Such a helpful video. Just changed to a newer laptop and was dreading re-installing Thunderbird. However, followed your easy steps and I now have Thunderbird running like a dream on my new PC with everything just the way I had it before. Great work.
THANK YOU! Somehow, I lost track of the ini file and it worked. I had to reset Windows and this is the first time I did not lose ALL my emails. Super-kudos to you. ❤😎
Leo, I played this video and was ecstatic to discover that, unlike most instructional videos, actually worked! You spoke clearly, didn't get in a hurry, didn't assume anything, and your instructions were clear, and best of all, it WORKED! Thank you so much! I would never have been able to do this by myself! Great job!
Thank you! I've spent hours of frustration trying to install and configure Thunderbird on my new lap-top, and finally had success! I have been using Thunderbird for decades now, across three or four devices--I find it the easiest way to compose, read, and store email. But moving archived files to a new computer is always a hassle. Your video certainly helped. Two things worth mentioning: 1) The compressing and copying of the profile folders took much longer than your video would indicate--about ten minutes, I believe, at least in my case. 2) If--like me--you have downloaded and installed Thunderbird; attempted to configure it, and failed; then subsequently uninstalled it, the profile folders are not deleted, but remain, and have to be overwritten when you try to install it a second time. Back in the day, I got pretty proficient at locating and manipulating files in Window XP and 7; I skipped 8; and I never did become comfortable with 10. Window 11 . . . ?
Thank you so much Leo! I was really close but I found so many bad instructions out there... There are so many talented techs out there but it’s rare to find one who is a good ‘splainer. You are a gem!!
Leo . . excellent tutorial and presentation. I have to admit, that I tried following you step-by-step about 5 times and couldn't get it to work. Then I noticed a reply you made in one of the comments regarding allowing file name extensions (I was not seeing profile.ini). I changed the default in File Explorer and that solved that issue. So I was now able to copy/paste both the profile and profile.ini. I encountered one deviation from your instructions. My new PC did not permit me to 'drag & drop' the copied files from my USB to the Thunderbird location (accessed via %APPDATA%). However, if I instead did the 'Copy & Paste' into that Thunderbird location - - Bingo! It worked and everything is good to go. So, thank you Leo, and perhaps these comments may be useful to others that had difficulty.
Fantastic Guide Just upgraded my machine from Windows 10 to 11 and had multiple accounts, this guide was easy to follow and has everything as it was set up!
Hi Leo. I have been putting off replacing an old failing computer because of not wanting to lose years of mail. Having just watched your tutorial I think time to upgrade. Thank you Sir.
Leo - thank you from me as well! It just worked first time. I'm so pleased! Note: it took me ages (~ 30 min) to create the zip file because I had so many local folders with many emails. Important to close down Thunderbird whilst creating the zip file.
That was incredibly helpful, Leo! I'd tried the import option on Thunderbird to no avail and now I have everything back just as I wanted it - wish I'd landed on your video first! Thanks for such easy step-by-step instructions!
This move is so easy I would never have figured it out. I would keep looking for the "gotcha". Previous experience was with Outlook from one machine to another. Thanks for the tip.
Thanks so much, Leo. This worked perfectly for switching from my old X1 Carbon to my new one, It took a long time because my profile was 137GB, Also my biggest thumb drive is formatted in FAT 32 so some of the files were too big. I ended up using a 500 gig NTFS USB disk drive transferring to the Downloads folder on the new computer. There were a few times when the transfer from there to Thunderbird stopped but I was patient and waited maybe 15 minutes for it to start moving again each time. With over 54,000 files this happened with 7 left and then with 2 left, You made this work way easier than the last new laptop 5 years ago. I still miss Windows (Vista) Mail which I was able to use for many years after Vista was gone using a bit of a hack that worked until Windows 10, I miss Windows Mail,
IT WORKED!!! Leo, you're a very talented teacher and I thank you. You found a simple process and explained it clearly. My next project is to copy browser bookmarks from my old PC to the new PC. Anyone know a good video to tell me how?
Thank you so very much for this tutorial! Trying to set up my new PC build and was stumbling over this Thunderbird data issue. I tried and failed three times, but your video walked me right through the process. I did basically the same thing, however, I moved my old SSD into the new case and just used the file manager to carry out the tasks from one drive to the other.
just WOW worked with a 42gb profile file.. btw.. could not zip it so just copied the entire file and put it in the correct place.. again just wow and thank you Leo!
Leo, sure am glad I found this video. I recently executed a Thunderbird migration the manual/hard way, and I just knew there had to be a better solution for this current migration to a new machine I just built. Thanks for the lesson. Well done.
