How to export mail from thunderbird (PC) to thunderbird (mac OS X)

You should be able to do that following steps outlines at

http://sunpig.com/martin/archives/2005/09/20/mac-switching-update-tue-20-sep.htm l

(same procedure is described in a few other places when you do a web search).

I just did this using a program called Eudora Mailbox Cleaner, and it worked very well.

http://homepage.mac.com/aamann/EudoraMailboxCleaner.html

The short version of the instructions for Thunderbird email transfer are at the link. I give the long version here. It worked great!

I stayed with both Thunderbird email and Firefox browser when migrating/transferring from the PC world. You will want a better password handler for Firefox and I suggest 1Password that is worth the $35 and has saved me hours of mess with Firefox browser security system. It also has a a personal identity form fill that saves time. Apple's email and browser just don't solve my problems. Wish they did!

Transfer Thunderbird Email from PC Windows to Mac Apple

1. First I had to install the latest versions of Thunderbird on both the Windows and Apple machines.

2. I started the programs to test them. Then I did a "quit" of Thunderbird from the file menu on both the Windows and Apple machines. Don't just hit "x" to get it off the screen but officially quit the program.

3. I was on Windows and going to Apple so I looked for the weird named Thunderbird email profile folder on the Windows machine . It was somewhere in the Windows user data area. Search on Mozilla and/or "Thunderbird" then find the Thunderbird profiles directory and it will have some weird name like "odnq4v.default". You have to turn on "see hidden files" and "show file extension names" on the Windows machine to find it. Typical windows oddness. It is out there somewhere.

4. Then I burned a CD on my Windows machine of this Windows Thunderbird email weird named profile folder to capture the data in it.

5. I put the burned CD into my Apple machine and clicked on the CD to open the weird named folder.

6. Then I went looking on the Apple hard disk icon for the weird named folder from the Apple Thunderbird software install. It was in folder: Users - YourUserName - Library - Thunderbird - Profiles - WeirdProfileName . Also, you can use Apple's spotlight to search on "Thunderbird" to find it.

Then instead of deleting this profile that was automatically made on the Apple, as the other user suggested, I had to use it! It would not work if deleted and replaced it by the folder from the Windows machine. Maybe this has changed since I did it a few versions ago. The Thunderbird email program only seems to find the folder that the install program created by itself on the machine.

7. I deleted the "contents of" the Apple weird named profile folder but NOT the folder itself.

8. Then I copied from the burned CD, my Windows data from the Windows version of this folder. I did NOT copy the folder itself just the data inside it, and pasted it into the inside of the weird folder name on the Apple machine. You can also drag and drop from the CD to the Apple hard disk folder if your Apple mouse is working well... mine was not and had to be replaced once then rebuilt by me another time!

9. Then I started the Apple Thunderbird email program and found all the data without any problem. All my email names showed up in the program where they should and the old data was there.

10. Problems: If the Apple Thunderbird program can't find the data then you might try: Delete the Apple weird profile folder name then run the Thunderbird install program again on the Apple so it will create a new weird profile name folder and then just copy over the contents of your old Windows data from the CD without deleting the Apple files first - you are skipping step 7 above. I did not have to do this.

Good luck! It is scary to do this I know but I have said goodbye to Windows weirdness and non sense and have never looked back.