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New Profile not in Windpws profile directory; where is it?

  • 4 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 6 views
  • Last reply by togfnh

togfnh
togfnh
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Thunderbird 38.5.0 on Windows 7 Pro. Existing Thunderbird installation with half-a-dozen profiles.

I created a new profile for 2016 mail and configured two accounts. Mail is sent and received by the new accounts on the new profile.

However, there is no new profile listed by Windows Explorer in the profiles directory. The Troubleshooting Information / Show Folder button opens the profiles directory, but without a profile listed in the address bar. And Windows Search does not find a file with the new profile's name.

Thunderbird can be closed (not showing on the Task Manager Processes list) and reopened with its accounts and their sent and received mail messages present.

How can I get this new profile written to disk as it is supposed to be?

Thanks

Thunderbird 38.5.0 on Windows 7 Pro. Existing Thunderbird installation with half-a-dozen profiles. I created a new profile for 2016 mail and configured two accounts. Mail is sent and received by the new accounts on the new profile. However, there is no new profile listed by Windows Explorer in the profiles directory. The Troubleshooting Information / Show Folder button opens the profiles directory, but without a profile listed in the address bar. And Windows Search does not find a file with the new profile's name. Thunderbird can be closed (not showing on the Task Manager Processes list) and reopened with its accounts and their sent and received mail messages present. How can I get this new profile written to disk as it is supposed to be? Thanks

All Replies (4)

Matt
Matt
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  • Top 10 Contributor
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that is a question for Microsoft. about why the location does not show in the explorer address bar.

togfnh
togfnh Question owner
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Matt said

that is a question for Microsoft. about why the location does not show in the explorer address bar.

Thanks, Matt, but I don't think so. I think the reason the profile does not show in the Explorer address bar is that it does not exist in the profile folder. If I open one of the older profiles and "Show Folder" the Explorer window does show the profile, which is in the list of files below, in its address bar.

The new profile obviously exists somewhere, as the sent and received mail is in the new accounts when I open Thunderbird -- but where? I am reluctant to reboot the computer, fearing the profile exists in RAM only.

Also, I backed up my old profiles with MozBackup 1.5.1, successfully before creating the new one, but since creating the new profile MozBackup has failed twice to back it up. Something is wrong somewhere.

Goofy
Goofy
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Just in case you did not try yet:

How to find your profile

  1. Click on the menu button or menu bar.
  2. From the Help menu, click Troubleshooting Information.
  3. In the Application Basics section, Profile Folder, click on Show Folder .
  4. The Windows Explorer window will show the name of the profile as well as the path to it.

(more about Thunderbird profiles here https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-tb )

togfnh
togfnh Question owner
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Thanks Goofy (my favorite Disney character when I was growing up, by the way), but I have already tried that, as I attempted to describe in my initial post.

There has got to be a profile somewhere, (or my mail to/from the new profile would disappear); I just don't know where it is. It is NOT where it is supposed to be.

I have created another newer, test profile, and that one worked as it should, with a profile folder in the profiles directory. I would be content to use the new test profile if I could figure out how to move the mail from the defective profile to the test one.