Migrating Thunderbird has been such a pain for me over the years. With Leo's excellent video I'm confident to get it done! THANKS LEO!!!! & BEST WISHES FOR THE HOLIDAYY
Leo, Please ignore my two earlier messages this morning. Turns out I had a copy of my old C: drive on a flash drive. All I had to do is copy the Thunderbird folder from the flash drive into the Thunderbird folder in the new computer and all my address books appeared. Ray
Thank you. You video was excellent and helped me to feel secured in my move to another computer. It had been 10 years since the last move and had forgotten the procedure. The video saved time and it went without a hitch.
All very clear. What I'm curious to know is whether the Thunderbird profile folder keeps an actual copy of the e-mails in my archive folders or is it looking at the e-mail client backup folders. In other words can I transfer this folder to a new e-mail server if I change e-mail address, or just copy and date the folder as a backup copy of my e-mails? Also if you add a new archive e-mail on one machine, is it replicated on the other?
I have to second psanders comment. What an amazing explanation. Detailed and precise yet simply, slowly stated so it was a piece of cake to carry out. Look forward to seeing more of your videos Leo.
Leo am embarking on the journey to try this my 3 accounts in tb have the profiles as 42gb.. will this be a challenge? I did clean up the 3 accounts first and also hoping all the accounts get migrated and not just one of them thanks for all you do! a fan in florida!
A thousand thanks Leo! It took a couple of tries but I finally got it. I actually got a message saying the zip file was corrupted when I tried to copy the .ini file. I had to delete the zip file, delete some old emails from two sent folders and a couple of years of old read emails and try again. I don't think my thumb drive was big enough. Once I got it down to about 4gb it worked like a champ!
Mr. Leo Notenboom, Thank You for this video. I believe to remember helpful videos by you from years ago. This one likely also is good. Will put it to the test!
Very detailed, Leo! I have 10 years of about 5 emails boxes neatly archived. But, when an auto upgrade (I'll turn that off now) sent me to V115.6.1, it made a big mess. Hoping I can install on a new Win11 laptop back to the V78 you used and have it all work
Thank you so much, I deleted Thunderbird by mistake. Without your video i would have to ask my son for intervention, very well done video, again thanks
That was amazing; thanks for the video. One question, the same way We can also copy, right? My requirement is that I want to copy Thunderbird from my desktop to my new laptop and keep the same Thunderbird on both machines.
@@askleonotenboomThanks for the response. One question: Could you make a video showing how to secure Thunderbird? You just demonstrated how easy it is to copy the TB data to a new computer; I'm talking about how to encrypt it using Crptomator or VeraCrypt, and by using the portable version of TB? Please consider it; it will be helpful for many. and btw Happy New Year. :)
Agreed, a very helpful voice and video and easy to understand and to follow . . . BUT my problem was that the latest Thunderbird automatic update (I've stopped those for the future), wiped out my existing data - emails addresses etc. I followed Leo's instructions to the letter, found my old data (5GB). I zipped it, deleted the two files Leo referred to (actually moved them somewhere else), unzipped the old data and copied into Thunderbird just as Leo's video. But when I rebooted my Thunderbird, no change . . . . . . just the few emails since Thunderbird 'upgraded'. Where to go to from here?
Hi Leo thanks for solving a big problem for me after an accidental delete of my Thunderbird. I just wondered if its possible to use the same method to reload my Firefox as that needs to be loaded as i lost a lot of settings and I am not happy with the Firefox that I loaded. THANKS IN ADVANCE
Hi Leo firstly thank you very much for making this video. I am just about to purchase a new machine and this will make the task so much easier. a BIG thumbs up.
Thank-you for going to the trouble explaining this. Unfortunately it doesn't work for me. I am using v91.6 on both machines. The reason I've stuck with TB since the 1990s is pretty much this - and now they've broken it! It looks like they've migrated from a cleartext (ish) mailbox format to SQLite. I just hope they've included export and import tools. UPDATE - found one problem. TB misreported the Profile folder. I must have moved it to another drive to save space and it was still reporting the former location. However, I'm still not able to restore folders.
The real problem I see is form pc to mobile phones, how does it works? Most of us use mobiles nowadays, this seems to be an app only for desktops. Any tips on this please?
Thunderbird is a PC/desktop email program. There are different programs for phones, but the best way is to use a program that supports IMAP so that your email is online and accessible anywhere.
@@askleonotenboom I attempted to configure it today, but eventually, I decided to abandon the effort. When you're managing around 10 email addresses for business, it's crucial to have a consistent setup on your mobile device as well. Otherwise, the concept of centralizing all your communications becomes impractical if you're solely relying on desktop applications. I reverted to using Gmail.
