Trying to migrate from TB 68 old Mac to Monterey TB, migration won't find...
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Hello, I was avoiding to update from Thunderbird 68 on an El Capitan installation for a long time - fearing it would be a pain and in horror I could not read my own encrypted mails anymore. Unfortunately I'm forced to do it on a brand new Mac with Monterey now..
Old system:
El Capitan on a 2008 mac (Backup from a stolen computer, runs more or less normal) TB 68 with Enigmail2.1, GnuPG 2.2.x in /usr/local/...
New system:
I first installed Thunderbird 91, then realised that Enigmail 2.2 needs 78. Uninstalled 91, installed 78. copyied profile (works), installed Enigmail 2.2 -> started Migration assistant.
Error: (sth. like) The GnuPG application could not be found in the system path.
Make sure that the path to the GnuPG application is specified correctly in the Enigmail settings.
Ok, I need GnuPG. Checked the old computer, found the files, tried to copy them over with root user - failed, of course. Installed the package from https://sourceforge.net/p/gpgosx/docu/Download/ on the new computer, checked /usr/local/ with SSH, it's there.
started TB, started migration assistant: failure, same error as above, cannot find GnuPG path. "Enigmail settings" to check the path are gone, apparently.
No more ideas – any hints what I could do? Thanks …
ellaC
I'd recommend you first install Thunderbird 68 and make Enigmail work there. I presume that the path setting in Enigmail is wrong. Enigmail 2.2 does not contain any settings dialog, therefore you can't modify the path setting there.
Thanks, Patrick, that's indeed what I tried this morning. Now I'm looking in my brain for my decades old passphrase, which is saved in my old TB/Enigmail... :-| Embarassing...
Just one more question: in case I would use my Mac migration assistant to get everything on the new Mac, I had my (saved) passphrase migrated. Will Enigmail 2.2 ask again for the passphrase in the migration process? Or will it use everything that was available in the old profile? Thanks...
PS: forget about the above, I read some of your older posts concerning saved passphrases (= not in TB, not in Enigmail), and re-searched my Mac keychain management.
In case anybody finds this thread and has the same problems: check your keychain management (Schlüsselbundverwaltung) for "gpg" (not "key", not "pgp", not "enigmail" …) and then check the passwords of the listed e-mail accounts. (I was so close 🤏 with remembering my passphrase …)
After installing TB 68 and GNUPG, you might need to deactivate the enigmail Add-On and re-activate it to see the menu entry. Export your keys from the old install (you'll need your passphrase to do that).
Then, after upgrading TB to version 78 on the new install, start the migration process in Enigmail , you will need the passphrase again when the keys are transferred. After that, everything is fine, just upgrade to 91 and you're done.
@pbrunschwig, thank you very much for your help and for everything you did for Thunderbird encryption!