Fedora Users — Solution: Re: How to migrate profile/account from Windoze Mozilla to FC3

A. Rick Anderson wrote:

Felix Miata wrote:

A. Rick Anderson wrote:

What files do I need to copy from my windoze box to my Linux box so that
when I bring up mozilla mail, I get all my existing email, filters,
directories, addresses, etc.

This issue is addressed indirectly beginning at
http://www.mozilla.org/start/1.5/faq/profile.html#backup

Once you've copied the files, you'll need to edit prefs.js to correct
the absolute pathnames and the names of the *.s & *.w files. See
http://www.mozilla.org/start/1.7/ and its links for additional
information.

It took a while, cuz it turns out that there were a lot more properties that needed to be deleted then is documented in the FAQ, and there were a few implied steps. I got the messages to come up, but Mozilla kept crashing every time I tried to edit the properties. I finally got by going balletic on any and every property that had any hint of WinDoze path in it.

1) Make sure the Mozilla profile that you are coping from WinDoze is your *current* profile. Between samba and roaming profiles, determining this is not always as easy as it may seem ;-}
2) Create a directory in your home directory ex: ~/.Mozilla/<PROFILE_NAME>
3) Copy the "SALT" directory from your WinDoze box to the new directory.
4) In the root folder of the "SALT" directory, there will be a file named "prefs.js"
5) Edit this file (be sure that Mozilla is NOT running).
6) Remove every property that refers to a WinDoze path. Be liberal in what you delete. Also, delete the matching "relative path" properties. For example, the instructions tell you to delete "mail.root.pop3", but they don't tell you to delete "mail.root.pop3-rel" property. The easy properties to spot are those that use back slashes or "C:\\". The tougher ones to spot are the ones that refer to WinDoze machines using double back slashes. Look for "\\\\<ServerName". Do NOT try and simply guess the correct directory. You can always reset it later and then let Mozilla save it correctly. Save the file and exit.
7) Start Mozilla, goto the profile manager.
8) Create a new profile with the name <PROFILE_NAME>. As the FAQ points out, Mozilla will use the existing "SALT" directory that you copied into this directory.
9) Glance at the default path. This will normally be ~/.Mozilla/<PROFILE_NAME>. If not, navigate to where you put the "SALT" directory by using the button "Choose Folder...". If your directory is in a hidden directory (which it is by default), you will need to select the context menu (usually this is a right-click) in the Mozilla file chooser in order to display the files and directories that start with a ".", such as ".Mozilla".
10) If you deleted all the properties, as suggested in step 6, you can immediately go on to the next step, otherwise you need to exit Mozilla and edit prefs.js as directed.
11) Follow the FAQ directions on setting the Local File's. By default, new directories for these with a "-1" added to the directory name. (I deleted these directories after switching)
12) Exit Mozilla and restart. All your filters, email and folders should be present.

The key steps that were not clear in the FAQ.
1) Remove all PC related properties, not just the six or seven listed.
2) Mozilla does not display hidden directories by default. You must use the context menu to get to the .Mozilla directory within the Mozilla file chooser.
3) I looked at the .s and .w files, but didn't see anything to change. I got it up without modifying these files.

-- 
A. Rick Anderson