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Why is there a Thunderbird Profiles file in AppData Local in addition to the one in Roaming?

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  • Last reply by sfhowes

bshands
bshands
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Both my desktop and laptop computers have Thunderbird files named PROFILE under AppData Local and AppData Roaming. The data file in both directories bears the same name. However, the one under Local only has three folders while the one under Roaming has more than a dozen folders. Does the one under Local service a purpose?

Both my desktop and laptop computers have Thunderbird files named PROFILE under AppData Local and AppData Roaming. The data file in both directories bears the same name. However, the one under Local only has three folders while the one under Roaming has more than a dozen folders. Does the one under Local service a purpose?

Chosen solution

Does the one under Local service a purpose?

Typically cache data resides underneath Local, so it won't need to be backed up along with the profile (underneath Roaming).

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christ1
christ1
  • Top 25 Contributor
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Chosen Solution

Does the one under Local service a purpose?

Typically cache data resides underneath Local, so it won't need to be backed up along with the profile (underneath Roaming).

bshands
bshands Question owner
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Thanks. I try to keep Thunderbird on my Laptop in sync with my desktop. I do so by copying the Profile from my desktop to a Flash drive and then from flash drive to my laptop. Do I need to copy both of the Profile files?

sfhowes
sfhowes
  • Top 10 Contributor
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It's sufficient to copy the data in the Roaming folder. In fact, it works a lot better if you copy the Thunderbird folder, which contains the profile folder(s):

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/moving-thunderbird-data-to-a-new-computer