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Installed Firefox on a new laptop, signed in, and it populated with information (bookmarks, toolbar, etc.) that is YEARS old.

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  • آخر ردّ كتبه Meg

Meg
Meg
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I installed Firefox on a new laptop this morning. When I signed in, Firefox somehow found a very old, like SEVERAL YEARS old, setting of bookmarks, toolbar settings, passwords, etc. and then synced the new device to that old information. Then when I opened Firefox in my other devices, Firefox automatically synced (with the new laptop, apparently) and replaced all my current saved information with all that old information.

I'm crushed. I'm missing several years' worth of bookmarks and other information I'd saved in my Firefox. Is there a way to reclaim the Firefox information I had on my devices prior to signing in on the new laptop?

I installed Firefox on a new laptop this morning. When I signed in, Firefox somehow found a very old, like SEVERAL YEARS old, setting of bookmarks, toolbar settings, passwords, etc. and then synced the new device to that old information. Then when I opened Firefox in my other devices, Firefox automatically synced (with the new laptop, apparently) and replaced all my current saved information with all that old information. I'm crushed. I'm missing several years' worth of bookmarks and other information I'd saved in my Firefox. Is there a way to reclaim the Firefox information I had on my devices prior to signing in on the new laptop?

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jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 25 Contributor
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Sorry to hear about this!

On the device where you had your recent bookmarks before this problem started, you should be able to restore the last automatic backup. See: Restore bookmarks from backup or move them to another computer.

I'll mention how to check for the tabs in your last session below the line.

Firefox does not keep automatic backups of other data, as far as I know. Possibly your older computer makes some kind of periodic backups??

If your older Firefox doesn't restore your previous session automatically at startup, you might be able to restore your previous session using the menu. Could you check whether either of these are available (not hidden or grayed out):

  • "3-bar" menu button > History > Restore Previous Session
  • (menu bar) History > Restore Previous Session

File Backups

Look for and back up the following and then we can discuss how to mine the data:

You can open your current Firefox settings (AKA Firefox profile) folder using either

  • "3-bar" menu button > Help > More Troubleshooting Information
  • (menu bar) Help > More Troubleshooting Information
  • type or paste about:support in the address bar and press Enter

In the first table on the page, find the Profile Folder row and click the "Open Folder" button. This should launch Windows' File Explorer listing the contents of your current profile folder.

These are the things I suggest looking for:

(1) Saved Logins

If you have Firefox save passwords and these got rolled back, look for logins-backup.json and right-click > Copy it, then right-click > Paste and Windows should create a copy file.

(2) Session history files (open tabs)

Right-click > Copy the sessionstore-backups folder, then switch to a safe location such as your Windows desktop and right-click > Paste to deposit a copy there.

Meg
Meg صاحب السؤال
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Thank you for this information. I'm out of town right now and don't have the device I need to follow your directions. I'll try this when I get home and report back ASAP. Thank you!

Modified by Meg