This site will have limited functionality while we undergo maintenance to improve your experience. If an article doesn't solve your issue and you want to ask a question, we have our support community waiting to help you at @FirefoxSupport on Twitter and/r/firefox on Reddit.

Avatar for Username

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

This thread was archived. Please ask a new question if you need help.

Which backup profile should I restore??

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

blue_sky
blue_sky
more options

In May I backed up my Thunderbird profile (which uses IMAP).

Subsequently, my Windows 10 user profile got corrupted and to fix it, I had to transfer my TB folders to a different Windows user profile.

After doing so, I noticed that searches of my TB email didn't always show all relevant emails.

I continued using TB without any other obvious issues. While using it in June, I created some new subfolders and saved about 300 emails into these half-dozen new folders.

Then in July, I made a backup of TB again.

Now I recently installed a new replacement hard drive in my laptop and did a fresh install of Windows 10.

I need to install TB and then restore either the May or July backup to my new Windows 10 configuration.

If I restore the May backup, am I correct that the folders I created in July won't show up? Will the emails that I had placed in those folders just be back in my main Inbox?

If I restore the July backup, I assume that all my newer half-dozen sub-folders, and their emails, will all be restored. But I'm wondering if the indexing on the July backup may have been corrupted, and if I'll have to fix that.

Which would you recommend as a more practical choice for restoring, the May backup or the July one?

In '''May''' I backed up my Thunderbird profile (which uses IMAP). Subsequently, my Windows 10 user profile got corrupted and to fix it, I had to transfer my TB folders to a different Windows user profile. After doing so, I noticed that searches of my TB email didn't always show all relevant emails. I continued using TB without any other obvious issues. While using it in '''June''', I created some new subfolders and saved about 300 emails into these half-dozen new folders. Then in '''July''', I made a backup of TB again. Now I recently installed a new replacement hard drive in my laptop and did a fresh install of Windows 10. I need to install TB and then restore either the May or July backup to my new Windows 10 configuration. If I restore the '''May''' backup, am I correct that the folders I created in July won't show up? Will the emails that I had placed in those folders just be back in my main Inbox? If I restore the '''July''' backup, I assume that all my newer half-dozen sub-folders, and their emails, will all be restored. But I'm wondering if the indexing on the July backup may have been corrupted, and if I'll have to fix that. '''Which would you recommend as a more practical choice for restoring, the May backup or the July one?'''

All Replies (4)

Stans
Stans
more options

The most recent backup. Repairing the index and/or search database is very easy to do.

blue_sky
blue_sky Question owner
more options

Great, thanks for your response!

blue_sky
blue_sky Question owner
more options

Might you have any link to how to repair?

Stans
Stans
more options

Simply right-click the folder in Thunderbird's Folder Pane, select Properties and you'll see the Repair Folder button. This will rebuild the index of that folder.

To rebuild the search database, simply open your profile folder and delete the file named global-messages-db.sqlite then restart Thunderbird. It will be recreated when Thunderbird starts and global search results will be up-to-date.

For details, see https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-where-thunderbird-stores-user-data https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/global-search https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profile-manager-create-and-remove-thunderbird-profiles