Installing Thunderbird.

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hawke1
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Joined: June 18th, 2015, 12:56 pm

Installing Thunderbird.

Post by hawke1 »

I wish to do a clean install of Windows 7 on my PC.

Can you please confirm steps I have to take to reinstall Thunderbird on my PC after reinstalling Win7.

(1)Use mozbackup to backup a profile and save.
(2)Clean install Win7
(3)Download Thunderbird
(4)Download mozbackup
Do I have to create an account again or do I just restore a profile using mozbackup? (Does mozbackup include account details etc?)

If the version of Thunderbird was to change before restoring a backup would the backup still work?

If you require any more info please let me know.
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DanRaisch
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Re: Installing Thunderbird.

Post by DanRaisch »

1. Note that MozBackup is no longer being developed or supported by the author. I would recommend making the back up in two different ways as there have been reports of issues with MozBackup lately. In addition to the .PCV backup file created by MozBackup, make a manual backup as described in this article -- http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_backu ... he_profile

4a. No, you would not have to create a new email account as the account would still exist on the server of your email provider.
4b. The structure and settings used in Thunderbird's profiles would not change due to a change in the version of the program so there would be no impact if Thunderbird updates between the time of the backup and the restoration.
hawke1
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Joined: June 18th, 2015, 12:56 pm

Re: Installing Thunderbird.

Post by hawke1 »

Thanks Dan.
Can't seem to find profile.
Tried C:\Program Files (x86)/Mozilla Thunderbird/defaults.
All that is showing in defaults is messenger and pref.
(Hidden files and folders are showing)
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LIMPET235
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Re: Installing Thunderbird.

Post by LIMPET235 »

It's easily located via "appdata"...
ref; > http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Thunderbird
[Ancient Amateur Astronomer.]
Win-10-H/64 bit/500G SSD/16 Gig Ram/450Watt PSU/350WattUPS/Firefox-115.0.2/T-bird-115.3.2./SnagIt-v10.0.1/MWP-7.12.125.

(Always choose the "Custom" Install.)
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DanRaisch
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Re: Installing Thunderbird.

Post by DanRaisch »

You're looking in the wrong place. That's the program directory. The profile is stored separately under a different directory structure. For Win 7 that would be C:\Users\<Windows login/user name>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<profile folder>.

The MozillaZine KnowledgeBase indicates that:
The AppData folder is a hidden folder; to show hidden folders, open a Windows Explorer window and choose "Organize → Folder and Search Options → Folder Options → View (tab) → Show hidden files and folders".

You can also use this path to find the profile folder, even when it is hidden: %APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<profile folder>
hawke1
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Joined: June 18th, 2015, 12:56 pm

Re: Installing Thunderbird.

Post by hawke1 »

Dan,

Got it - thanks.
(BTW, should that be Thunderbird and not Firefox between Mozilla and Profiles?)
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DanRaisch
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Re: Installing Thunderbird.

Post by DanRaisch »

Yes, it should. Sorry.
hawke1
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Re: Installing Thunderbird.

Post by hawke1 »

Many thanks Dan.
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DanRaisch
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Re: Installing Thunderbird.

Post by DanRaisch »

You're welcome.
hawke1
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Joined: June 18th, 2015, 12:56 pm

Re: Installing Thunderbird.

Post by hawke1 »

Dan,

A little bit more assistance required if you don't mind.


(1) If I go to C:\users\user name\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\.default profile(consisting of 8 numbers and letters)
I then copy and save the .default folder.

(2) After clean reinstall of Win7, I then download Thunderbird again.
Presumably Thunderbird automatically creates a new .default folder(which will be different to the one I have saved?)

(3) What do I do next??
Go to C:\users\user name\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\.default profile(consisting of 8 numbers and letters) and delete the newly created .default folder?
And then copy and paste the saved profile to where the newly created folder was?

Is it that simple or am I missing something?

Apologies for asking for what is something fairly simple (I just don't want to mess up anything)

Your assistance would be gratefully appreciated.
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DanRaisch
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Re: Installing Thunderbird.

Post by DanRaisch »

It would be that simple except for one detail. When you reinstall Win7 you will likely wind up with a new windows user name. As that name is part of the directory tree in which the Thunderbird profile will reside, you'll want to copy from and paste to a lower level in that tree.

That is, in C:\users\user name\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\ there is a file named profiles.ini which contains the information that Thunderbird uses to locate and use your profiles. When you reinstall TB, that file will be pointing to the NEW profile name and your new Win7 user name. So copy from within the directory \.default, where you will find the files abook.mab, blist.sqlite, directoryTree.json and others, as well as sub-directories named extensions, Mail, ImapMail, etc in the old installation and paste back to that same level in the new profile after reinstalling. That way you will retain the new profiles.ini file which is correctly pointing to the new .default profile.
hawke1
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Joined: June 18th, 2015, 12:56 pm

Re: Installing Thunderbird.

Post by hawke1 »

Dan,

Thanks for that.

When I reinstall I will opt for the same user name i.e. if my existing user name is Dan, then I would use the same user name again.
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DanRaisch
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Re: Installing Thunderbird.

Post by DanRaisch »

You're welcome, and good luck.
hawke1
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Joined: June 18th, 2015, 12:56 pm

Re: Installing Thunderbird.

Post by hawke1 »

Dan,

Are you saying that using the same user name would be OK and that I just carry out as below:

Go to C:\users\user name\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\.default profile(consisting of 8 numbers and letters) and delete the newly created .default folder?
And then copy and paste the saved profile to where the newly created folder was?

Or possibly use mozbackup as a second option?

Regards
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DanRaisch
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Re: Installing Thunderbird.

Post by DanRaisch »

delete the newly created .default folder?
No, one level lower in the directory tree. Leave the newly created xxxxxxxx.default directory but replace it's contents with the contents from the equivalent location from the old profile.
Or possibly use mozbackup as a second option?
I would not recommend using MozBackup. It's no longer being developed or supported. While some folks report it works in their case, others have been having problems with it not picking up all of the accounts in their profile or similar issues.
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