl]

The portable version of Thunderbird doesn't support the profile manager since its meant for roaming users who don't want to install anything on the current PC. The suggestion to use Portable Thunderbird was merely to verify the profile was good, not to use it for everyday use.

Uninstalling does not delete the profile.

Why didn't you follow the instructions in the the "Nothing you do works" section? Its meant to cover the situation where somebody messed up the profiles.ini file etc.

[jonathan7007]

Thanks again for a response.

When you re-build a profile either by 1. Starting over setting up existing accounts, or, 2. copying all the elements of the previous profile into the new folder, will all previous IMAP messages flow in from outside servers at my ISP and mail services?

I was hoping I'd "corrected" the statements in the profiles.ini as seen in the post above.

I will follow the process in the "last resort" paragraph using a late December profile on a different computer (have been executing a complicated move 3,000 miles from mid-Pacific to the US mainland.) I don't know why the more recent one on my laptop's C drive isn't complete and working. I only changed a data drive.

[tanstaafl]

"When you re-build a profile either by 1. Starting over setting up existing accounts, or, 2. copying all the elements of the previous profile into the new folder, will all previous IMAP messages flow in from outside servers at my ISP and mail services?"

Yes.

[jonathan7007]

Thanks! I know that is the design intent of IMAP message configuration but it was too important not to confirm. I know how to proceed.

Thank you for long-time service answering so many people's questions when they need the help.

jonathan7007