Contemplating a fresh install

[Peter]

G'Day all,

I've used Thunderbird for quite some time, over different machines =
same hard disk though - resulting in various files on my hard disk.

In order to install a (non-Mozilla) programme, I had to create
"C:\Users\Pete ..." and somehow have a mixture (mishmash!?) of
Thunderbird files on the C: drive.
C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Thunderbird.
C:\Users\Pete\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles
C:\Users\Peter\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird. - [C: is a SSD disk]

There are two accounts. One is a POP and the other IMAP. Under Account
Settings/Server Settings, the Local Directory is
"C:\Users\Pete\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\z3gx628s.default\ImapMail\imap.XXX.com"
and within "C:\Users\Peter\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles" is
"C:\Users\Pete\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\z3gx628s.default"
for the POP.

I have 11 Add-ins in the programme which, incidentally is V31.1 that
without my permission, installed today. I also use Mozbackup.

I am seriously considering removing Thunderbird entirely from my system
and starting again with V31.0 but do not wish to loose any data, filters
etc and therefore want to use a back-up, via Mozbackup. My question
therefore is: If I delete Thunderbird from my system (Windows 7 Pro, 64
bit) how do I install Thunderbird and restore the files via Mozbackup
as, I presume, a different Profile would be created.

Apologies for the length of this! I hope it makes sense and, thanks for
reading (and responding!)

Cheers

Peter

[Trane Francks]

That shouldn't be too difficult: Install Thunderbird and start it once
to create the default profile. Then you can use MozBackup to restore
into that profile.

As for Thunderbird apparently updating without your permission, you'll
want to visit your update preferences (Advanced | Update). TB automatic
updates are a preferences, which implies permission. If you don't want
it to self-update, make sure the settings are as you like them.

--
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
// Trane Francks tr...@tranefrancks.com Tokyo, Japan
// Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty.

[Caver1]

Just save your profile folder somewhere. Remove Thunderbird. Reinstall
Thunderbird. Start Thunderbird once so the profile folder is created.
Then move the contents of your original profile to the new profile and
you're done. Or you could use Tb's profile manager to rename the new
profile with the original profile's name and then replace it with the
original profile folder. Don't need Mozbackup.


--
Caver1

[Peter]

Many thanks for your prompt replies. The concern I have with Caver1's
suggestion is that there are two profiles in in "C:\Users\Pet*E* ..."
and the other is in ""C:\Users\Pete*R.*..." Is it possible to easily
combine the two into ""C:\Users\Pete*R ..."
*Trane Franks - thank you too. After posting I had set Thunderbird not
to automatically update so, when I perform a new install, it will be me
who decides when to update in the future.*
*

[Ed Mullen]

Peter pounded out :

You need to give some details about what is in each of the profiles. Are
there different email accounts? Different news accounts? Different
address books? Etc.



--
Ed Mullen
http://edmullen.net/
A truly wise man never plays leapfrog with a unicorn.

[Peter]

> You need to give some details about what is in each of the profiles.
> Are there different email accounts? Different news accounts?
> Different address books? Etc.
>

Yes Ed,
As I stated in my original message

"There are two accounts. One is a POP and the other IMAP. Under
Account
Settings/Server Settings, the Local Directory is
"C:\Users\Pete\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\z3gx628s.default\ImapMail\imap.XXX.com"


and within "C:\Users\Peter\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles" is
"C:\Users\Pete\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\z3gx628s.default"
for the POP."

The news accounts are in the POP account and there is only one address
book which both accounts seem happy with. The profiles contain lots of
different folders. Does this help?

[Big_Al]

You could create 2 profile folders in your Thunderbird folder in your
login. Put both profiles in the 'profiles' folder like xxxxx.default
and yyyy.default
You would then edit the profile.ini in the Thunderbird folder like this:

[General]
StartWithLastProfile=1

[Profile0]
Name=Default
IsRelative=1
Path=Profiles/xxxxx.default
Default=1

[Profile1]
Name=Second Version
IsRelative=1
Path=Profiles/yyyyyy.default

Then just launch C:\program files (x86)\Mozilla
Thunderbird\Thunderbird.exe -P
This will open the profile manager and you can pick one of the two
profiles and see what is different. Moz backup might backup and
restore from one profile to another. Not sure if it appends or
overwrites though.

At least you could look at them both.

[Ed Mullen]

Peter pounded out :

I think so. Here's what I'd do.

First, open the IMAP profile. Right-click the account name and choose
Account Settings. Click "Synchronization & Storage". Make sure "Keep
messages for this account on this computer" is checked, "Synchronize all
messages locally regardless of age" is selected, "Don't delete any
messages" is selected, and "Always keep starred messages" is checked.
Click OK. Close TB.

Open the POP profile. Create a new IMAP account using all the settings
from the IMAP profile. When you click "Get Messages" TB should populate
all the folders into the IMAP account.

Now you've got the POP, IMAP, and News accounts all in a single profile.
Verify that things are as you like and that the IMAP account is working
properly.

Close TB. Open TB Profile Manager:

Click Start button. In the Search box enter "G:\Program Files\Mozilla
Thunderbird\thunderbird.exe" -profileManager" and hit Enter. Delete the
IMAP profile.

--
Ed Mullen
http://edmullen.net/

Always borrow money from pessimists. They don't expect to be paid back.

[Caver1]

I doubt it. They probably have conflicting settings. Such as what email
accounts,etc. Different settings/preference.
Why do you have two profiles for TB? Do you have the same reason for
having two profiles? If not save them both until you have the one you
want to save with the accounts,addresses,etc in the other profile.
Which would be easy for the accounts as all you have to do is move the
folder for those accounts to the profile that you are now going to use.
As far as moving the address book, only if it has different address, I
would probably export it then import it to the new profile. Make sure
it/they has/have a different name then the existing one/s or you will
over write the existing one. If the names addresses are "all" different
then open the abook.mab file in an editor, of the one you are getting
rid of, copy all of the addresses and paste them in the abook.mab file
in the kept profile. Do not copy the first part of the file. Start where
the address begin and stop where the address stop as the "new" abook.mab
will already have them.

--
Caver1

[Caver1]

Just replace the new MAIL folder with the old MAIL folder. Replace the
New NEWS with the OLD NEWS folder.

--
Caver1

[Caver1]

If you do it this way make sure you uncheck the box> use the selected
profile without asking at startup unless you delete one of them before
starting Thunderbird.
You could just open the files in the MAIL and NEWS folders in an editor
to look at them. You only have to move the MAIL and NEWS Folders. You
don't have to see the contents of them if the profile you are going to
keep has no mail or news accounts. If it does then you only move the
accounts you want to save which will be in the MAIL and NEWS folders.

--
Caver1

[Caver1]

I forgot to add that you will have to reset your preferences for the
mail news accounts as you can only keep one pref.js file. If the profile
you are going to keep has no addons for Thunderbird it might be easier
to keep the pref.js file from the one with mail and news and reset the
preferences for Thunderbird.

--
Caver1