Further testing with an older issue of TB: 1.0.7 didn't clear the problem, so I'll go back to 1.5.0.9. One thing is clear to me, if you are backing up your TB personal folders do it at a higher level than at the "mail" level (albeit, that has worked in the past), best level based on some testing is to save at the "profile" or at the next level name ending in .default. I did this on a test run and found the folders were fully accepted when they were moved in at the .default level. In this case the full file name (a random naming I believe) is: belqoa5v.default Seems my only hope now is to get a 2.5" enclosure to run the notebook HDD that isn't fully operational and try to recover the folders again, something went wrong in the back up a made...future backup will be done at the "beloua5v.default" level, whatever its name turns out to be. I think this may work as the notebook will boot sometimes but will not stay operational long enough to copy folders out to an external storage device. I have found these enclosures, for those who may be interested, for around $20, plus shipping/tax. These operate via the USB port, drawing the HDD drive power from the USB port. When all is said and done, they make a nice small external mass storage device one could easily take along when traveling. I think I like that idea.

Ravencajun, it did confirm that I had updated after I installed it. Maybe I'm not explaining this right. Before I upgraded, when I opened Firefox I'd get the picture of the fox circling the earth, underneath that would be Google, then a blank space to type in a search and that was all. Now I get that, plus underneath either "Love Firefox? Want to help make our next version even better?" or "Using Firefox on several computers? Now you can synchronize your add-ons across them all. Find out how to activate Sync." along with the box that says "restore previous session." I'd just like to have the page like it was before. Am I making sense?

Thanks, my two XP and one W7 are now running Thunderbird 2.0.0.24, that's the latest 2.0 I can find, I think it is the end of the 2.0 line. The links provided were helpful, but for some reason I felt like I was stumbling along in a dark tunnel before I finally clicked on the right link to start a download of 2.0.0.24. Is it just me, or do these "download" sites have a hidden agenda? No too hidden I guess, they are all trying to somehow make some money.

The current version of any application should be used whenever possible. FF v6.0 was released a couple of days ago. The only problem a user might have is add-on compatability. There is always some lag time and some never upgrade themselves. Since all your preferences, add-ons, and bookmarks are kept in a folder other than the application folder it is safe to install v6.0 for personal testing. If you do not like the upgrade or find too many of your add-ons ar not compatible you can just delete it and revert back to a prior version with a new install. I did it when v5.0 was released as I reverted to v4.1 without a concern. DA