Lost bookmarks
I had to reset my old laptop and it uninstalled Firefox. Now that I am up and running again, how can I get them back, if I can at all? Thank you.
All Replies (5)
On your hard drive, look for a folder called Windows.old
Is it there?
I found it.
Everything from the original should be in that folder.
You can copy files like these with Firefox closed to the current profile folder to recover specific data.
You can use the button on the "Help -> Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page to go to the current Firefox profile folder or use the about:profiles page.
- Help -> Troubleshooting Information -> Profile Folder/Directory:
Windows: Open Folder; Linux: Open Directory; Mac: Show in Finder - https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-where-firefox-stores-user-data
- bookmarks and history: places.sqlite
- favicons: favicons.sqlite
- bookmark backups: compressed .jsonlz4 JSON backups in the bookmarkbackups folder
- cookies.sqlite for the Cookies
- formhistory.sqlite for saved autocomplete Form Data
- logins.json (passwords) and key4.db (58+) or key3.db (57 and older) (decryption key) for Passwords saved in the Password Manager
if you only have key3.db then make sure to remove an existing key4.db - cert9.db (58+) or cert8.db (57 and older) for (intermediate) certificates stored in the Certificate Manager
if you only have cert8.db then make sure to remove an existing cert9.db - persdict.dat for words you added to the spelling checker dictionary
- permissions.sqlite for Permissions and possibly content-prefs.sqlite for other website specific data (Site Preferences)
- sessionstore.jsonlz4 for open tabs and pinned tabs (see also the sessionstore-backups folder)
poopumpkin said
I found it.
Set Windows to show hidden files and folders in order to explore it:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/14201/windows-show-hidden-files
Then, your previous Firefox data is along the following path.
C:\Windows.old\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles
Somewhere in there? Now see the above comments about the key files to recover.
Since C:\Windows.old is a temporary folder, move anything important to a real folder so Windows doesn't flush it before you have a chance to restore.