Upgrade from 2.0.0.24

User Help for Mozilla Thunderbird
Post Reply
opti1
Posts: 8
Joined: November 15th, 2015, 6:50 pm

Upgrade from 2.0.0.24

Post by opti1 »

Cross posting with Mozilla support forum because no replies there . . . :(

(Note: I have read multiple articles and responses to questions similar to mine. I am seeking clarification of some conflicting information. Thanks!)

Please see post https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1103061 at Mozilla Thunderbird support forum for my referrals back to it.

I am running Win7 Home Premium SP1.

I finally am ready to follow in claybusting's footsteps, but it is two years farther along and I am planning to upgrade to v52.9.1 (as I have read recommended elsewhere) and then to v64.

Is Matt's process, marked as the chosen solution in the above linked post, still the preferred method for upgrading?

I.e., is it still recommended to upgrade to the intermediate v5 and then v12 (to accommodate changes in the structure of the profile file, as I understand it) before upgrading to v52?

I was planning to upgrade directly from v2.0.0.24 to v52.

Any other tips before I proceed with this upgrade?

Thanks!
User avatar
tanstaafl
Moderator
Posts: 49647
Joined: July 30th, 2003, 5:06 pm

Re: Upgrade from 2.0.0.24

Post by tanstaafl »

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Update_an_obs ... hunderbird
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Files_and_fol ... hunderbird
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Go_back_to_an ... hunderbird

"Is Matt's process, marked as the chosen solution in the above linked post, still the preferred method for upgrading?"

No. The multiple intermediate steps aren't worth the hassle unless you have dozens of accounts. It's simpler and less risky to write down your passwords instead, go directly to 52.9.1, and enter them when prompted (plus check the checkbox to save the password) by 52.9.1.

The main changes in the profile are passwords are stored in different files. Most of the changes you will run into are in the user interface (even the spacing between lines in a folder listing have changed slightly), what add-ons are supported, and the Lightning add-on is bundled. How your downloaded mail, address books and settings are stored shouldn't be an issue. There used to be built-in support in some of the older versions for doing some conversion from version 2 but realistically there have been so many changes made IMHO its useless to use any of the intermediate versions you really need to have it convert how your passwords are stored for you.

I suggest you backup the profile, write down your passwords, uninstall the current version and install 52.9.1. Then stick with it for a good while so that you can enjoy the many add-ons available (disable the automatic updating of Thunderbird). I'd also install the CustomizeMyBird add-on to make it easier to tweak the look and feel of the user interface.

http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/thunderbird/ ... 2/en-US/is the setup program for the en-us Windows version of Thunderbird 52.9.1.

If you've been using 2.0.0.24 this long without many malware problems I see no need to upgrade to 60.* and later until the add-on situation becomes less chaotic. The party line is to ALWAYS upgrade to the latest version for security. However, the security advisories in https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/security/ ... underbird/ are really describing potential security threats. While in general its a good idea to encourage upgrading to the latest version I haven't seen any evidence that those potential threats are a significant risk in real life for most Thunderbird users. We have a much smaller attack space than a browser, don't have a significant market share (compared to Outlook, webmail, smartphone apps etc.) and its much more economical for an attacker to rely upon malware in attachments etc. Many of the security advisories start off with "In general, these flaws cannot be exploited through email in the Thunderbird product because scripting is disabled when reading mail, but are potentially risks in browser or browser-like contexts." My impression is that the caveats vary from release to release, but its common for many of the flaws not to effect mainstream users.

Version 60.* breaks many add-ons and its going to get worse before it gets better. Thunderbird is going to keep support for legacy add-ons but with 60.* and later many will break and many others will need either minor code changes or some editing of the manifest file in the *.xpi file. Thunderbird is adopting support for WebExtension APIs but few of them are mail-centric and they don't have a design for a new API yet. Instead they are encouraging add-on authors to add WebExtensions APIs to their add-on, and later on have developers review the APIs, improve them as needed, and then merge that add-on code into Thunderbird. That means there is going to be a lot of chaos for a while. That is why I suggest you install 52.9.1 and then wait several major versions before upgrading.
opti1
Posts: 8
Joined: November 15th, 2015, 6:50 pm

Re: Upgrade from 2.0.0.24

Post by opti1 »

@tanstaafl

Wow. Thanks for that comprehensive and informative reply. That falls in line with what I was planning to do so nice to have your validation for that.

I already had bookmarked all three of the links you provided. :)

When you refer to passwords are you speaking of the passwords used to log on to email accounts, like my ISP email password? Because I only have one such account and password.

I haven't used any add-ons with v2.0.0.24 (although you recommend CustomizeMyBird for 52.9.1) but as you probably noticed I'm not an early adopter anyhow, so sticking with v52.9.1 for a while until v60+ settles down is not a problem.

Thanks again for your great reply.
User avatar
tanstaafl
Moderator
Posts: 49647
Joined: July 30th, 2003, 5:06 pm

Re: Upgrade from 2.0.0.24

Post by tanstaafl »

"When you refer to passwords are you speaking of the passwords used to log on to email accounts, like my ISP email password?"

Yes.
opti1
Posts: 8
Joined: November 15th, 2015, 6:50 pm

Re: Upgrade from 2.0.0.24

Post by opti1 »

Thanks!
Post Reply