multiple FF profiles on one computer?

I'm trying to work my way through the instructions at the Mozillazine site (and using Christer's instructions in http://windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?t=48368&page=1&pp=15) on how to transfer my FF and TB profiles from my old computer to my new one, something that probably wouldn't seem so threatening/complicated to me if everything were just going to the usual default sites... But I've partitioned my drive so that the OS & programs are on C:, and data on D:, and there will be two users on the new computer.
I think all I need to actually move from their defaults on C: are my profile folders for FF and TB - guess I'll find out shortly if that is indeed the case.
I'm the only user who'll be using Thunderbird, but both users will be using Firefox. What I'm wondering now is whether each user can have a separate profile, and if so, how would I go about doing this? Do I log in as user #2 and create a new profile? Assuming I store the new profile in D:\Gary\Mozilla\Firefox, will the computer/Firefox know to use Gary's profile when he's logged in as the user, and my profile when I'm logged in as the user?
I've created the following folder for myself: D:\Rebecca\Mozilla\Firefox
Do I move my profile from the old computer into that folder (Hostperm is the only file that shows up in that folder right now - there's no existing profile folder), or do I create a new folder in D:\Rebecca\Firefox profile?
How about with TB? My D:\Rebecca\Mozilla\Thunderbird folder has 5 sbd folders in it(drafts, inbox, sent, trash, unsent - there's nothing in them yet), but again, no profile folder per se.
Or should the profile folders remain on the C: drive?
Sorry if I sound so disorganized - every time I think of one question, there seem to be other underlying ones I need to address first!

 

Rebecca,

I don't run Windows XP, so you must rely on other users on this Forum for XP advice.

There is really no reason to remove the Profiles folder from the C:\ drive, unless you just don't like it there.

Since you are the only user of Thunderbird, then only one Desktop Icon is needed. However, if you and Gary will both be using Firefox, then you will want to create a new Profile for Gary. Don't use "Default User" as the name, but give the Profile a significant name that is easy to remember.

Once you have created his Profile, then create a second Desktop Icon for Firefox. Rename the icon with his Name, e.g., Firefox-Gary. Then right click the Desktop Icon, select Properties, and click on the Shortcut Tab.

To the target line add one space followed by -p Gary. It will be similar to this:
"C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" -p gary -quiet
The -quiet will eliminate the splash screen, so you may not wish to use it.

Now you can determine which Profile to use. You will also need to rename your Desktop Icon, and add -p rebecca, renaming the icon to Firefox-Rebecca.

This is how I would do the moving from one PC to the other:

When you copy the Profile from the old PC, copy the entire Firefox folder, located in: <path>\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox

In Profile Manager, create a Profile with the same name as the one on the old PC. It will have a slightly different name as the one on the old PC, as each new Profile has random characters. E.G., your old PC profile may be named: 12bcd456.rebecca, and the new rebecca Profile may be named 654dcb21.rebecca.

Once you have created the "rebecca" profile on the new PC:
Rename the new Firefox folder (<path>\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox) to: XFirefox

Now copy the old PC Firefox folder to the Mozilla folder

Next:
Change the name of the old PC profile to that of the new rebecca Profile: From 12bcd456.rebecca, to 654dcb21.rebecca, which is the newly created profile.

Open Firefox, and everything should be in place.

 

Yep, I not only received your PM, I went ahead and did everything you said.
What I wasn't sure about was the actual "profile" folders, because those are where the bookmarks (FF) and address book (TB) are stored. When I created the Mozilla\Firefox folder for myself, is my FF profile folder going to go into that, or will Mozilla\Firefox actually be my profiles folder?

 

I created the Temp\FF and Temp\TB folders (I'm just doing this part for Rebecca - my rationale being that Gary doesn't use TB, and the few bookmarks he had on the old computer, I'll enter by hand on this one. So he's starting with a clean slate profile on the new computer).

You're talking about the "profile" I already created using the instructions in your PM, right?

By "whole contents" you just mean the contents of my old profile folder, not the contents of the whole FF folder, right?
I may just be confusing myself here, but FF has a "Profiles" folder, within which is my "personal" default Profile folder (on the old computer). The contents of my personal default profile folder (as opposed to the Profiles folder that contains it) is what I'll be transferring into Rebecca\Mozilla\Firefox, is that right?

 

From the Firefox link you provided above:

2. Move the profile folder to the desired location. For example, on Windows, move the profile from C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\xxxxxxxx.default to D:\Stuff\MyProfile (in my case, D:\Rebecca\Mozilla\Firefox?).
3. Open up profiles.ini in a text editor. The file is located in the application data folder for Firefox:
* On Windows XP/2000, the path is %AppData%\Mozilla\Firefox\
* On Windows 95/98/Me, the path is usually C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\
4. In profiles.ini, locate the entry for the profile you've just moved. Change the Path= line to the new location.
5. Change IsRelative=1 to IsRelative=0.
6. Save profiles.ini and restart Firefox.​

In your opinion, should I do the profiles.ini bit that they suggest, or just go the copy and paste route you described earlier?