Hey Leo, Its my 21st anniversary of knowing you lol. First time was back in late 2002 I think. We both have certainly changed a lot since then... You with your gray hair, and me with NO HAIR lol. I used to run winXP back then but shifted to linux about 5 years ago (when win10 stuffed my laptop) and so took a holiday from your subscription as I no longer needed help with windows (oh thank goodness), but just recently subscribed again. I also use Thunderbird for ages which is far better than any other I experience, and when I feel like a linux distro change, I simply copy the whole Profile folder and paste it (replace all) to the new rightful place inside the .Thunderbird folder. Too easy and all done with two clicks ... . no zipping and unzipping or deleting needed, so I have to ask, why is it you zip?
Thanks for the info! So I thought I could just download Thunderbird on my new laptop(Win 11)and it would save all my files from the old PC, but that didn't work. I deleted delete the Thunderbird app to try your transfer details. My only issue is that after following your instructions to the T, Thunderbird now is automatically opening before I do the profile transfer. Perhaps it's a Windows 11 issue or there are some remnants left over from the download? I'll go back on the instructions and see if I got the steps right and reply.
excellent video - thanks! What if I did not know this simple method a while back but started TB on a new computer without copying over from my old computer (left that for a later project). Now how do I "merge" those 2 TB accounts (copy over the old emails to my now running account), please?
Painfully. Seriously, I wouldn't do it. At best, I'd make sure the accounts you use are configured to use IMAP so that all email is in multiple places, but I'd then start looking at exactly what it is you might still be missing an look for different ways to solve it.
Adding to this, for moving Profiles to work, both Thunderbird bit versions have to be the same. 32-bit to 32-bit, 64-bit to 64-bit. My source profile was from Thunderbird 32-bit, my new install, was 64-bit and this did not work, after removing 64-bit and installing 32-bit and doing the steps above, profile transfer worked flawlessly. 👍
Leo, thank you for the exact details of how to do this. I've used Thunderbird from the beginning, so I was quite familiar with the profile and .ini file transfer, as I've done it several PC transfers earlier. Unfortunately, I'm not so sure it works with the new 91.7.0 that auto upgraded from 91.5.0. I woke up, turned on my e-mail and got a empty front interface with no visible folder or files or way to do or see much anything in TB. I tried to install the exact same profile and .ini files on a new install and different laptop PC with the same exact results. Don't know if it's a setting, or a bug?
Elegant and seemingly foolproof methodology. Couple of minor quibbles. I can't see that it's really necessary to compress any folders/files to copy them over. Copying them as is works just the same. The other is a personal preference item. Sorry but that trailed mouse pointer would drive me nuts. I've used an enhanced-visibility pointer for decades and have no problem visually locating it on the display.
Leo - Very informative but I believe there is a hole in your explanation. When you use %APPDATA% to access the profile, this assumes that the default installation directories are being used - (I don't, I use a separate partition drive folder to store my dependent data). I think that you should really use the information accessible via Thunderbird itself - TOOLS>ACCOUNT SETTINGS>SERVER SETTINGS>LOCAL DIRECTORIES option and then use the stated folder path as your basis for the copying of the emails. The folder/file structure may be subtly different but the basis for the source copy is valid.
Hi Leo, very clear tutorial! I have a question, why I can't get the autofill email address function on my Thunderbird? I have set up a personal address book.
@@askleonotenboom Yes, checked that before. Just wanna make sure to you, "Local address books" is selected; "Automatically add ....." is selected & located, "Default startup...." is located correctly. But whenever I type in email address on new write email, no response of autofill. It's strange.
Hi Leo, this all seems pretty straight forward but when I opened profiles I found three named as default but only one with the current date. Should I copy all three or just the most recent?
THUNDERBIRD NOW HAS EXPORT AND IMPORT FUNCTIONS. I was using your video with apparent success but my old laptop did not have enough space left on hard drilve to create zip file. So looking around as a way to at least move address book I stumbled on this new function for moving my profile (not the profiles folder, just my profile in that folder) by export and import functions.
As soon as you said “secret word” I knew what it would be! For years I’ve shifted the profiles from one comfuser to another and also after doing the odd Windows reinstall.(don’t ask….) I frankly think my way is easier - just open the profile folder in the new version, delete the contents and copy from the old. Keeping the random profile folder title makes the program just accept the new contents as valid regardless of its contents. Done this dozens of times and as soon as the new Thunderbird runs it just updates all the recent emails as if it was on the old system. The only question I have is can I do this from W10/11 to linux - are there corresponding folders in Linux?
Just one note about my method - make sure both the new and old TBs are the same version first - update the old if necessary because sometimes the newer versions seem to work differently. As a last resort just re-do your email accounts in the new version and it will download the emails anyway and copy the local folder over (because that’s held on the computer.)
Actually Leo's procedure worked perfectly. My mistake was believing the Tbird Import / Export tools actually worked. Possibly they do. Their instructions mention Profiles but never mention copying the .INI into the Zip folder. So I never did that using the Tbird built-in Tools. Once I gave up trying to make the 115.8 Tbird Tools work, doing it the Leo way was extremely simple with perfect results.
