Why can't I open Thunderbird under Windows after I have opened it under Fedora Linux - but TB under Linux Mint is okay
Problem: I normally run Thunderbird under Windows. After running Thunderbird under Fedora Linux 32 to check my emails, I get locked out of my Thunderbird profile when I try to run Thunderbird under Windows, thereby denying me access to my emails. Both operating systems access the same Thunderbird profile which is located in the Windows partition. This is a MAJOR PROBLEM to me.
Description I have set up my computer to be able to boot to either Windows 7, Linux Mint 18.3 or Fedora Linux 32. I run Windows about 90% of the time. I use Thunderbird as my email client. My profile contains 7 accounts from three email service providers. 5 of those accounts are POP3, and two are IMAP (Gmail accounts). When I am running Linux I sometimes want to access my Thunderbird email (without having to re-boot my computer into Windows) so I altered the Thunderbird profile.ini file on the Linux Mint partition, so that it points to the Thunderbird Profile on my Windows partition instead. I do this by altering the profiles.ini file (in the Linux Home/.Thunderbird directory) so that it reads (in part). [Profile0] Name=default
- IsRelative=1
IsRelative=0
- Path=baxn61zj.default
Path=/media/WinC/Users/mike/AppData/Roaming/Thunderbird/Profiles/mzf9na1s.default Default=1
This method works very well with Linux Mint (which uses Thunderbird ver 60.6.1). I can check my emails and send emails, no matter which OS I am running, and they are all stored under my Thunderbird Profile on the Windows partition. And when I boot to Windows and run Thunderbird, all my emails are correct and in the right place. I can swap from Windows to Linux Mint often and get easy access to my Thunderbird profile with either Operating System. It is a great system and demonstrates the robustness of Thunderbird profiles. BUT the same does not work with Thunderbird under Fedora 32. When I run Thunderbird (ver 68.7) under Fedora Linux 32 it fetches emails and sends emails correctly, but later when I reboot to Windows and try to run Thunderbird, Thunderbird refuses to run and it gives me the following error window. "A newer version of Thunderbird may have made changes to your profile which are no longer compatible with this older version ... Creating a new profile requires ..."
Thunderbird will NOT open my profile or and will NOT give me access to my emails, even though both OSs are running the same version of Thunderbird i.e., 68.7. I am running Thunderbird 68.7 on both the Windows partition and the Fedora 32 partition. However the Linux Mint partition runs Thunderbird 60.6.1. This is a MAJOR PROBLEM because it means that if I open my emails with Thunderbird under Fedora Linux 32, I am thereafter locked out of my emails when I run Windows/Thunderbird. Windows/Thunderbird 68.7 does not foul up Linux Fedora 32/Thunderbird 68.7 under Linux Fedora, but the reverse, running Thunderbird 68.7 under Linux Fedora, fouls up Windows/Thunderbird 68.7 badly. I have been able to identify which files in my profile are changed by Thunderbird 68.7 under Fedora. And the change happens simply by starting Thunderbird and shutting it down - no other actions. I can provide more information about this issue if needed. In addition, I found that after Fedora/Thunderbird has fouled up my profile, if I then boot to Linux Mint 18.3 and run Thunderbird 60.6.1, it does some "magic" and undoes the "fouls up" or whatever Fedora/Thunderbird did, and enables Windows/Thunderbird to read the profile and give me access to my email again. Very frustrating and unnerving.
All Replies (2)
With Thunderbird 68, in the command line in the Thunderbird program directory, start with
thunderbird.exe -P --allow-downgrade
Sharing the same profile from different instances of Thunderbird running on different OS versions is a bad idea in my view, and I wouldn't do it.
Sharing the same profile from different versions of Thunderbird is even worse. Consider yourself lucky that you didn't break your profile entirely yet, but it will probably just be a matter of time if you continue doing this. Make sure you always do have a current backup of your profile. https://support.mozilla.org/kb/profiles-where-thunderbird-stores-user-data#w_backing-up-a-profile
Modified by christ1
Thank you for your suggestions, although they don't address my issue.
And thank you for your advice to keep backups. I DO keep backups and have done for decades. I can easily retrieve any of my approx 24-25 Thunderbird backups going back to 2008 when I started using Thunderbird as my client.
However, regarding your opinion that it is a "bad idea" to access the same profile from different OSs - I respectfully disagree. There are times when it needs to be done.
I can only say that I have been doing it regularly for many years (accessing the same profile with Linux Mint and Windows 7) and it works extremely well. That particular computer, which I managed for my wife, ran Linux Mint most of the time and she used Linux/Thunderbird for a couple of hours every day for years. I accessed the ThunderBird profile from Windows 7 on it every 6 months or so. I was very cautious at first, but after swapping between Operating Systems many times, over a few years, and accessing the same profile, and experiencing no negative issues at all, my confidence in doing it grew far stronger.
The reason I use Windows partitions to host Thunderbird profiles is so that both Windows and Linux can read/write to it. Linux can read/write to its own Ext(x) file system AND to Windows NTFS, but Windows cannot read a Linux Ext(x) file system. If I had used the Thunderbird profile on the Linux partition as the preferred profile, Windows OS (and therefore Windows/Thunderbird) would not have been able to get to it.
Also, the recommended method of moving a profile from one computer to another, or from one OS to another, is to simply copy the profile from one computer/OS to the correct location on the other computer. I have done this many times and it has worked without problems, every time. This tells me that the structure of the profile on each computer/OS is consistent from one Operating System to another and it also indicates that they are interchangeable and inter-usable. It is a testament to the robustness of Thunderbird. However, I can appreciate that you take a more cautious approach than I do.
To other readers - This question is still open, and I am still looking for answers.
Modified by jrmwalsh