 

It took a few runs with TB, but I finally at least got my old email in place! No luck with my address book, though. I can import my old address book the "regular" way (export/import), but that way it defaults to a secondary address book. If I can get it to load as the main address book, I'd rather do it that way.
What I have to do to get my mail to transfer properly is to click on my old TB Profile folder, open the "Mail" folder, open the "Local folders" folder, and transfer the contents of that into D:\Rebecca\Mozilla\Thunderbird. "abook.mab ", which is the address book in my old profile, is located in the Profile folder (as a file at the same "hierarchical level" as the "Mail" folder). When I try copying abook.mab into D:\Rebecca\Mozilla\Thunderbird, it shows up as a subfolder called "abook.mab ", along with my other mail subfolders.
I've been trying to attach a snapshot to make it clearer, but I keep getting the message that the file is too big (??).

 

No luck with FF, either. Even with all the contents of my old profile moved into D:\Rebecca\Mozilla\Firefox, none of my old stuff shows up (well, bookmarks in particular - that's really the only way I know to check).

 

Just for the record, the original contents of D:\Rebecca\Mozilla\Firefox on this computer (which I moved to my temp folder) was a single file: hostperm.1
The original contents of D:\Rebecca\Mozilla\Thunderbird consisted of 5 folders (all empty): drafts.sbd, inbox.sbd, sent.sbd, trash.sbd, unsent messages.sbd.

 

I would not be able to test any of the above ideas, because I have only one drive. However, I had two drives in my old Win98 computer. I had it till the hard drive dies on me, about 18 mo.ago. Not as a necessity, but as a test, I installed a Netscape6.x or 7.0x, and then created a profile, which was located in the same drive. I used the Profile Manager by-pass , and was able to open my Netscape with the intended profile. I did no moving of profiles, nor editing of the profile.ini file. I don't know if the situation is the same for Netscape and Mozilla as for Firefox, but
After I created my new generic profile in the D drive, I copied and pasted all the necessary files. I had set up a single account, which worked fine, and I had exported the address book as a .ldif file, and then imported the address book from the Netscape address book.
Even now, with multiple profiles for both Firefox and Thunderbird, I use the by-pass with only the name I have chosen. The program attaches the .slt and the numbers which are not required for identification.
I just hope that you did move the folders, because, if things don't work, you have lost everything.
I don't believe in being greedy, and try to do everything at once. I have been burnt before, so, I prefer to do one thing at a time.

 

Hey, I'm not blaming you for anything! I still have my profiles saved from my old system, and I'm pretty sure I'll eventually get things figured out - you've gotten me way further much faster than I would've gotten on my own!
My original "profiles" folders have all the same contents as shown in your attachments (how come I can't attach files? My image was much smaller than yours!). The fact that the contents of D:\Rebecca\Mozilla\TB and FF were so limited on this new computer to begin with made me realize that not everything I needed was "directed" here when I attempted to follow the instructions you posted.
I'll read more at Mozillazine and see about maybe actually moving the location of my profiles according to their instructions... but I'll wait another day or two for that. I want to go out and enjoy our fresh snowfall before it gets dark!
Thanks again for everything, and I'll keep you posted!

 

My original profiles are safe (on my old computer in their default location and in a backup folder, as well as on my external hard drive and on the desktop of my new computer), so I'm not worried about losing any "crucial" data in that respect - which is why I'm total willing to keep trying anything that might ultimately work.
Thanks, Westside, for the input, which I will look into. I also remembered this morning that Ramona had made a suggestion early in the thread. For the moment, though, as long as Christer's still willing to continue with me on this (since he's solved every other issue for me thus far! ), I'm going to try to work things out his way a little longer.

Christer, in C:\Documents and Settings\Rebecca\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profile, I have all the standard stuff that should be there: Profiles\xxx.default, containing chrome, extensions and Mail folders. The Mail folder itself contains two subfolders, "Local Folders" and "pophm.sympatico.ca ", which is my ISP. Obviously, even though I'm pretty sure I followed your instructions to create a new profile on D:, the procedure didn't take.

I'll try uninstalling TB and deleting the TB folder from C:, and then reinstall from scratch, paying closer attention to make sure I'm following your instructions accurately.

BTW, I know I'm supposed to be able to attach files - I've even done it once before. But for some reason now it keeps telling me everything is just a little bigger than I'm allowed. I'll worry about resolving that at a later time!