MozBackup: Difference between revisions

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: ''(Article originally written for Thunderbird only.)''
:''This article was originally written for Thunderbird but it also applies to Firefox and Mozilla Suite.''
'''Important: MozBackup development has been discontinued, and it may not work with the latest versions of Firefox, Thunderbird, or the Mozilla Suite. Use it at your own risk. See [[Profile backup]] for simple instructions on making backups manually.'''


MozBackup is a standalone utility (for Windows only) rather than a Thunderbird extension. It works by backing up a Thunderbird [[Profile_folder_-_Thunderbird | profile]] into a single file (named "*.pcv"), which can then be restored on the same Windows computer or a different one. MozBackup can also be used to back up and restore Firefox, Mozilla Suite, and Netscape 7 profiles. It can be downloaded from the [http://mozbackup.jasnapaka.com/ MozBackup homepage], where additional MozBackup documentation is also available.


MozBackup is a standalone utility (for Windows only) rather than a Thunderbird extension. It works by backing up a Thunderbird profile into a single file (named *.pcv), which can then be restored on the same Windows computer or a different one. (MozBackup can also be used to back up and restore Firefox, Mozilla Suite, and Netscape 7 profiles.) It can be downloaded at the [http://backup.jasnapaka.com/ MozBackup homepage].
Use Mozbackup 1.5.2 Beta 1 (there is a download link for it in the News section) rather than the version available at the normal download link. Mozbackup 1.5.1 usually works fine but a few users have had problems where it doesn't backup everything it is supposed to. The beta doesn't seem to have that problem. While Mozbackup is extremely popular in the forums, it's no longer maintained. Its recommended that you verify that you can restore a backup it creates before relying upon it.  


Note: If you are planning to use MozBackup for making regular backups, it is recommended that you first test it to verify that it will properly restore your Thunderbird profile. It seems not to work well in certain situations, such as with profiles that have been deliberately created in non-default locations.
==Backing up==
 
====Backing up====
# If Thunderbird is running, exit the application.
# If Thunderbird is running, exit the application.
# After downloading and installing MozBackup, launch the utility, choose the "Backup" option, and follow the instructions.
# After downloading and installing MozBackup, launch the utility, choose the "Backup" option and follow the instructions.
# At the bottom of the next screen, you can specify the location of the backup file (*.pcv) that will be created. Take note of where the file will be saved.
# At the bottom of the next screen you can specify the location of the backup file ("*.pcv") that will be created. Take note of where the file will be saved.
# Click on through the remaining screens until the .pcv file has been created. Then burn this file onto a CD or store it elsewhere for safekeeping.
# Click on through the remaining screens until the .pcv file has been created. Then burn this file onto a CD or store it elsewhere for safekeeping.


====Restoring/migrating====
==Restoring/migrating==
# Make sure Thunderbird has been installed on the computer. If it has not been launched yet, it is probably best to launch it once to make sure the registry.dat file has been created. Exit Thunderbird before proceeding.
# Make sure Thunderbird has been installed on the computer. If it has not been launched yet, it is probably best to launch it once to make sure the "registry.dat" file has been created. Exit Thunderbird before proceeding.
# Launch MozBackup, choose the "Restore" option, and follow the instructions.
# Launch MozBackup, choose the "Restore" option, and follow the instructions.
# The next screen will prompt you, "Select the profile you want to restore." Important: the profile you select will be ''overwritten'' by the contents of the profile that is backed up in the .pcv file. If you do not want to overwrite any of the profiles listed in the MozBackup screen, you should create a new profile by clicking on the "New Profile" button (you may need to click on the "Refresh" button afterwards), or if this doesn't work you can exit MozBackup, create a new profile with the Thunderbird [[Thunderbird : FAQs : Profile Manager | Profile Manager]], and launch MozBackup to begin the restore process again.
# The next screen will prompt you, "Select the profile you want to restore." Important: the profile you select will be ''overwritten'' by the contents of the profile that is backed up in the ".pcv" file. If you do not want to overwrite any of the profiles listed in the MozBackup screen, you should create a new profile by clicking on the "New Profile" button (you may need to click on the "Refresh" button afterwards) or if this doesn't work you can exit MozBackup, create a new profile with the Thunderbird [[Profile Manager]] and launch MozBackup to begin the restore process again.
# Select the .pcv file that contains your backed-up profile. If you are restoring to a different computer, you will need to transfer the .pcv file to that computer first.
# Select the ".pcv" file that contains your backed-up profile. If you are restoring to a different computer you will need to transfer the ".pcv" file to that computer first.
# Click on through the remaining screens until the profile has been restored, and exit MozBackup.
# Click on through the remaining screens until the profile has been restored and exit MozBackup.
# Launch Thunderbird. The restored profile should now be available for use.
# Launch Thunderbird. The restored profile should now be available for use.


====Problems restoring with MozBackup?====
Note that if extensions are included in the backup and restoration, the version of Thunderbird should be the same.  For instance, if a profile (including extensions) is backed up from an installation of Thunderbird v 0.9 and restored to an installation of Thunderbird 1.0.5, the old extensions may cause errors at runtime of the newer version. To alleviate this, exclude (uncheck) "Extensions" on the "Select the details you want to restore:" page.  You will have to reinstall new versions of the extensions from the [https://addons.mozilla.org/extensions/ Mozilla Update Site].
If you are having problems restoring a .pcv backup file that you created with the MozBackup utility and nothing you have tried seems to work, keep in mind that the .pcv file is actually a normal .zip file. Here's what you can try to recover your profile:
 
# Rename the backup file from *.pcv to *.zip.
==Automating backups==
# Extract (unzip) the *.zip file into a convenient location. If you now look inside the unzipped folder, you will see your mail folders, address books, and various other files that make up your profile folder.
Mozbackup supports command line arguments to specify what it should back up. This means you can schedule backups using the Windows task scheduler. See [http://mozbackup.jasnapaka.com/command-line-backup.php this web page] for more information.
# Manually restore/migrate this unzipped profile folder as [[Thunderbird : FAQs : Changing Profile Folder Location | decribed here]].
 
