No Address book with V 102

[WV-Mike]

I installed v 102 and then moved my profile folder to the new install.
All the mail was moved but not the address book.
I imported the address book via csv file.
When I start a new message no suggested email addresses are generated.

And the search does not work in an email form if I choose to show the address book.

WV-Mike

[tanstaafl]

Version 78 replaced *.mab files with *.sqlite files to store the address books.

Check that "local address books" is checked in tools -> settings -> composition -> addressing

Which search method are you having problems with? Thunderbird has several built-in ways to search for text in messages:

Global Search (Ctrl+K)
Quick Filter bar (Ctrl+Shift+K)
Classic Search (Ctrl+Shift+F)
Open Search (right click on selected text in a message, and use Bing etc. to display the search results in a browser tab)

[WV-Mike]

I decided to backtrack to the same version as my other laptop: 68.12.1

However when I move my profile to the new install I get an error message it cannot be found.

I deleted the profile which the new install created and moved my profile to that folder.
Here are screen shots.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/oZbueBtT7SVfhqGX9

I have done this many time before but never had this problem.

I am about ready to ditch Tbird as it is getting to be a PITA to work with.

Thanks,
WV-Mike

[WV-Mike]

I just noticed there are profiles in two locations.
See the screen shots.
Thanks,
WV-Mike

[tanstaafl]

Thunderbird uses the profiles.ini file at %APPDATA%\Thunderbird to specify what profiles exist. If I type that string in my windows start search field it takes me to: C:\Users\Eric\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird .

In your case C:\Users\vw-mike\Appdata\Roaming\Thunderbrid appears to be the correct one. Ignore the one in ..\local\thunderbird, that is basically just a couple of caches, its not a real profile. Blame the confusion on the Firefox developers.

I suggest you:

1. Go to help -> more troubleshooting information
2. Click on the about:profiles link near the bottom of the Application Basics section. That brings up the profile manager.
3. Find the default profile and click on the Open Folder button for its root directory. That should bring up Windows Explorer, displaying your current profile
4. Copy the contents of the profile you want to use over that, but not the actual profile directory. If your old profile was in a xyz directory and you see a xyz child directory you made a mistake.
5. Restart Thunderbird

Thunderbird added a dedicated profile per installation feature in version 78. Another feature due to the Firefox developers. That changed the format of the profiles.ini file used to specify where profiles are, and adds a hash code of the installation directory location. If you use a version of Thunderbird installed in a different location than what the hash code says with that profile it makes Thunderbird display a confusing error message stating you are using the wrong version of Thunderbird.

If that happens go to the about:profiles link and press the "set as default profile" button underneath the profile you want to use.

Moving profiles was much simpler before they added that feature. Nowadays its simplest to copy the profile over the existing default profile (what I tried to describe above), or use the Create a new profile button in that profile manager, and then copy the desired profile over it. Don't try to move a profile anymore by editing profiles.ini to point to it.

[WV-Mike]

Thunderbird uses the profiles.ini file at %APPDATA%\Thunderbird to specify what profiles exist. If I type that string in my windows start search field it takes me to: C:\Users\Eric\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird .

In your case C:\Users\vw-mike\Appdata\Roaming\Thunderbrid appears to be the correct one. Ignore the one in ..\local\thunderbird, that is basically just a couple of caches, its not a real profile. Blame the confusion on the Firefox developers.

As you can see from this screen shot the profile is in the correct folder.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/e9kLGQCRLzvLsqMKA
But, I still get and error message the profile cannot be found.

I don't know what is going on. I have never encountered this problem before.

I just uninstalled and reinstalled Tbird and I still get the same error message.
Thanks,
WV-Mike

I suggest you:

1. Go to help -> more troubleshooting information
2. Click on the about:profiles link near the bottom of the Application Basics section. That brings up the profile manager.
3. Find the default profile and click on the Open Folder button for its root directory. That should bring up Windows Explorer, displaying your current profile
4. Copy the contents of the profile you want to use over that, but not the actual profile directory. If your old profile was in a xyz directory and you see a xyz child directory you made a mistake.
5. Restart Thunderbird

Thunderbird added a dedicated profile per installation feature in version 78. Another feature due to the Firefox developers. That changed the format of the profiles.ini file used to specify where profiles are, and adds a hash code of the installation directory location. If you use a version of Thunderbird installed in a different location than what the hash code says with that profile it makes Thunderbird display a confusing error message stating you are using the wrong version of Thunderbird.

If that happens go to the about:profiles link and press the "set as default profile" button underneath the profile you want to use.

