SeaMonkey profiles problem in laptop

I decided to install SeaMonkey on my wife's laptop. She uses it at home, we both use it when we're traveling, so there were two accounts on it. Somehow the laptop recently got absolutely totally trashed and I had to reload Win XP HE (SP2) and everything else. It all went well, if tediously. I set up two profiles -- one I'll call "Wife" here and the other I'll call "Husband" -- and configured them until all seemed set. Everything seemed to work.

Then I decided to get picky. I wasn't used to the Profile Manager window appearing every time I opened my browser or e-mail program, asking me to select a profile. I wanted to bypass that if I could. There was an option in the PM window worded in a way that made me think I could do that, that by clicking on that option it would result in whichever account was running at the time to be enough to automatically put that person's profile in effect. Wrong.

So while I was working in my (Husband) account, I clicked on the option. Mistake. Somehow the two profiles got criss-crossed, and opening SM in one account would bring SM up in the other's profile. I got that straightened out, but now only the SM in the Wife account works right. Opening SM on my side results in the program opening as though it's never been configured.

When I look at the profiles (in C:\SeaMonkey\Profiles), they both appear to contain everything they should, the files being the same size, etc.. Yet SM doesn't seem to know about it when I open SM from my account on the laptop.

I sure would appreciate knowing how to sort that problem out. I suppose one way would be to laboriously configure that blank profile, although I'm not sure where the profile itself is. Another would be to make a backup copy of the contents of the Husband profile, create a new profile, and then copy and paste the contents of the backup file to the new profile. If that's the best way, exactly what would the step-by-step procedure be? Or is there an easier way (hope, hope)?

 

Having read your other, very long and not sure if ever solved, thread, I am not sure what you mean by Profile. Is it a Windows account, in which case, one is administrator, and any other is subject to it. Or is it a Seamonkey profile?
The path

you gave suggests that you either don't have the correct profile path, or, you created something, or you have two separate accounts, for the two of you.
If you have WinXP, the paths should be: C:\Documents and Settings\user_name\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles
My wife and I don't bother with separate Windows accounts, but could use separate profiles, which are accessed by way of the -p switch , but in the same windows username.
So, I am quite confused by what you are saying.

 

BOBBO,

In order not to confuse the two accounts do this:

Create a second Desktop Shortcut to SeaMonkey
(or Quick Launch Shortcut, whichever you use)

Right click the original Shortcut
Select: Properties
To the "Target" field add one space, and then add: -p Husband

Right click the newly created Shortcut
Select: Properties
To the "Target" field add one space, and then add: -p Wife

You can rename the shortcuts through Properties, to differentiate between the two, i.e., Wife, and Husband.

 

Westside: The "other" thread could be any of a number I've had to open lately, most of which I've ended by saying the problems have been satisfactorily resolved. The recent one involving my laptop's services is also resolved, with one minor wrinkle left that will probably require my contacting my ISP for a detail concerning getting on-line when away from home.

To clarify your confusion about how the laptop is configured, I set up the laptop with two accounts, what you're calling Windows accounts, one for myself and the other for my wife. Each account has its own Desktop and icons, an individualized assortment of programs, and unique settings. SeaMonkey is installed on both accounts, each of us having a separate and different profile. I set up the profiles in the simpler paths I indicated earlier so I could look into the profiles without having to drill down through as many layers as the customary path requires, as your example shows. Right now everything on my wife's side works fine. My side is OK, too, except for my SeaMonkey profile needing to be brought into effect properly. Ramona's post looks like it might be the solution.

 

Ramona: Your directions seemed promising, so I tried them. Didn't work. Some exploring revealed some things that might be useful.

While working on my side of the laptop, I made the changes you suggested. Both "Husband" and "Wife" shortcuts opened SeaMonkey in virgin condition (unconfigured) as though the profiles still weren't recognized. Then I logged off my side and switched to the Wife account. Opened SM there and it showed up like I want it. So nothing had changed. Curious, I searched for the Profile Manager and found it here:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users.WINDOWS\Start Menu\Programs\SeaMonkey\Profile Manager

I sent a Profile Manager shortcut to the Desktop on the Wife side. And while still in that folder I clicked on SM. It opened in the condition it should, configured. Further checking showed that it wasn't the Husband or Wife profiles that were in effect but the Default profile, which had somehow gotten configured as I want the other two to be.

