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Safe to edit PREFS.JS?

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  • Last reply by Matt

irvspa
irvspa
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My wife's PC has some error messages pop-up when deleting only some messages. Basically says the folder can't be used to save files, but the file goes to trash anyway?

Googled and it seems the problem is in her PREFS.JS file with two different names for the profile?

Get the same message in Account Settings when switching from SERVER SETTINGS to COPIES AND FOLDER tabs.

"The Local Directory path "C:\Users\UID\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\profile_name.Default\UID" is not suitable for messages Storage. Please choose another directory."

Of course everything is stored there OK?

Here actual 'profile_name' above is 'lap58y6s' but some entries in PREFS.JS have another Profile names?

I see this in her PREFS.JS:

=

user_pref("mail.root.none", "C:\\Documents and Settings\\UID\\Application Data\\Thunderbird\\Profiles\\a663kqrg.default\\Mail");

=

'a663kqrg' appears in many like the above and some other places.

There is that Profile, but it has NOT been used for a long time, since the PC was migrated from another one:

01/14/2018 08:24 AM <DIR> a663kqrg.default 02/18/2021 10:01 AM <DIR> lap58y6s.default

Is it 'safe' to just change all entries pointing to a663kqrg to be lap58y6s?

Of course I will make a copy of PREFS.JS before doing this, but will some other changes happen and possibly lose emails? Should I just backup the ENTIRE PROFILE first or even Thunderbird itself?

Another thing I see in the PREFS.JS. Every OLD printer we've ever had. I.E.

=

user_pref("print.print_printer", "HP Photosmart 2570 series"); user_pref("print.printer_C310a_(HP_Photosmart_Prem_C310_series).print_bgcolor", false); . . and others

Present one is an HP 7855. Can I delete ANY entries that reference any othe printer by name/model without doing damage?

I should add that that error message when saving is fairly new, happened only recently... maybe a code change? Still, all seems to work OK?

My wife's PC has some error messages pop-up when deleting only some messages. Basically says the folder can't be used to save files, but the file goes to trash anyway? Googled and it seems the problem is in her PREFS.JS file with two different names for the profile? Get the same message in Account Settings when switching from SERVER SETTINGS to COPIES AND FOLDER tabs. "The Local Directory path "C:\Users\UID\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\profile_name.Default\UID" is not suitable for messages Storage. Please choose another directory." Of course everything is stored there OK? Here actual 'profile_name' above is 'lap58y6s' but some entries in PREFS.JS have another Profile names? I see this in her PREFS.JS: ========= user_pref("mail.root.none", "C:\\Documents and Settings\\UID\\Application Data\\Thunderbird\\Profiles\\a663kqrg.default\\Mail"); ========= 'a663kqrg' appears in many like the above and some other places. There is that Profile, but it has NOT been used for a long time, since the PC was migrated from another one: 01/14/2018 08:24 AM <DIR> a663kqrg.default 02/18/2021 10:01 AM <DIR> lap58y6s.default Is it 'safe' to just change all entries pointing to a663kqrg to be lap58y6s? Of course I will make a copy of PREFS.JS before doing this, but will some other changes happen and possibly lose emails? Should I just backup the ENTIRE PROFILE first or even Thunderbird itself? Another thing I see in the PREFS.JS. Every OLD printer we've ever had. I.E. ======= user_pref("print.print_printer", "HP Photosmart 2570 series"); user_pref("print.printer_C310a_(HP_Photosmart_Prem_C310_series).print_bgcolor", false); . . and others ---------- Present one is an HP 7855. Can I delete ANY entries that reference any othe printer by name/model without doing damage? I should add that that error message when saving is fairly new, happened only recently... maybe a code change? Still, all seems to work OK?
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All Replies (1)

Matt
Matt
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THe local dorectory of at least one mail account is set to C:\Users\UID\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\profile_name.Default\UID the program has been told not to allow the storage of mail in it.

See https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/dangerous-directories-Thunderbird-account-settings

I suggest you go through each configured mail accounts in account settings and check the local directory until you find the one that is set incorrectly.

I would under no circumstances suggest anyone manually edit the prefs.js file. Make a mistake there and you can destroy your profile. The user interface prevent most mistakes, like setting a local directory to a prohibited one for instance.