From Windows to Linux and taking Thunderbird and Firefox with you! - By Jordan Farrell - 25 May, 2010

       First prepare your Linux system by installing both Firefox and Thunderbird if you have not already done so. On the Windows system use MozBackup Utility to make a “.pcv” of your profile for Thunderbird and then for Firefox. Make sure they are separate files.

       Then, copy the files over to your Linux system and prepare to extract the files using the archive manager. First you have to locate the location of your default Firefox & Thunderbird profile on your “File System”. “~” represents your “/home/username/” directory. The next step is to turn on hidden file viewing. Usually by selecting “View->Show Hidden Files.” Now you will see two directories of interest: “.mozilla” and “.mozilla-thunderbird'; of course the first directory contains your Firefox profile and the second your Thunderbird profile.

       Inside the “.mozilla” directory is another directory called “firefox.” Inside this folder is your default profile for Firefox. The default profile for Thunderbird is located immediately inside the “.mozilla-thunderbird” folder. Now you will need to open the two “.pcv” files and extract them in the located default profiles for each application. Choose “Extract” and then right click in the browsing area to select “Show Hidden Files” then navigate to inside of the default profiles and extract your archive.

       When you open up Firefox and Thunderbird your profiles will have been successfully transported from Win to Lin. It may be necessary to start either application in safe mode if you had extensions on the Windows installation that are not on the Linux installation.

Sources:

This did not work for me, but it did give me the idea: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Moving_from_Windows_to_Linux

Where your profiles are stored on either system: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_Manager

Where is my Linux Thunderbird Profile and what does “~” represent? http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=389791

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