Moving profiles was much simpler before they added that feature. Nowadays its simplest to copy the profile over the existing default profile (what I tried to describe above), or use the Create a new profile button in that profile manager, and then copy the desired profile over it. Don't try to move a profile anymore by editing profiles.ini to point to it.

[tanstaafl]

That screen shot just tells me that a profile exists. Says nothing about whether profiles.ini and/or Thunderbird knows about it.

Thunderbird doesn't "discover" profiles. If it doesn't already know about one you have to either explicitly tell it to add one or replace the contents of one it knows about with another profiles contents.

[WV-Mike]

That screen shot just tells me that a profile exists. Says nothing about whether profiles.ini and/or Thunderbird knows about it.

Thunderbird doesn't "discover" profiles. If it doesn't already know about one you have to either explicitly tell it to add one or replace the contents of one it knows about with another profiles contents.

What I don't understand is why with a *new* install I still get an error message the profile cannot be found. Tbird will not even launch.
Does Tbird not create a default profile when it installs?

Thanks,
WV-Mike

[tanstaafl]

Thunderbird doesn't create a profile when it installs. However, the first time you run Thunderbird if there is no profiles.ini it creates a profiles.ini, creates a profile with default values , registers it in profiles.ini, and launches the new account wizard to customize the profile.

If Thunderbird won't launch perhaps the profiles.ini file is corrupted. Try deleting it. If you had edited it to move a profile like you used to be able to that could have corrupted it.

[WV-Mike]

Thunderbird doesn't create a profile when it installs. However, the first time you run Thunderbird if there is no profiles.ini it creates a profiles.ini, creates a profile with default values , registers it in profiles.ini, and launches the new account wizard to customize the profile.

If Thunderbird won't launch perhaps the profiles.ini file is corrupted. Try deleting it. If you had edited it to move a profile like you used to be able to that could have corrupted it.

I deleted the ini file and Tbird launched to the Set up account dialog.

I then closed Tbird and edited the ini file to use my profile name.
When I re started I still got the Set up account dialog.


[Install8216C80C92C4E828]
Default=Profiles/45faifav.default-release
Locked=1

[Profile1]
Name=default
IsRelative=1
CHANGED: Path=Profiles/ns1jf8ce.default
Default=1

[Profile0]
Name=default-release
IsRelative=1
Path=Profiles/45faifav.default-release

[General]
StartWithLastProfile=1
Version=2

[tanstaafl]

Don't edit profiles.ini. That doesn't seem to work reliably anymore. Delete the profiles.ini file, run Thunderbird, abort the new account wizard, find where the new (incomplete useless) profile it created is, and copy the contents of the profile you want to use over it.

[WV-Mike]

Don't edit profiles.ini. That doesn't seem to work reliably anymore. Delete the profiles.ini file, run Thunderbird, abort the new account wizard, find where the new (incomplete useless) profile it created is, and copy the contents of the profile you want to use over it.

I followed your instructions exactly and every time I start Tbird a new ini file is created and a new profile is created.

I repeatedly deleted the ini and every time a new one is created which points to the new profile.
If I move my profile contents into the newly created profile it then creates a new profile.

I have never had this problem for before.
I have been doing this for years and it is always just a matter of replacing the profile and all was well.
I can't take this any further.
I had hoped to take the much smaller and lighter laptop with me like I always do but until Tbird works I cannot do that.

Thanks for your time and patience.
WV-Mike

[tanstaafl]

I suspect the problem is in "If I move my profile contents into the newly created profile it then creates a new profile."

Try again, but this time just copy and paste the prefs.js file from your old profile over the existing prefs.js file. Don't try to copy anything else.

That will tell it how to use your accounts. You'll still get prompted for a password, won't have your old downloaded mail or old address books but its not meant as a solution. Its just a quick troubleshooting step.

[WV-Mike]

I suspect the problem is in "If I move my profile contents into the newly created profile it then creates a new profile."

Try again, but this time just copy and paste the prefs.js file from your old profile over the existing prefs.js file. Don't try to copy anything else.

That will tell it how to use your accounts. You'll still get prompted for a password, won't have your old downloaded mail or old address books but its not meant as a solution. Its just a quick troubleshooting step.

This will have to be put aside for now as the laptop I was working in with is on the other side of the US.
I will be planning on revisiting this April of 2023 so you are not rid of me yet.

Thanks,
WV-Mike

[WV-Mike]

Greetings,
I was able to get my mail moved over to another machine but not my address book.
I checked and it was set for "Local Address Books" but there were no entries.

I exported my original as a CSV and imported into the new install and all the entries are there.

Thanks to all for the help with this.

WV-Mike