Thunderbird lets you migrate all its data including the accounts, emails, and passwords to a new computer with just a few clicks. This is very helpful when you are moving to another computer or reinstalling the Windows operating system. In this tutorial, I will show the exact steps you should follow to migrate Thunderbird safely & securely to a new computer and the pitfalls to keep in mind. Let’s get started.
Before You Begin
Moving Thunderbird from one computer to another requires copying the entire profile folder to temporary storage, like a USB drive, and then moving it from there to the new computer. So, keep a USB drive ready and plugged in.
If you don’t have a USB drive, upload the Thunderbird profile folder to a cloud service such as Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox. You can then download the folder from the cloud service to the new computer.
Steps to Migrate Thunderbird to New Computer
To migrate Thunderbird, copy the entire profile folder from the source to the destination computer. Here’s how.
On the Source Computer
1. Press Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box.
2. Type %appdata% to open the “Appdata\Roaming” folder.
3. Select the Thunderbird folder and press Ctrl + C to copy it.
4. Open the USB drive or the cloud folder in File Explorer and press Ctrl + V to paste. For instance, I’m pasting it in my OneDrive folder.
5. After copying the profile folder, proceed to the next steps.
Note: If you cannot find the Thunderbird folder or if you manually saved your profile folder in another location, follow the troubleshooting section below to find the location of your Thunderbird profile folder.
On the Destination Computer
Note: Before proceeding, make sure Thunderbird is installed and not opened. You can download Thunderbird from here.
1. Insert the USB drive and open it in File Explorer.
Note: If you uploaded the Thunderbird folder to a cloud storage, download it.
2. Select the Thunderbird folder and press Ctrl + C to copy it.
3. Press Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box.
4. Type %appdata% to open the “Appdata\Roaming” folder.
5. Press Ctrl + V to paste the profile folder.
6. Choose Replace the files in the destination when prompted.
7. Afterward, close File Explorer.
That’s it. You’ve successfully migrated Thunderbird to your new computer. Open Thunderbird and it will show all your accounts and messages.
Steps After Migrating Thunderbird Data
After migration, delete the Thunderbird folder from your USB drive or cloud storage. Not doing so is a security risk. Anyone with access to your Thunderbird profile folder can restore it and have access to all your email accounts and messages.
Troubleshooting Steps
Finding Thunderbird Profile Folder Location
If you cannot find the profile folder in its default location or if you manually created or moved it to another location, use these steps to find it in File Explorer:
1. Open Thunderbird from the Start menu.
2. Click the hamburger menu icon on the title bar.
3. Go to Help > Troubleshooting Information.
4. Click the Open Folder button next to the “Profile” section to view your profile folder.
5. Click the Up arrow on the address bar three times to reach the Thunderbird root folder.
Wrapping Up – Moving Thunderbird to New PC
As you can see, migrating Thunderbird is easy: simply copy the entire profile folder from the source to the destination computer. This process preserves all your email accounts, messages, and passwords so that you don’t need to add them manually. Remember to delete the Thunderbird folder from your USB drive or cloud storage immediately after migration to minimize security risks.
