tried to save addressbook in Thunderbird but.....

Birdman48 · 01-10-2012, 10:16 PM

Hi. I thought I was saving everything I needed by tarring ~/.thunderbird before a re-install . I guess this is a script - at least that's what Dolphin says it is. Is this script worthless? I doubt there are any addresses in it.

War3zWad|0 · 01-11-2012, 03:04 AM

gonna need a lot more information than that which has been provided.

What script are you running for one?

Did you export your address book prior to backing up?

Have you tried untarring and replacing the .thunderbird directory with your backup copy?

What error are you getting?

Please take a look at the following link for more information on how to properly ask a question in the forum to provide you with better assistance:

http://www.linuxquestions.org/linux/...Ask_a_Question

zQUEz · 01-11-2012, 05:59 AM

I don't know what "Dolphin" is. but yes, I believe ~./thunderbird is where all the personal email settings are stored.
On your new system, install Thunderbird, copy back ~./thunderbird from wherever you saved it and start Thunderbird. Your settings should be saved.

If you still have your old machine, I believe there is also an export feature within the Thunderbird application.

Janus_Hyperion · 01-11-2012, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Birdman48

Hi. I thought I was saving everything I needed by tarring ~/.thunderbird before a re-install.

The '.thunderbird' is a folder containing ALL your thunderbird data. You should be able to copy the contents of this folder to the '.thunderbird'(new) and have a fully functional thunderbird ALONG with address book.

I have done this over and over with my installations. I have copied from linux (ubuntu, fedora) to windows and it has always worked (so far).

War3zWad|0 · 01-11-2012, 12:59 PM

zQUEz

Quote:

I don't know what "Dolphin" is.

Dolphin is the new standard File Manager for most Linux Distros.

I would also have to agree with everyone on the fact that if you have tar'ed the .thunderbird folder you have essentially "backed up" your Thunderbird settings and as everyone else has stated you should be able to replace your "new" .thunderbird directory with the files that you "backed up". I like nonamedotc I have used this method many times over the years and not just for Thunderbird, but for Firefox, Opera, Google Chrome, and many other services such as bind, slapd, mysql

Birdman48 · 01-11-2012, 07:19 PM

um.. Okay so I will backup my newest /.thunderbird file and then delete. Then I will copy the extracted tarball file .thunderbird into the former file's place. Let's see what happens. Time me..
-edit-
okay So here's what I did:

Code:

jay@linux-zg6i:~> su root
Password: 
linux-zg6i:/home/jay # cd /usr/bin

linux-zg6i:/usr/bin # ls -l thunderbird
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 33 Jan  8 21:45 thunderbird -> ../lib/thunderbird/thunderbird.sh

linux-zg6i:/usr/bin # cp thunderbird thunderbird_old

linux-zg6i:/usr/bin # ls -l thunderbird*
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root   33 Jan  8 21:45 thunderbird -> ../lib/thunderbird/thunderbird.sh
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 3978 Jan 11 20:23 thunderbird_old
linux-zg6i:/usr/bin #

I copied /usr/bin/thunderbird
I moved my backup /mnt/sdb1/thunderbird into /usr/bin/, hopefully clobbering the existing one.
-although file /usr/bin/thunderbird looks like a link to another file - /lib/thunderbird/thunderbird.sh.. Maybe that's the one I should replace.

Janus_Hyperion · 01-11-2012, 11:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Birdman48

um.. Okay so I will backup my newest /.thunderbird file and then delete. Then I will copy the extracted tarball file .thunderbird into the former file's place. Let's see what happens. Time me..
-edit-
okay So here's what I did:

Code:

jay@linux-zg6i:~> su root
Password: 
linux-zg6i:/home/jay # cd /usr/bin

linux-zg6i:/usr/bin # ls -l thunderbird
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 33 Jan  8 21:45 thunderbird -> ../lib/thunderbird/thunderbird.sh

linux-zg6i:/usr/bin # cp thunderbird thunderbird_old

linux-zg6i:/usr/bin # ls -l thunderbird*
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root   33 Jan  8 21:45 thunderbird -> ../lib/thunderbird/thunderbird.sh
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 3978 Jan 11 20:23 thunderbird_old
linux-zg6i:/usr/bin #

I copied /usr/bin/thunderbird
I moved my backup /mnt/sdb1/thunderbird into /usr/bin/, hopefully clobbering the existing one.
-although file /usr/bin/thunderbird looks like a link to another file - /lib/thunderbird/thunderbird.sh.. Maybe that's the one I should replace.

Nope!

You would need to copy the "/home/username/.thunderbird" folder.

I, personally, do not see any point in copying and saving the symbolic links in /usr/bin folder. These are generated automatically if you install thunderbird from the repositories. So, copy the folder in your home folder. I hope that will help. Good luck.