Methods to Backup Thunderbird Emails to External Hard Drive?

Mozilla Thunderbird is a free desktop-based email client launched by the Mozilla group. This email service is used for sending and receiving messages worldwide. It comes up with multiple features like RSS feed reader, newsgroup, and chat option. Besides this, the size of its mailbox is less, so it requires the users to backup Thunderbird emails to external hard drive.

Here before moving towards the solution, firstly, have a look on the benefits to copy Thunderbird emails to external hard drive. In the below section, you will be aware of some of the benefits and the best possible methods to backup and restore thunderbird emails on external hard drive. 

Need to Backup Thunderbird Emails to External Hard Drive

Well, there are multiple benefits of having a Thunderbird mail backup on your Windows operating system. In which, few of them are given below

·     Saving the Thunderbird emails on the hard drive allows the users to save the mailbox size for the upcoming emails.

·     Mozilla Thunderbird is prone to multiple virus attacks. So, users must have a copy of their mailbox items in their system.

·    Backup of Thunderbird emails to external hard drives is an alternate way to access crucial emails without an internet connection.

·         If the user wants to delete their Thunderbird profile permanently.

The above-listed reasons insist that users save Thunderbird emails to external hard drives. Now, let’s begin to know the different methods to backup emails. 

How to Backup Thunderbird Emails to External Hard Drive?

Method 1: Installing the Import/ExportTools Add-on

In this method, using the Import/Export Tools add-on, users can copy Thunderbird emails to external hard drive on the Windows operating system. Follow the step-by-step process to know.

·         Launch the Thunderbird Mail on your Windows operating system.

·         Now, navigate to Display the Thunderbird Icon on the top right side of the display and select the Add ons & Themes option.

·     Enter ImportExportTools on the search bar and tap the Add to Thunderbird button.

·      In the Pop-up wizard asking Add ImportExport NG, press the Add button and click Ok.

·    After that, right-click on the left pane of the screen to choose the Import Export NG.

·     Then, select Export all messages in the folder from the expanded drop-down menu.

·     Lastly, choose the type of format in which you want to backup Thunderbird emails to external hard drive. 

·    Finally, save the file format on your system and press the Select folder button.

Method 2: Backup Thunderbird Profile

Here in this method, Thunderbird backup emails locally by copying the entire Thunderbird profile. Perform the given below steps carefully to backup Thunderbird emails.

·       Launch the Mozilla Thunderbird mail account by entering its credentials.

·     Now, click on the Display Thunderbird Menu icon and choose the Help option under the drop-down menu.

·      After that, click on the More Troubleshooting Information under the help.

·      Then tap on the Open folder (Local Drive) tab in the profile folder.

·   In the next step, a User profile directory will launch with a specific name format.

·    Finally, press the Alt+Up arrow keys simultaneously or the Upward arrow icon and copy the user’s profile folder. At last, paste them as per your choice.

Here you can successfully backup Thunderbird emails to external hard drive. But the above manual methods have some drawbacks that we have listed below:

·         The above process uses a considerable amount of time and effort of the users.

·         It is quite a lengthy process to perform.

·         Users required technical expertise to perform the backup process.

·         You cannot take the email backup into PST, MSG, and PDF format.

To overcome all the above drawbacks users are searching for the best alternative method. So in the below part, we have introduced the expert solution to copy Thunderbird emails to external hard drive.

Method 3: Alternate Approach 

Cigati Thunderbird Backup Tool is one of the trusted utilities that help the user to save Thunderbird emails to PST, PDF, MSG, MBOX, CSV, EMLX, etc. It also migrates Thunderbird emails to Office 365, Gmail, IMAP, Live Exchange, Yahoo Mail, iCloud, and many more web-based email clients. Also, the software is capable to backup Thunderbird emails to external hard drive including all the mailbox data and attachments. 

Some Attributes of Thunderbird Backup Tool

·  The software backs up and convert Thunderbird to PST and others file formats and email clients.

·  Allows the option to preview the Thunderbird emails before the conversion process.

·      Users can remove duplicate emails from the conversion process.

·     This utility is inbuilt with a date range filter that allows the users to backup the emails between the selected dates.

Conclusion

In this write-up, we have explained the detailed process to backup Thunderbird emails to external hard drive on Windows OS in a seamless manner. So, users have different choices to opt for the best method. However, the manual process has some drawbacks, due to which we recommend users to opt for the alternate method using the Thunderbird backup tool. The software efficiently takes the backup of Thunderbird emails into different file formats and email clients.