Switched back to the Husband side, drilled down to the Profile Manager there and sent a shortcut to my Desktop. While still in that folder, I clicked on the SM icon and SM opened in the wrong (unconfigured) condition.

It seems that the Profiles folder in C:\Program Files\SeaMonkey contains the Husband and Wife profiles and the correct files within them but they're not functioning. And the profiles in Profile Manager are messed up. The Husband and Wife profiles don't work but the Default profile does.

So what do I do to sort all that out and get the Husband and Wife profiles to be functional and, if possible, to be available for viewing and editing in the C:\Program Files\SeaMonkey folder?

 

BOBBO,

Creating an additional Desktop shortcut is moot, due to the fact that you created two separate "Windows XP" accounts. I was going on the assumption that you had created two separate Profiles: Husband and Wife

What I would suggest is this:

Ensure that you have a backup of both your wife's, and your "good" Profiles folder.

Uninstall SeaMonkey
Remove the C:\Program Files\SeaMonkey folder

REBOOT the laptop

Reinstall SeaMonkey
Allow the new Profile to be installed in the default location:
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\profilename\123abc34.slt

The placement of the Profile in this location is for security purposes. As you have experienced, moving can be oh so complicated.

Next:
With SeaMonkey closed, replace the entire contents of the new SLT folder with the entire contents of your old one.
(Ensure that you DO NOT change the name of the new SLT folder.)
SeaMonkey will recognize that the files do not exist in the original location, and use relative paths to determine the new location.

 

Ramona:

I did. In C:\Program Files\SeaMonkey\Profiles. And they're listed in both sides (accounts) of the laptop. For some reason those profiles don't really work. It's the Default profile deep in that other path that seems to be the working profile.

Ordinarily I wouldn't hesitate to follow your directions:

But I'm extremely reluctant to do that. Uninstalling SeaMonkey with Control Panel > Add & Remove Programs a few days ago is exactly what resulted in the laptop being totally trashed. The uninstall operation seemed to be taking an unusually long time, then a tab appeared down in the Sys Tray saying something about changing channels, then the process continued quite a while longer, and the next thing I knew everything had been lost. Complete wipeout of the entire laptop. I had to reinstall Windows XP (HE) SP2 and lots of programs and utilities, configure and update everything, then install SeaMonkey and configure it. So I sure don't want to have to go through all that again.

Is there a Plan B?

 

A few questions:
1. So can I assume that your wife's profile working now, and Plan B will only be for your Profile?

2. Is the path to your Profiles folders (Husband & Wife):
C:\SeaMonkey\Profiles\Husband\*.slt ?

3. What is the path to the "default" Profiles folder which contains the correct information.

4. Are you and your wife sharing the same data, altho in different Profiles?

5. If Profile Manager (PM) is out of whack, can you be more specific? Are the Profiles not showing up in the PM, is that what you mean?

I understand your reluctance, but one of these days you might have to do a clean install... Could be your funky Profiles location caused a problem in the uninstall. However, uninstalling Firefox couldn't trash a HD, and I think that might have been something in Windows, rather than Fx. Could be your Windows Uninstaller is corrupt, or something similar? I am not shrewd enough to know these Windows conundrums.

Plan B:

What you could try:
Close SeaMonkey
Access PM:
Start | Programs | SeaMonkey | Profile Manager
Click: Delete Profile
Click: Don't Delete Files

Next:
Recreate the Profiles, using the exact name as that which you deleted
Click: Change Folder
Point to the location of your Husband Profile, which contains the correct information: C:\Program Files\SeaMonkey
(which is the path you referenced above.)

This is the easiest way I can think of right now, and hopefully this will get you back on track.

 

Ramona: Bingo! Plan B worked!! It took awhile, mainly trying different ways to aim PM at the right location (one that would work right). To play it safe, I first made a backup copy of my own profile before deleting it. After creating a new profile and getting the contents of that backup into it, SeaMonkey now works on my side of the laptop as well as it does on my wife's side.

It's a major relief, too, because risking another total wipeout was making me very anxious. You mentioned I might someday have to do a clean install. I think that's what I had to do just a few days ago (see my preceding post for the gory details). And I had to do a lot of it twice, once in each of the two accounts -- mine and my wife's -- on the laptop. Not fun.

Anyway, the problem appears to be resolved. A great big thank you for your help.