Backup Thunderbird Email Messages to Your Hard Drive Effortlessly

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Written By Chirag Arora  
Anuraag Singh
Approved By Anuraag Singh 
Published On November 1st, 2022
Reading Time 4 Minutes Reading

Mozilla Thunderbird is a widely used email client; everyday users receive a number of emails that continuously increase the volume of the data in the corporate server. The process of backup and archiving the mail client data is the only solution that ensures the better performance of the email server. In addition, there are many other conditions in which backup Thunderbird email messages have become very necessary. In this article, we will discuss the need to backup and procedures by which users can create Thunderbird email backup on the desktop.

The Need to Backup Thunderbird Email Messages

There are several reasons behind taking backup of Thunderbird email messages into hard drive, some of them are stated below-

Business Continuity: Many times, a server is going through downtime due to the increased volume of stored data on the server, which may lead to a server crash. The failure of servers directly affects the business continuity of any organization. With the help of backup, an organization can continue the access of email data if any server downtime or crash occurs.

Enhances Server Performance: Users can migrate email backup data from the organization server to local hard drive to enhance the performance of the server by freeing up the storage space. It also reduces the probability of server crash.

Email data loss: There are many reasons that may cause data loss from Thunderbird:

  • Intentional / unintentional deletion
  • Data server failure
  • Account gets hacked

How to Backup Thunderbird Emails Effortlessly

Mozilla Thunderbird stores three data types in the system:

  • All local messages or we can say that copies of messages reside on the server.
  • User preferences that stores changes in account settings while using the Thunderbird.
  • Password of the user account

The folder that contains all three types of data is called profile. When the user installs Thunderbird, it creates default profile, which is saved in computer’s hard drive. Each profile is stored in “profiles” folder present in Thunderbird folder.

The profile uses following convention (8digit_string).(Default_profile), user can locate profile in User>appdata>Roaming>Thunderbird>Profiles>xxxxxxxx.default.

thunderbird profile location

The alternative method to backup Thunderbird email messages to hard drive is by using the MBOX to PST Converter software. It allows you to take backup of all emails in EML and 5 other formats.

EML files can be easily restored in Thunderbird by simply dragging and dropping them from the local computer to a mailbox folder inside Thunderbird.

Backing up a Thunderbird Profile

In order to backup Thunderbird profile, the user needs to close the Thunderbird if it is open and then need to make a copy of the profile folder to another location. Users can follow the given steps to create a backup of profile:

  • Close the Thunderbird.
  • Locate your profile folder using User>appdata>Roaming>Thunderbird>Profiles>xxxxxxxx.default.
  • Now Right-click on your profile folder xxxxxxxx.default
  • Click on Copy
  • then Right-click on the backup location that can be any USB-drive, memory or blank CD-RW disc)
  • and select Paste option

Restoring the Backup Profile

The restoration of a backup profile is very easy. For restoring the backup profile manually, one needs to copy the backed-up folder in the profile folder of Thunderbird into a different system or in the same system accordingly. Then, user can gain access of the profile data whenever they need.

Ready to Backup Thunderbird Email Messages?

After going through the need for Thunderbird email backup and its procedure, we can conclude that one should always create a backup of their important emails. In addition, the manual procedure of creating profile backup is a very easy task where users can backup Thunderbird email messages using the simple steps stated above.

  author

By Chirag Arora

Chirag Arora is a seasoned professional who wears multiple hats in the digital realm. As a Digital Marketing Manager, he orchestrates successful online campaigns, optimizing brand visibility and engagement. Additionally, Chirag brings meticulous attention to detail to his role as a Content Proofreader, ensuring that every piece of content shines with accuracy and clarity.