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

[A. Rick Anderson]

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


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