Thunderbird is storing mail in two different profiles
The profile being used by Thunderbird is Profile A (not the real file name). This is the profile named in profiles.ini.
Although I have Local Folders with many old messages sorted into them, there is no Local Folders folder in Profile A, even though they show up in the GUI and I can transfer messages into Local Folders.
However, an old Profile B that I stopped using in 2015, does have Local Folders and they are being updated. The modified dates are changing, with the latest date being today's date after using Thunderbird to move in a message.
I have two email accounts both being collected by Profile A. I sent a test message from one account to the other and then moved it into Local Folders. That message is now in the correct Local Folder in Profile B. How in the world is Thunderbird updating files in a profile that is not named in profiles.ini? How is it displaying Local Folders that are not in Profile A but are in Profile B?
How do I transfer this mess to a new installation of Thunderbird running on a different computer?
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And I do understand that I need to change the location of the Local Folders in the Local Folders account settings. That was understood.
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I opened the mail data file in Notepad and searched for the subject of the test message to confirm that the message was in fact in the Local Folders file in the old Profile B.
Options > account settings
In server settings is "local directory", last thing before the ok and cancel buttons. It is obviously been changed at some point, probably in an abortive attempt to reuse your old profile in 2015.
Well it answered my question, because in Account Settings>Local Folders, I find that the Message Storage folder is in the old profile folder. However, how do I transfer the data in the two profiles to a new computer? Can I copy the Local Folders from the old profile into the newer one and then copy that profile into Tbird on the new computer?
I would be inclined to fix he issue on the old computer, copy the data into the new profile folder and correct the settings to reflect the change, verify it is working as expected and then move it. You might still have to restart the setting post move as the path will be explicitly stated and it is very unlikely it will be the same on the new computer.
How do I fix it on the old computer? How do I get the Local Folders mail into the same profile where the new mail is being collected? Just copy the content of the Local Folders in the old profile to the newer profile? If this is not the solution, please tell me what to do.
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And I do understand that I need to change the location of the Local Folders in the Local Folders account settings. That was understood.
Got after rereading. Done on old computer. Should transfer to new without problems now.
As I said, the explicit path in your setting is unlikely to be the same, so it might cause an issue on the new computer, you might have to set the path again after you copy the profile.
See this as well. You might need it or not. Profile moving has needlessly been made a little more complex https://thunderbirdtweaks.blogspot.com/2019/09/i-lost-my-profilemail-on-update-to.html