Backup Thunderbird Email Accounts

There are two ways to backup: Use a backup utility or do it yourself manually. For automatic backup, you can use MozBackup. MozBackup is a free utility written by Pavel Cvrcek that will automatically backup Firefox and Thunderbird as well as Netscape and the full Mozilla suite.
Manual Thunderbird Backup in only 2 Steps

Manual backup is very easy. And you are in full control of the process, that is what why recommend it. Backing up Thunderbird manually is as simple as copying their respective profile folders to another location. If you do that, you’ll have a full backup with all your setting and personal data saved.
1. Find the profile Thunderbird folder

They are located in different places for different versions of Windows and they may be assigned random file names that make them difficult to recognize.

On Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista machines the location for your Thunderbird profile is:
C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\0cn5gx8z.default\

On Windows 9x/Me PCs it can usually be found at:
C:\Windows\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\0cn5gx8z.default\

On Windows 7:
C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\0cn5gx8z.default\

2. Copy the Thunderbird profile folder - Done!

To back these up just copy the profiles folder(look like: 0cn5gx8z.default) to another location, drive, CD or USB stick. It's as simple as that! You can do it manually but you cab also use Windows Scheduler to do the job automatically with a batch file (for experts).

Backup CuteFTP Site Manager

In the past I've had issues using CuteFTP's Import / Export feature to migrate my FTP site list, in particular, loosing password information. This tutorial teaches you how to export or backup your CuteFTP Site Manager and keep your passwords and connection data intact.

Notice: Before we go any further...

This is the process i use when i need to quickly transfer my FTP connection data over to a new machine or if for some reason i need to reinstall CuteFTP (CuteFTP 7 & 8). Whether it is the 'right way' I'm not sure, but it works for me. I take NO responsiblity for any mishaps you may have following this process. Just be careful and if your not sure, leave it.

For reference, here is a link to Globescape's support page.


It's pretty straight forward stuff to be honest, the annoying part generally being finding where the Site Manager sm.dat file is stored. sm.dat is CuteFTP's file which stores all the connection info.

To find Site Manager path, use the menu and go to:

Tools >> Global Options >> Security

Under the Security section you should see the Site Manager Path. It should look something like this:















Navigate to the location of the sm.dat file and make a copy of it.

You sould now be able to place this into a fresh CuteFTP install and use Tools >> Global Options >> Security to point at your backed up sm.dat.



Quick Solution

Read the notice before continuing:

* Open CuteFTP
* Menu >> Tools >> Global Options >> Security
* Find Site Manager Path (see image above)
* Copy sm.dat file at that path
(Mine was: C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Application Data\GlobalSCAPE\CuteFTP Pro\8.1\sm.dat)
* Paste sm.dat into the appropriate folder in the new CuteFTP install
* Point CuteFTP to the new sm.dat
* Done