Howto install thunderbird-2.0.0.0.tar.gz in Linux

by Vivek Gite on May 1, 2007 · 24 comments

Q. I would like to install latest and greatest Mozilla thunderbird mail client under Linux.

How do I download and install the same to read emails?

A. Mozilla’s Thunderbird 2 email application is more powerful than ever. Thunderbird 2 features many new enhancements to help you better manage your unruly inbox, and stay informed. Thunderbird 2 scales to the most sophisticated organizational needs while making it easy to find what you need. It is the best mail/news client with RSS and integrated spam filter support.

Download Thunderbird to your Linux desktop

=> Visit this site to download Thunderbird

Thunderbird 2.0 installation - Just untar file and install it

Let us say you would like to install thunderbird in your own home directory called /home/jerry/. Open X terminal and type following command.

Copy your downloaded file to /home/tom/ and untar it:
$ cp /home/tom/Desktop/thunderbird-2.0.0.0.tar.gz . $ tar -zxvf thunderbird-2.0.0.0.tar.gz

Now software was installed. To start Thunderbird mail client, enter:
$ cd thunderbird $ ./thunderbird

How do I install thunderbird for everyone?

Install thunderbird in /opt directory. Login as root user:
# cd /opt # mkdir thunderbird # cd thunderbird # cp /home/tom/Desktop/thunderbird-2.0.0.0.tar.gz . # tar -zxvf thunderbird-2.0.0.0.tar.gz

To start thunderbird, enter:
$ /opt/thunderbird/thunderbird &

How do I create thunderbird icon on my desktop?

Right click on your Linux desktop
Select Create Launcher
Fill the details as follows:

Set name to : Thunderbird
Set command to : /opt/thunderbird/thunderbird
Set comment to : My Email Client
Hit OK to create an ICON

Howto install thunderbird-2.0.0.0.tar.gz and create an ICON in Linux

A note about Ubuntu / Debian Linux user

If you are using Ubuntu / Debian Linux, open terminal and type the following command to install thunderbird:
$ sudo apt-get update $ sudo apt-get install thunderbird

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{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Philip Lynn November 23, 2007: This is the first time I have installed new software
on my Linux machine in 10 months.
I am thrilled to bits.
Thank you
Reply
2 Rafi Avital April 25, 2008: Excellent instructions, thank you so much. Just a note: I noticed that right before your first code section, you have:
“Copy your downloaded file to /home/tom/ and untar it:”
And right below it you have:
$ cp /home/jerry/Desktop/thunderbird-2.0.0.0.tar.gz .
So, is it Tom, or Jerry? :)
Thanks again and best regards
Reply
3 vivek April 25, 2008: Thanks for the heads up. The faq has been updated.
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4 Frank Parkinson September 18, 2008: After unpacking the tar, ./thunderbird does nothing at all??
I am running Acer Aspire One under their Linux (Lipsus).
All files are present, the unpack worked fine and I am in the correct directory.
Any ideas??
Thanks
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5 sahan September 18, 2008: thanks a lot sir…..
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6 karan November 12, 2008: Hi,, tar -zxvf filename.tar.gz command doesnt work.. wht is the probs??
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7 Nead December 17, 2008: I’ve extracted the thunderbird directory… im getting an error
$cd thunderbird
$./thunderbird
./thunderbird-bin: error while loading shared libraries: libstdc++.so.5: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
Anyone help?
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8 Vivek Gite December 17, 2008: You need to install libstdc++5 – the GNU Standard C++ Library v3 or above. Use yum or apt-get command to install the same.
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9 pramod December 29, 2008: very nice informations, i am using this from 2 yrs in windows and now i shifted to ubuntu 8.10 it working fine.. hearty thanks to team.
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10 PS January 23, 2009: nice instructions , thank you i installed without any issue with your instructions..
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11 Muthukumar March 17, 2009: Exellent work!
Thanx Dear
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12 Eduardo Heredia May 31, 2009: Hahaha … that’s was a good one (Tom or Jerry) :-D
So, why not change better to Itchy and Scratchy ? … For the new generations :-P
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13 Roy Bonney July 5, 2009: Hi, my Windows ME PC finally died, so decided to move to Thunderbird under Debian for all my email etc. QUESTION how can I import/read in all existing emails, contacts list, etc. from a full backup of data files I have on CD to my new empty Thunderbird? Is the file structure under Debian compatible for straight copy? Any help appreciated, Thanks.
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14 gtennant September 7, 2009: I followed the “install so everyone can use Thunderbird” instructions, but was logged in as root. I then ran Thunderbird as root, and brought in my (gtennant’s) email and address book from outlook, as directed. Though not seamless, I got the data to where it needed to be, apparently. Question is: though I can, as gtennant, launch Thunderbird, it doesn’t see the Local Files and all its contents as it appears when running Thunderbird as root. Same happens when I log in as gtennant, then go to a terminal window, su – in, then launch Thunderbird — it then works. I don’t want to operate routinely as root, so what to do?
Thx,
gtennant
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15 manjunathpuru October 14, 2009: Simply super instructions………………….Sir i have created the launcher but the icon is like shell
script…………..how to change the icon to default Thunderbird logo…….
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16 Praful December 6, 2009: Thanks for Instructions……THANKS DEAR
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17 Cameron December 29, 2009: Thank you very much. Having just made the switch from Windows I needed this!
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18 Greg March 2, 2010: Very helpful for a windoze coverting to linux newbie.
Thanks for you effort.
Reply
19 adesh March 25, 2010: I’ve extracted the thunderbird directory… im getting an error
$cd thunderbird
$./thunderbird
./thunderbird-bin: error while loading shared libraries: libstdc++.so.5: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
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20 shiva April 9, 2010: Lots of installation stopped in ./configure
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21 hladki May 5, 2010: I’ve extracted the thunderbird directory… im getting an error
$cd thunderbird
$./thunderbird
./thunderbird-bin: error while loading shared libraries: libstdc++.so.5: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
I’ve installed libstdc++6-4.1, but it hasn’t solved problem. What should do I next?
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22 sharad May 13, 2010: excellent instructions
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23 Ben July 12, 2011: I’m having the same problem as hladki:
$./thunderbird
./thunderbird-bin: error while loading shared libraries: libstdc++.so.5: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
The yum installer does the job right, but it asks me to download and install version 3.1.11. I Negative, I choose for version 2.0.0.24, so I hit “n”. Below I copied the most important messages:
$ yum install thunderbird
–> Package thunderbird.i686 0:3.1.11-1.fc14 set to be installed
Is this ok [y/N]: n
Can anyone give us a hint?
Reply
24 mike dillon October 5, 2011: great instructions still work with thunder bird 7!
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