Restore Thunderbird mail after reinstall

Yes, read these before going too far. It's not as bad you might think, but it's not as easy as pointing to one new file either.
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Migrating_settings_to_a_new_profile

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_backup#Restoring_or_migrating_your_backed-up_profile

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Moving_your_profile_folder

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_backup#Restoring_or_migrating_your_backed-up_profile by far has the easiest solution of
1.  Completely close all Mozilla programs, including the Mozilla Suite, Firefox, and Thunderbird. Don't forget to exit the Mozilla Suite's Quick Launch if it's open (as indicated in the Windows system tray).  Make sure no Mozilla Suite/Firefox/Thunderbird processes are still running.
   2. Copy the folder you backed up to the exact same location that it was in when you made the backup or to an identical location on the other computer. If you are moving from one OS to another (e.g., Windows 98 to Windows XP), or if your Windows boot drive letter has changed (e.g., from "C:\" to "D:\") or your Windows login/user name is different, see Moving your profile folder.

>Copy the folder you backed up to the exact same location that it was in when
>you made the backup or to an identical location on the other computer

Sorry, not gonna happen...

I guess I might need to refer to "Moving your profile folder".

I must apologize in advance, but I'm not going to drop 500 pts on something I could look up myself - I'm looking for some holding of hands...

So, allow me to clarify - I've got a backup drive (assigned to letter E:) that contains the old laptop data.  I've installed Thunderbird on the new system in "D:\Program Files".  I had four email accounts configured in Thunderbird on the old laptop, and can find directories corresponding to their names under "E:\Documents and Settings\jon\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\default.cot\Mail"

The weird thing is that my new Thunderbird data path seems strange - I found my newly installed profile under "C:\Documents and Settings\Jon\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\t34hakwz.default\Mail"

Any suggestions on how to proceed?

Thanks,
-Jon

The weird thing is that my new Thunderbird data path seems strange - I found my newly installed profile under "C:\Documents and Settings\Jon\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\t34hakwz.default\Mail"

That is not really a problem,  t34hakwz.default is your New Profile with the New build of Thunderbird.  Sometime ago, between versions the Mozilla team changed the profile names from default.*** to ********.default.  So your older (backed up) profile simply has an older name. I'm betting you have used Thunderbird for a while.

sorry, pressed for time right now, will be back

I must also apologize but i do not always have the time for hand holding, that is why I give the asker the pages to follow up on in case I don't get back in a timely manner  and they don't have the ability to use google as well as others.  I also don't have pre-made scripts for quick problem solving because most problems are unique (even when the answer could be the same) and I prefer to give as much attention to each individual question as I can, which means I have to type out your individual answers which takes more time than most people would like to sit and wait for.

Try using mozbackup here http://mozbackup.jasnapaka.com/
It will backup all your profiles emails etc and store it in mydocuments
Copy the file to a cd etc and reload mozbackup on your destination machine and restore. The best solution I've ever found on thunderbird.

baybiz says:

>Try using mozbackup here http://mozbackup.jasnapaka.com/

That sounds great - do you also have a time machine available to me so that I can do that before sending my laptop off to the shop?

On second thought, I'll go with what mtz1of4 suggests - in fact, I already did that, and got quite a bit of my email recovered (I wasn't thrilled that my POP counters got reset, but what can you do...)

I'll post back soon with more details - I've got jury duty in the morning (Doh!), so now it's time for sleep.

Cheers,
-Jon

Jon, Any update?   It sounds like you are making progress.
Hope jury duty was painless.

Marc

Thx, mtz - I got all my mail back using your advice - sorry for the delay in awarding pts - I forgot this was still open.

Unfortunately, jury duty sucked - I have to go back in October - what fun!

Cheers,
-Jon

Thanks for the updates.

Marc

I had to reinstall XP again recently (don't ask), and I quickly restored my TB email using the following method (basically by slightly modifying the accepted solution):

I fired up TB from the old install location (I did not re-install it).  When it asked me to create an account, I cancelled the wizard and then closed TB.

I moved (although could have just as easily deleted) the newly created Profiles folders from C:\Documents and Settings\Jon\Application Data\Thunderbird\ as well as C:\Documents and Settings\Jon\Local Settings\Application Data\Thunderbird\ , and then copied both Profiles folders containing my previous data from their old locations to the respective directories (mentioned above).

Fired up TB, and all my mail is present and accounted for, and all accounts and filtering rules are in place - even POP counters seem to be accurate (although I can't confirm that - I haven't been leaving much mail on my POP servers lately).

Cheers (and thanks again),
-Jon

P.S.  I'm using TB version 2.0.0.9 (20071031), in case that's important for anyone reading this at a later date.

Thanks Jon.

I believe the only concern one might have doing it your way would be when you get into the Extensions.  I thought those should be reinstalled in order to move them properly, but perhaps they have changed the way they install with the later releases.
Either way, glad it's working and thanks for the update.