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Thunderbird [Can't point to user files on external drive]

Discussion in 'Firefox, Thunderbird & SeaMonkey' started by r.leale, 2009/02/20.

  1. 2009/02/20
    r.leale Lifetime Subscription

    r.leale Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Hi All,

    I have installed Windows 7 Beta on a friends machine, and all is working very well and fast, but there is a problem with Thunderbird at the moment. I have the old Thunderbird file backed up to an external HD where there is a Profiles folder, a profiles config file, and a registry dat file, which is all I think that there should be.
    The problem is that I cannot get the new Thunderbird installation on 7 to point to these files, so that the mail and the address book can't be read.
    I have tried putting the old Thunderbird folder into the program folder on 7 and removing the new one, but that doesn't work. It is not a major loss of info just an inconvenience, fortunately.
    Has anybody else tried, successfully, to pull this off? There must surely be a way to get this data to the new T'bird, and any help would be gratefully accepted.

    Roger:(
     
  2. 2009/02/20
    BirdieBob

    BirdieBob Well-Known Member

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    The easiest road to follow is to create a new profile under Windows 7, then copy-in the files you want to carry forward from the old profile. The registry.dat and profiles.congif files will be constructed in the new profile and don't need to be carried forward. This guide should help:


    For the mail, copy everything under the Mail> Local Folders and Mail> POP Folders to the corresponding folders in the new profile with the exception of .msf folders and contents (containing sent messages). Select "yes to all" to overide new folders with those being copied from the old profile.
     
    Last edited: 2009/02/20

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  4. 2009/02/20
    Westside

    Westside Inactive Alumni

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    BirdieBob's suggestion is right on. I don't have any idea what Windows7 would do with the profile files, but I can't think of any OS which would allow to, simply, cut and paste the folder, and allow the Program to point there, without creating a new Profile.
    Since we are dealing with uncharted waters with a new OS, it is not possible to draw conclusions. I am forced to use Win98SE, while my computer is in the shop, and I am experiencing all sorts of incompatibility problems. This is looking to the past. Why not the future?
     
  5. 2009/02/21
    r.leale Lifetime Subscription

    r.leale Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    I must be doing something wrong again! It is complicated by the different placement of profiles in Windows 7 I think.
    Attached is the Thunderbird folder in 7: Capture.PNG but T'bird still opens as a virgin. Are the History and Address files in the wrong places?

    Roger
     
  6. 2009/02/21
    BirdieBob

    BirdieBob Well-Known Member

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    Other than the Extentions and the .mab files, I don't recognize the other profile content as TB. My guess is you've got an incompatibility issue between TB and Win 7.
     
  7. 2009/02/22
    Ramona

    Ramona Geek Member Alumni

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    Roger,

    The screen shot shows the C:\Program Files Mozilla Thunderbird folder.

    In Windows 7, did you unhide System files? If the directory structure is similar to, or the same as Windows Vista, the Profile folder should be located here: C:\Users\\Application Data\Roaming\Mozilla\Profiles
     
  8. 2009/02/23
    r.leale Lifetime Subscription

    r.leale Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Hi Ramona,

    I'm still exploring Windows 7 at the moment, and I'm very impressed with it. However, the file structure is quite different it seems, there is no App Data folder in Users\xxnamexx\ for example.
    I convinced my friend that his e-mail history was not too important, and anyway most of it was still available on the server, installed Thunderbird, and it is working normally for him as a virgin install being set-up from scratch.

    Roger
     
  9. 2009/02/24
    Ramona

    Ramona Geek Member Alumni

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    Roger,

    To find the Profiles folder for Thunderbird, do a search for any files contained in Thunderbird, e.g., panacea.dat, or persdict.dat, etc.

    EDIT: 3:25 p.m.

    You can also check the server settings to see the Profile location:
    Tools | Account Settings | Server Settings
    Scroll down to "Local directory" to see the path to the Profile
     
  10. 2009/02/24
    captjlddavis

    captjlddavis Well-Known Member

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    Ramona's info is right on.....Another option:

    1. With TB open and running.
    2. Select the an account "inbox" in the left panel.
    3. Right click - select "copy folder location "
    4. Open Notepad or other plain text editor. Paste.......
    You should get something like:

    mailbox:/C|/Documents and Settings/User/Application Data/Thunderbird/Profiles/kcepch0l.TB_2.0/Mail/mail.isp.com/Inbox

    kcepch0l.TB_2.0= the PROFILE
    mail.isp.com=corresponding mail folder...(mail.isp.com, mail.isp.com-1,mail.isp.com-2 etc.....)


    This is the pathe to the mail.folder for that account (also WHICH mail.isp.com)- regardless of where you may have set it up
    (incase you MOVED it from the default location)

    From here you can move(copy) from any backup you may have.

    HTH

    regards:captjlddavis
     

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