How to Backup Thunderbird Emails to External Hard Drive?

In today’s post, we’ll show you the best methods to backup Thunderbird emails to external hard drive. If you’re looking for a solution, this blog is for you. Here, you’ll learn about the importance of backups and 4 proven methods to save Thunderbird emails to hard drive.

Mozilla Thunderbird is a well-known, free, open-source email client. It allows you to easily send and receive emails. Thunderbird is user-friendly and can be easily installed on Linux, Windows, and Mac systems.

However, the biggest concern is the security of our data, as it contains vital information. The answer is a resounding no. Data loss can have many causes, such as system failures, hardware failures, data theft, or accidental deletion.

So, how do we protect our important data? Backup: Yes, saving Thunderbird emails to external hard drive is the only way to secure your data.

Now, the question arises is how to backup Thunderbird emails to external hard drive. Don’t worry! In the next section, we are going to explain the solutions to export Thunderbird emails step by step.

Importance of Creating a Thunderbird Backup to Hard Drive

• Restore Data: By saving Thunderbird emails to external hard drive, you can easily restore the data if it is accidentally deleted or a hardware failure occurs.
• Protection from Hackers: Protect your Thunderbird emails from cyber threats such as malware or ransomware by saving Thunderbird emails to hard drive.
• Hacker Protection: If your Thunderbird profile is hacked, you will no longer be able to access your data. This can be very frustrating. To avoid this, backup Thunderbird emails to external hard drive. This way, you can easily access your data.
• Data Migration: Before migrating emails from Thunderbird, it’s best to create a Thunderbird backup on your hard drive to avoid data loss.

So these are some common reasons or needs to backup or export Thunderbird emails.

Now, let’s look at the methods to save Thunderbird emails to hard drive stepwise.

How to Backup Thunderbird Emails to External Hard Drive Manually (Free)?

Basically, 3 manual methods are there that help you backup emails from Thunderbird profile to the hard drive. The methods are:

1. Using the Save as Option
2. Using ImportExportTools Add-on
3. Using the Copy and Paste Option

In this section, you’ll learn the complete steps for all three methods. Later, you can choose one based on your preferences or needs for Thunderbird backup.

Method 1: Save Thunderbird Emails in EML Format Using Save as Option

This is the most useful method to backup Thunderbird emails as EML files. Follow the steps given below to achieve this:

1. Open your Thunderbird email application and click on the folder from which you want to export emails.
2. Then select the emails you want to back up.
3. Right-click on the emails and select Save as option.
4. Now, select the preferred folder to store emails.
5. Finally, click on the Save button.

With this method, your emails are saved separately in EML files.

Method 2: Backup Thunderbird Emails Using ImportExportTools NG Add-on

Using this Thunderbird add-on, you can export Thunderbird emails in MBOX file format. You can follow the instructions below for creating Thunderbird backup:

1. Open your Thunderbird email client on your system.
2. Then click the menu button and select “Add-ons and Themes.”
3. Next, search for “ImportExportTools NG.”
4. Click the “Add to Thunderbird” option to proceed.
5. Click Add option to add the extension to Thunderbird.
6. Afterward, restart your Thunderbird application.
7. Now, right-click on the folder you wish to backup.
8. Click ImportExportTools NG > Export All Messages in a Folder > Select Desired File Format. 
9. You can also choose Folder Export >> As MBOX file option.
10. Now, choose the destination where you want to save Thunderbird emails.

That’s it!

This way, you can backup Thunderbird emails in MBOX, EML, HTML, PDF, TXT, and CSV file format.

Method 3: Backup Thunderbird Profile Using Copy and Paste Option

1. Launch Thunderbird and click the three horizontal lines.
2. From the “Help” menu, select “Troubleshooting Information.” 
3. In the “Application Preferences” section, select “Open Folder.”
4. This will open your profile directory.
5. Copy the desired folder from the File Explorer window that opens and paste it elsewhere.

All done!

How to Save Thunderbird Emails Automatically in Multiple Formats?

You can also use the Thunderbird Backup Tool to quickly backup Thunderbird emails to external hard drive. It provides you with an option to export Thunderbird emails to PST, EML, PDF, MBOX, CSV, HTML, TXT, and many other formats. You can also select the folder where you want to save the exported emails.

This software lets you save multiple emails from a Thunderbird profile at a single time. Moreover, you can also filter your emails according to date range, subject, from, and more to backup only specific emails. Apart from that, you can backup emails from multiple Thunderbird profiles one after one.

You can also use this software to transfer emails from Thunderbird to Gmail, Office 365, and any IMAP-supported email services. It is a Windows-supported tool that works with all versions of Windows.

Steps to Backup Thunderbird Emails to External Hard Drive are as follows:

1. Launch the Thunderbird backup tool and click on the Open menu.
2. Click on Desktop Email Clients and select Thunderbird profile. 
3. Select the emails you want to save and preview with attachments.
4. Then click Export and choose the desired file format from the list.
5. Pick a location to store exported emails and click on the Save button.

Finished!

This method allows you to save Thunderbird emails in multiple formats to your hard drive so you can open them in multiple email clients and devices.

Final Thoughts

Here, we’ve explained four effective ways to backup Thunderbird emails to external hard drive. The three main manual methods work perfectly. However, if you want to export Thunderbird emails in various formats, we recommend using the Thunderbird Backup tool. It allows you to save Thunderbird emails in bulk to your hard drive without losing any information.