With the new version of Thunderbird the profile folder did not appear in /appdata. But I copied the profile folder and profile.ini in there and it worked perfect😀
Hi Leo, Thanks for the really comprehensive video. Question, Will this method work the same if I am moving thunderbird from a win 7 to a win 10 machine?
Clear and concise. Question: when I open my thunderbird folder, I do not have "profiles.ini" I have a folder "Profiles" and 2 configuration settings under it called "profiles" and "installs". Do I want to compress all three of those?
You probably have Windows set to NOT show file name extensions (eg the '.ini' part) - for some reason this seems to be the WIndows default setting - but I think it is important to change that setting so you can see the filename extension. Click on the 'view' tab in file explorer and tick the 'file name extensions' box - you should then see that the 'profiles' file is, in fact, 'profiles.ini' (if my reasoning is correct...)
Thank you. I've got a new PC a week ago, but am wondering if I can use the SAME account on both PCs. Is that possible? They are both connected via router (1st PC is on LAN1 and the 2nd on, well, LAN2).
Hi. I can't move my profile to the AppData oaming - it's too big for C: harddrive, so I have my profile on another Harddisk. Recently, when changing computer I've installed new version of thunderbird on it and set path to my old profile in profiles.ini. But it doesn't work - my "old" profile shows in Profile Manager, but when i try to start with this profile, there's an information that newest version of program might made some change in profile, which are not compatible with old version - and I have only two options: close Thunderebird or create new profile. So how can I overpass this obstacle?
Leave this in the comment section. Might bring help to someone. First of all, thanks a lot for the tutorial. It worked flawlessly. However: - My ../Profiles folder wasn't in App Data, but for some reason in C:\Users\MyPC\Mails folder in Windows 10 - If you can find profile.ini in AppData\Roaming\ThunderBird but not the Profile folder --> Open Thunderbird > Help > More Troubleshooting information > Open Folder in the Profile Folder Section. In this way you will find the path of your Profile folder which might be under a completely different name. - When you copy and paste the folder Profiles\ and the profiles.ini you should check the paths defined in the profiles.ini file (you can use notepad). Be sure that in your new computer the folder is in \AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles and assign the same path to those emails defined in profiles.ini so that everything is well linked. Otherwise, Thunderbird will raise an error
but it doesn't sync calendars and apps to Android apps I don't think does it? In this case, can you recommend how to move Outlook for Windows? Even their wreckless support team didn't know and lost about 10 years of my data and a unified inbox.
if i close the sending window while I'm sending bulk emails will the thunderbird continue sending emails in the background ? i'm using the beta version
Is there a video of what to do if you have already installed and used Thunderbird on a new computer but want to move saved e-mails from an old computer into your folders?
Same here. Already installed on new Win11 pc. Want to bring old accounts' folders over. OR is it ok to install per your video and just leave the newest installed copy in place... and then later, perhaps, somehow UNITE folders into the new install you have helped me get moved? Thanks much!
hi, I have followed your steps to move email from one PC to anthoer PC, but it seems the profiles still on c:\, how can we move the profile includes email ,etc to another BIGGER disk ?
I have a corrupted TB on my laptop, would this work while its still there or should i delete the corrupted TB first? BTW, are you the Leo from the old TV show on tech going back to the '90's?
Different Leo. (He's Laporte, I'm Notenboom). I would BACK UP the corrupted TB. I can't say whether or not to delete, because that depends on exactly how you have things configured, and why/how it's corrupted.
@@askleonotenboom yep, thats Leo Laporte...I think he is now a moderator for the Techguy forums. just a suggestion about my corrupted TB...If i move the profile of a good Good |TB to the laptop then why would i even need to backup the corrupted one? The good TB has the latest and oldest emails that i would like to keep;
Hello Leo, I enjoyed your descriptive video. However, when I try to open Thunderbird on the new PC (Windows 11 Pro), it just goes to the initiation screen asking for my e-mail account info and ignores the Profiles folder and profiles.ini that I replaced in the Thunderbird folder. Any suggestions? Thanks, Dennis
Thanks for your video,Leo. I have tried it and failed. I intend to try again but I have a query. You suggest not adding any user info to Thunderbird when loading it onto a new computer before migrating the profile you want to it. I have just transferred all my file data over from a windows 10 vers. 21H2 laptop to one with Windows 11. I downloaded Thunderbird and all my emails were already there but not my address books or local folders. Maybe that was the reason the transfer of my old profile failed. How can I download a version of Thunderbird that is 'empty'? Any other suggestions would be helpful. Thank you
What if your moving it to a machine that had Thunderbird on it already? I uninstalled it and then downloaded the new version and sent to profiles and replaced the profile with the one I had on my thumbdrive from another machine but it failed.
