The ISP isn't necessarily the email provider. E.g. Comcast may be your ISP, and Google (Gmail) your email provider. Is Comcast the email provider?

Are all messages belonging to the account still on the email provider's server?

Thunderbird uses whatever printer has been installed for Windows.

Hi christ1,

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah, I needed to make my post clearer. Comcast is also the woman's EMial provider (as they are for me). And, when we looked yesterday, all the EMail messages were still on Comcast's server.

In terms of Windows using whatever printer she has, I was just wondering if an icon for the printer will appear at the top of any (or all?) Thunderbird screens.

Regarding Thunderbird "capturing" the EMails from Comcast's server, it is of course easier if there is a seem less way to accomplish this. I guess another option is to forward all the EMails to her Comcast account, and then they would appear in Thunderbird. But then, of course, they will appear also on the EMail server. Yes, the repeated ones could be deleted, but I am hoping for a simpler, cleaner solution.

Thanks again!

You can simply set-up the Comcast account in Thunderbird. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/automatic-account-configuration Make sure you have the account credentials ready.

Wrt printing, in a message window, click on an empty space in the toolbar and choose Customize. You can drag a print button onto the toolbar.

I understand all that (had actually read about that account "setup" procedure previously). I am, of course, truly expecting Thunderbird to find all the information it needs from Comcast's server for her account.

But, I still need to know about EMails retrieval. That is, after clicking the Create Account button, will all the EMails on the server be automatically "imported" into Thunderbird on the woman's machine? If not, what else do I need to do for this to happen?

As for the printing icon business, I assume Thunderbird/Windows 8 will be able to "find" her printer, and that is the button I can drag onto the toolbar. Is that correct?

... after clicking the Create Account button, will all the EMails on the server be automatically "imported" into Thunderbird

Yes. Isn't that the whole point of creating an account? There are differences though, depending on what type of account is being created. With POP one has access to Inbox on the server only, and by default all messages are downloaded onto local disk, and removed from the server. With IMAP all mail is managed on the server, and one can create folders on the server, which is then mirrored in Thunderbird. IMAP is particularly useful when the server is accessed by multiple devices. Otherwise POP will do.

http://help.thunderbird.edu/content/what-difference-between-imap-and-pop-protocol

... Windows 8 will be able to "find" her printer, and that is the button I can drag onto the toolbar.

Not exactly. I'm talking about customizing the Thunderbird toolbar. Thunderbird uses whatever printer has been set-up in Windows. Thunderbird itself doesn't install printers.

OK, thanks. I suspect the setup she had with the other "lost" Email program was IMAP, as all her EMails were still on the server. Myself, I use Outlook on my Macs, and I set it up as POP, and thus the EMails are not retained on the server (same Comcast server).

For the printer, yeah, I suspected Thunderbird would not "find it", so to speak. (I actually wasn't talking about installing printers in Thunderbird. I just wanted a way to have the printer's icon available in the toolbar, as that is what she is used to). That is the job of Windows.

I just wanted a way to have the printer's icon available in the toolbar, ... That is the job of Windows.

I don't know how else to tell that. You can place a Print button into the Thunderbird toolbar. That's called 'customizing' Thunderbird. It certainly isn't the job of Windows. Note, this is a 'Print' button, not a 'Printer' button. You install printers in Windows, and I guess that isn't so much different in Mac OS.

OK, it's the different terminology we are using. By "printer's icon", I meant that using your instructions of "in a message window, click on an empty space in the toolbar and choose Customize. You can drag a print button onto the toolbar", I would need to "find" a "Print button" and then drag it onto the toolbar. Is all that the correct terminology?

I think so.