Blog 
+1 7025533020 
How to Move Thunderbird to New Computer? – Complete Guide
As we all know Thunderbird is an open source and desktop-based email client for free to send and receive emails. As well as, it maintains your other data also including contacts, calendars, notes, journals, etc.
However, multiple situations come when users want to move Thunderbird to new computer or PC for several reasons. But they don’t know the right methods with complete information, so here we will show you all the possible and safest methods.
Reasons to Transfer Thunderbird to New Computer
- Most of the time, users need to switch from an old system to a new one. and hence, they need to export Thunderbird profile to another computer for better accessibility.
- When upgrading from an older version of Thunderbird to a new one on a different computer, users need to transfer data while making sure all the data is the same and not changed even a bit.
- If users need to access their email data on a new computer or system, it is essential for them to transfer their data from Old Thunderbird to new computer with safety.
Prerequisites Before Starting to Move Thunderbird to New PC
In order to carry out proper Thunderbird migration to another computer without corruption issues and data loss. Take the actions listed below:
- Ensure you have the latest Thunderbird installation on the new computer.
- You are required to have adequate system storage on the new computer else the restoration may fail midway.
- An intermediary profile transfer medium like – USB, HDD, or Cloud Storage (eg: Google Drive) is required.
- Before you begin moving Thunderbird to a new computer, backup your current profile.
- Make sure to unzip the file if you have used ZIP compression to export.
Expert Tip: Disable antivirus temporarily on the new PC.
How to Transfer Thunderbird to Another Computer Manually?
We will copy and paste the actual location of your Thunderbird profile. Also, we will show how you can transfer address book/contacts and calendar data to another computer. All methods are given below to move Thunderbird to another computer, step-by-step guide is given below in detail:
Move Thunderbird to New Computer with Emails
-
- First of all, open Thunderbird on your desktop.
- Now, click the ‘Menu’ tab from the right corner.
- Next, Click on Help >> Troubleshooting Information.
- Click on Open Folder next to Profile Folder.
- Now, close Thunderbird completely.
- Go to one level up and copy your entire Thunderbird folder.
- Paste it to the same location on the new computer.
Issues During Export Stage of Thunderbird Transfer to New Computer
You are required to have a healthy working Mozilla Thunderbird installation. Although there is no issue with larger exports. You are required to keep the data in a recognisable destination for systematic transfer.
Expert Tips: Always copy & paste the final destination folder and not “Cut Paste”.
In case you do not have an active Mozilla Thunderbird location you can copy it directly from profile.
- Windows
C:\Users\<Your_Username>\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\ - macOS
/Users/<Your_Username>/Library/Thunderbird/Profiles/ - Linux
/home/<Your_Username>/.thunderbird/
Many users have trouble locating the Thunderbird profile folder location on Windows 11, 10, 8.1, and 7 when trying to move Thunderbird email to new computer:
This is because the App Data folder is a hidden folder that cannot be accessed directly.
Alternate Solution to Export Thunderbird to New Computer Without Active Installation
You can use the RecoveryTools Thunderbird Export Tool to move Thunderbird emails to external hard drives with all data fully preserved with or without application automatically & directly from the profile folder within minutes.
Problems Caused When Importing Old Thunderbird Data into New Computer
Even after completing the manual steps many issue like:
- Not able to locate profile folder
- New profile not accessible
- Partial data transfer – especially when dealing with larger profiles
- Profile folder empty
- Manual mapping of folders if you do not have default profile location on old PC.
- The mismatch of architecture structure between Thunderbird versions can cause issues.
Are major limitations of manual solution – making it extremely time taking.
Secure-Automated Tool to Move Thunderbird to New Computer
RecoveryTools Thunderbird Restore Tool enables users to transfer Thunderbird to a new PC using whether from backup files or active Thunderbird installation from any version. The tool can restore data stored anywhere on the system directly to the active Thunderbird profile folder with all emails, attachments, metadata, and folder hierarchy (identical).
Skip the issue of manual profile folder handling, name change and empty profile. Download the tool now.
How to Transfer Thunderbird to New Computer?
Note: You have to use the tool on your destination PC. Ensure you have already moved profile data to the new PC via USB or a Cloud drive.
- Download & install the tool on your new computer.
- Choose “Let Me Select My Mailbox Data” >> “Select Folder”.
- Add the profile folder from the source PC.
- Select the Thunderbird folders that you need to move from Old PC to new computer.
- Press “Next” to complete the transfer process.
Key Features of Tool to Transfer Thunderbird to Another Computer
- Automatic Profile Detection: You do not need to manually locate the profile folder. The tool auto detects the profile folder on the destination PC.
- Fast Process – Thunderbird profile converter allows moving to batch multiple Thunderbird profiles into a new computer. In this process, the software takes only a few minutes to import your data.
- Preserve Folder Hierarchy – During the conversion of emails, all details and related information of the Thunderbird mailbox are saved in the original form.
- No Thunderbird Installation Required – With this tool, users do not need to install Thunderbird or any third-party plug-in or application. Users can move Thunderbird to new computer email client.
- Load Thunderbird Profile: If your profile relates to the same machine in good condition, then this tool provides you an option, which loads the Thunderbird profile data automatically from the default storage location.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q 1: How do I export everything from Thunderbird?
- Open your Thunderbird account.
- Click on the Tools >> Export option.
- A new window appears, select the Export button.
- Select the location to save the resultant file.
- Click on the Save button.
Your complete Thunderbird profile will be saved in ZIP format at the selected location.
- Q 2: Where is Mozilla Thunderbird data stored?
Ans:- This is the location where Thunderbird stores its data: C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles. Mac OS: ~/Library/ Thunderbird
- Q 3: Can I reinstall Thunderbird without losing email?
Ans:- Yes, because Thunderbird saved emails and other data locally. So you can reinstall your Thunderbird without losing your email.
- Q 4: What is the storage limit for Thunderbird email?
Ans:- 4 GB is the storage limit for Thunderbird emails.
- Q 5: Is Thunderbird more secure than Gmail?
Ans:- Yes, Thunderbird is a desktop-based email client that saves your complete profile data locally so there is no chance to loss data, viruses, or cyber-attacks. On the other hand, Gmail is a web-based client, which requires an internet connection. And, there is a high risk of data loss.
Conclusion
Although there is no way to synchronise Thunderbird profiles between computers much like Gmail. A personal user often with a single Thunderbird profile on the computer can execute Thunderbird transfer to new computer within 2hr easily (may vary based on Thunderbird profile size).
However when a user needs to transfer Thunderbird with multiple users & profiles to a new pc the process can be complicated. In such a situation using RecoveryTools automated approach is best suited as it lets you skip the manual hassle & make the process much faster.
Read Next: Tips & Tricks to Export Thunderbird Emails to TXT File