==Problems restoring with MozBackup?==
If you get a "Zip file could not be opened" error message use [http://mozbackup.jasnapaka.com/development.php 1.5 alpha1] of Mozbackup to restore it. This is a known problem that should be fixed in version 1.5 of Mozbackup.
 
If you are having problems restoring a ".pcv" backup file that you created with MozBackup and nothing seems to work, keep in mind that the ".pcv" file is actually a normal ".zip" file.
# Rename the backup file from "*.pcv" to "*.zip".
# Extract (unzip) the ".zip" file into a convenient location. If you look inside the unzipped folder you will see your mail folders, address books and the other files that make up your profile folder.
# Manually restore/migrate this unzipped profile folder as [[Moving your profile folder | described here]].
 
Your unzip utility will do a CRC check of the files within the .zip file. If they don't match it will report the .zip file is corrupt, and won't let you extract them. If this happens try using a program such as [http://www.diskinternals.com/zip-repair/ DiskInternals ZIP Repair].
 
==How to set the default folder for backup files==
If you want to set the default folder for your backup files, go to the MozBackup program folder and find the file named "backup.ini".
In this file you can set the default backup folder, as a general setting and/or for specific Mozilla applications.
 
==See also==
*[[Third party profile backup software and services]]
 
 
[[Category:Profiles]]

Revision as of 20:09, 10 April 2016

This article was originally written for Thunderbird but it also applies to Firefox and Mozilla Suite.

MozBackup is a standalone utility (for Windows only) rather than a Thunderbird extension. It works by backing up a Thunderbird profile into a single file (named "*.pcv"), which can then be restored on the same Windows computer or a different one. MozBackup can also be used to back up and restore Firefox, Mozilla Suite, and Netscape 7 profiles. It can be downloaded from the MozBackup homepage, where additional MozBackup documentation is also available.

Use Mozbackup 1.5.2 Beta 1 (there is a download link for it in the News section) rather than the version available at the normal download link. Mozbackup 1.5.1 usually works fine but a few users have had problems where it doesn't backup everything it is supposed to. The beta doesn't seem to have that problem. While Mozbackup is extremely popular in the forums, it's no longer maintained. Its recommended that you verify that you can restore a backup it creates before relying upon it.

Backing up

  1. If Thunderbird is running, exit the application.
  2. After downloading and installing MozBackup, launch the utility, choose the "Backup" option and follow the instructions.
  3. At the bottom of the next screen you can specify the location of the backup file ("*.pcv") that will be created. Take note of where the file will be saved.
  4. Click on through the remaining screens until the .pcv file has been created. Then burn this file onto a CD or store it elsewhere for safekeeping.

Restoring/migrating

  1. Make sure Thunderbird has been installed on the computer. If it has not been launched yet, it is probably best to launch it once to make sure the "registry.dat" file has been created. Exit Thunderbird before proceeding.
  2. Launch MozBackup, choose the "Restore" option, and follow the instructions.
  3. The next screen will prompt you, "Select the profile you want to restore." Important: the profile you select will be overwritten by the contents of the profile that is backed up in the ".pcv" file. If you do not want to overwrite any of the profiles listed in the MozBackup screen, you should create a new profile by clicking on the "New Profile" button (you may need to click on the "Refresh" button afterwards) or if this doesn't work you can exit MozBackup, create a new profile with the Thunderbird Profile Manager and launch MozBackup to begin the restore process again.
  4. Select the ".pcv" file that contains your backed-up profile. If you are restoring to a different computer you will need to transfer the ".pcv" file to that computer first.
  5. Click on through the remaining screens until the profile has been restored and exit MozBackup.
  6. Launch Thunderbird. The restored profile should now be available for use.

Note that if extensions are included in the backup and restoration, the version of Thunderbird should be the same. For instance, if a profile (including extensions) is backed up from an installation of Thunderbird v 0.9 and restored to an installation of Thunderbird 1.0.5, the old extensions may cause errors at runtime of the newer version. To alleviate this, exclude (uncheck) "Extensions" on the "Select the details you want to restore:" page. You will have to reinstall new versions of the extensions from the Mozilla Update Site.

Automating backups

Mozbackup supports command line arguments to specify what it should back up. This means you can schedule backups using the Windows task scheduler. See this web page for more information.

Problems restoring with MozBackup?

If you get a "Zip file could not be opened" error message use 1.5 alpha1 of Mozbackup to restore it. This is a known problem that should be fixed in version 1.5 of Mozbackup.

If you are having problems restoring a ".pcv" backup file that you created with MozBackup and nothing seems to work, keep in mind that the ".pcv" file is actually a normal ".zip" file.

  1. Rename the backup file from "*.pcv" to "*.zip".
  2. Extract (unzip) the ".zip" file into a convenient location. If you look inside the unzipped folder you will see your mail folders, address books and the other files that make up your profile folder.
  3. Manually restore/migrate this unzipped profile folder as described here.

Your unzip utility will do a CRC check of the files within the .zip file. If they don't match it will report the .zip file is corrupt, and won't let you extract them. If this happens try using a program such as DiskInternals ZIP Repair.

How to set the default folder for backup files

If you want to set the default folder for your backup files, go to the MozBackup program folder and find the file named "backup.ini". In this file you can set the default backup folder, as a general setting and/or for specific Mozilla applications.

See also