Problems with the Terminal

[Geoff]

Hi,
I am completely new to a Mac and have just started using OS X Yosemite on a mac mini. I have been using Linux Ubuntu for the past 7 years.
My problem is, I hope, very easy to solve :- Due to a hiccup while setting up Thunderbird I need to delete the profile.ini file in Thunderbird. The Mozilla site gives instructions on how to access the file in the terminal but for some reason I cannot get this the happen, I keep getting an error message saying there is no such file or directory. I have found how to view hidden files but I am no better off. I would be very grateful if someone could tell me exactly what i need to do to zap it. Geoff

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

-Which version of Thunderbird - 38.5.1?
-Can you give us a link to the Mozilla documentation you were following?
-Do you have a lot of contacts/calendars/email stored in Thunderbird already?

C

 

[Geoff]

Hello and welcome.

-Which version of Thunderbird - 38.5.1?
-Can you give us a link to the Mozilla documentation you were following?
-Do you have a lot of contacts/calendars/email stored in Thunderbird already?

C

Hi,
I am completely new to a Mac and have just started using OS X Yosemite on a mac mini. I have been using Linux Ubuntu for the past 7 years.
My problem is, I hope, very easy to solve :- Due to a hiccup while setting up Thunderbird I need to delete the profile.ini file in Thunderbird. The Mozilla site gives instructions on how to access the file in the terminal but for some reason I cannot get this the happen, I keep getting an error message saying there is no such file or directory. I have found how to view hidden files but I am no better off. I would be very grateful if someone could tell me exactly what i need to do to zap it. Geoff

Hi, Thanks for replying. I downloaded ver38.5.1 My intention is to substitute the downloaded profile with an existing one from my old Linux system (Containing 6 years of e-mails). I replaced the profile file and when I tried to restart Thunderbird, got an error message "Your Thunderbird profile cannot be loaded. It may be missing or inaccessible."Presumably because the profile.ini was directing to the original profile which was no longer there. I wasn't too bothered about this because in the past on linux I could easily access it. However I just couldn't find it.I read on the Mozilla website that if I deleted the profile.ini file, Thunderbird would produce a new profile file and the .ini file would direct to it, I could then start again .As for which websites I used to get information from I have to confess that I looked at so many that I don't know which one I actually used. Since posting my original thread I managed to get as far as an error message saying that I did not have the necessary permissions to access the file. I don't know how you make yourself a superuser in OS X. I think my main problem is that I just don't know my way around the terminal.Just before I read your answer to my thread I found another website (https://www.mikesel.info/show-hidden-files-mac-os-x-10-7-lion/) that looked promising as it deals with hidden files and making yourself a superuser. I'll let you know how I get on.

 

[Cory Cooper]

I believe there is a way to export the emails from an old version of Thunderbird and import them into the new. Do you still have access to the Linux computer/version?

C

 

[Geoff]

I believe there is a way to export the emails from an old version of Thunderbird and import them into the new. Do you still have access to the Linux computer/version?

C

Hi, yes I still have access to the linux version but my problem is that Thunderbird will not open because of the error message "Your Thunderbird profile cannot be loaded. It may be missing or inaccessible." If I try to reinstall Thunderbird I still get the same message so presumably it doesn't overwrite any existing files. If I could get rid of Thunderbird completely then I could reinstall it and it would have a corresponding profile.ini file and Profile directory. I could then try and import from my linux backup. G

 

[Cory Cooper]

If you want to start fresh with Thunderbird on the Mac, delete the entire profile folder located here:

Macintosh HD > Users > yourusername > Library > Thunderbird > Profiles

Mozilla Support: Thunderbird > Profile TB

Thunderbird should recreate a new one when you launch it again.

C

 

[Geoff]

If you want to start fresh with Thunderbird on the Mac, delete the entire profile folder located here:

Macintosh HD > Users > yourusername > Library > Thunderbird > Profiles

Mozilla Support: Thunderbird > Profile TB

Thunderbird should recreate a new one when you launch it again.

C

Hi, yes, I got rid of it and re-installed a new one. All I've got to do now is import my settings. Thanks very much for all your help.G

 

[Cory Cooper]

Excellent...glad it worked.

Let us know how it goes,

C