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When I use Thunderbird to import my address book, it does not ask where
to look to import the file. Is there some special place I need to put
my outlook express file for the thunderbird software to find it?

In the faq of webmail ( ) they have
the question of how to install these extensions but you say "In
Mozilla Thunderbird, open the extension manager (Tools Menu/
Extensions)". But I do not see any such place in the tools menu.

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Quick summary and a safe, practical way to move everything from the old PC to the new one (building on ’s update and ’s suggestions). The Thunderbird import wizard only finds Outlook Express / Windows Address Book if those components exist on the machine — that’s why installing Thunderbird on the old computer and building a working profile there was the right first step. Two reliable choices now: use a backup tool such as MozBackup (easy, single-file backup/restore, as mentioned), or do a manual profile copy. The manual method below is more transparent and works even if you prefer not to use third-party utilities.

Steps to copy the profile manually:

  • Close Thunderbird on both machines.
  • On the old PC locate the profile folder. In Explorer type %APPDATA%\Thunderbird\ (this expands to C:\Documents and Settings\<user>\Application Data\Thunderbird\ on XP or C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\ on Vista/7/8/10/11). Copy the profiles.ini file and the entire Profiles\<xxxxxx>.default (or similarly named) folder.
  • Transfer that folder and profiles.ini to the same %APPDATA%\Thunderbird\ location on the new PC (use a USB drive, network share or ZIP).

Restore and verify:

  • Install Thunderbird once on the new PC so the folders exist, then exit it.
  • Put the copied profile into the Profiles folder and either start Thunderbird (it may pick the profile automatically) or run the Profile Manager to choose the copied profile (use Thunderbird’s profile switch option).
  • Start Thunderbird and confirm accounts, mail, address books and saved passwords. If you used IMAP, messages normally remain on the server; POP mail, address books and saved passwords are kept in the profile you just copied.

Troubleshooting and cautions:

  • Always keep a backup of both old and new profiles.ini before overwriting.
  • Copying the whole profile preserves extensions, saved passwords and certificates; if extensions fail after migration, reinstall them from the Add‑ons manager (press Alt to reveal the menu bar if it’s hidden and look under Tools → Add‑ons).
  • If Thunderbird complains about incompatibilities after a large version jump, create a fresh profile, then copy only Mail, Local Folders and address‑book files from the old profile into the new one.

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Member Avatar for hughv

TB probably looks in the default location for the wab file associated with your identity, It should work with no intervention.
For extensions, look under Tools/Add ons.

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Update:

Here is the situation. I am setting up a new computer that does not have Outlook Express or any other previous email software. I am trying to move the settings and the email accounts and data from another computer.

I just managed to do one thing that will help. On the older computer, I just downloaded and installed Thunderbird and I loaded all the old email and settings into that copy of Thunderbird. So the question now is this. How do I move this information from the older computer to the new computer? What data files do I look for for moving from the older computer? I looked for an export option and I did not find one.

(The Extensions problem will be looked into after I fix this issue)

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