Backup Thunderbird Emails with Attachments on a Mac External Hard Drive
It is always a good move to have a backup of emails on the hard drive because if in case you accidentally delete the emails from the server then you will already have a backup. On the other hand, attacks by hackers and viruses can also damage the file in which all the emails and mailbox items are stored. Therefore, having a backup of all the emails is a better choice to make. Many Mac users face problems when they backup Thunderbird emails with attachments on an external hard drive on their mac devices.
So, in this article, we will show you different methods to download all Thunderbird emails to an external hard drive on a Mac machine. Either you can backup and save Thunderbird emails manually or through a Thunderbird Backup Tool. Let’s start the procedure.
Ways to Backup Thunderbird Mail to Hard Drive Mac
There are two ways to have the backup of all the emails on your local mac machine. You can try the manual method first and if it doesn’t work then you should use the MacSonik Thunderbird Backup Tool.
Manual Backup Process
- Open Mozilla Thunderbird and then install the Import Export Tools NG add-on to your account.
- Then restart the Thunderbird application after installing the add-on.
- Make right-click on the folder you are willing to back up and click on Backup.
- You will have to choose the EML format if you backup Thunderbird through ImportExportTools NG.
- Now, click on the Export button to save the folder you have chosen.
- Choose the location on your mac machine and the folder will be saved as EML.
Shortcomings of the Manual Method
- The manual method needs a lot of technical expertise and knowledge.
- Users will get only a few formats in which they can download emails from Thunderbird to their computer.
- You will need a lot of effort and time to execute the manual method.
- The manual method is time-taking and does not maintain the original folder hierarchy during backup.
- You might lose the email attachments while backing up Thunderbird emails manually.
Export Thunderbird Emails to External Hard Drive Automatically
- Download and Install the MacSonik Thunderbird Backup Tool on your Mac PC.
- Check the Thunderbird mailbox folder items that you need to backup and click on the Next Button to continue.
- Choose the saving format from the Backup/Save/Migrate As drop menu.
- Now tick the Remove Duplicate Mail option if you don’t want any duplicate items in the resultant file.
- You can also opt to migrate or backup emails without attachments.
- Apply the Date Range Filter if you only want to save emails from a particular date to a particular date.
- Define the location where you want to backup and save the Thunderbird emails.
- Finally, click on the Convert button, and your Thunderbird MBOX file will be backed up and downloaded to the external hard drive on a Mac device.
By following this method you can quickly backup Thunderbird emails to external hard drive with or without attachments. It is necessary to have the Thunderbird application installed on your system before using any of these methods.
Also Read: Export Contacts from Thunderbird to CSV on Mac
Conclusion
Now you know how to backup Thunderbird Emails to the external hard drive on mac through manual and automated ways. So, the ball is in your court and you will have to decide which method will be effective for the backup. If you have thousands of emails and want to backup all of them then you will need an expert solution i.e, the Thunderbird Backup Tool. It efficiently and easily backup Thunderbird emails with attachments on Mac hard drive/external drive.
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