How to backup Mozilla Thunderbird in Windows 2000/XP

This is something that despite being such an easy process I keep forgetting how to do. Therefore I have decided to document the procedure for my reference and for anyone else who would want to know.

The easy part of this process is simply copying the profile folder for Thunderbird and pasting it to another location (ideally a backup device such as an external hard drive). If you don’t have a device like this then give yourself a slap and go see the nice people at eBuyer for a reliable external hard drive.

The tricky part however is locating the profile folder in order to copy it. For Windows 2000/XP installations this should be as follows.

C:\Documents and Settings\Windows login/user name\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\Profile name\

As an example mine was

C:\Documents and Settings\Gary\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\43mmzgrt.default

If your looking for something that will backup Thunderbird or FireFox automatically then check out MozBackup.