Big Dan
EQ Forum Moderator
Thunderbird makes it very easy to back up all of your email and account information in a few clicks. There is no database or settings stored in the windows registry. It's one folder that you may burn to CD, copy to your external HD, or save to an online backup service such as Carbonite.
All your email and account settings are stored in 1 folder depending on your operating system simply copy that folder to external media and you've got all your mail backed. You bought a new computer? Simply copy the folder from your old computer to the same location on the new computer install Thunderbird and presto all your mail is restored!
Best thing is because Thunderbird is open source you can just copy your Thunderbird folder over from windows and rename it .thunderbird and have all your mail and customizations carried over.
All your email and account settings are stored in 1 folder depending on your operating system simply copy that folder to external media and you've got all your mail backed. You bought a new computer? Simply copy the folder from your old computer to the same location on the new computer install Thunderbird and presto all your mail is restored!
On Windows 7 & Vista Thunderbird data is stored at: C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\
On Windows XP Thunderbird data is stored at: C:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Application Data\Thunderbird\
On Linux Thunderbird data is stored at: /home/<user name>/.thunderbird/
On OSX Thunderbird data is stored at: ~/Library/Thunderbird
I should note that in order to see the App Data folder in Vista and the Application data folder in XP you need to set explorer to view hidden files and folders. Here are instructions: XP and Vista on Linux if your using Nautilus for file browser just hit Ctrl + H while viewing your home folder to see hidden files. On Windows XP Thunderbird data is stored at: C:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Application Data\Thunderbird\
On Linux Thunderbird data is stored at: /home/<user name>/.thunderbird/
On OSX Thunderbird data is stored at: ~/Library/Thunderbird
Best thing is because Thunderbird is open source you can just copy your Thunderbird folder over from windows and rename it .thunderbird and have all your mail and customizations carried over.
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