How can I restore bookmarks deleted after installed an older version of firefox
I installed an older version of firefox (3.0), expecting that I could open it separately from my current firefox browser. Although my current version still runs, the installation wiped all my all bookmarks. I only can find one profile on my computer, and the bookmark data all appears to have been created after the date of the installation. Strangely, there are some files in the profile folder from 2014 regarding logins and other profile data, so not everything got erased.
I made a couple attempts to restore the bookmarks. I renamed the places.sqlite file as 'places.sqlite.old' and renaming one of the bookmarks files that was in the profile folder as places.sqlite . However, the only bookmarks files that were in the folder appear to be made after the new installation, so it restored to me one week ago, which is after the wipe. I don't see any bookmarks data from prior to March 17, 2015. I was able to restore to mid-2014 using a JSON that I found and must have created manually, but it is too old to be useful.
Is there anything else I can do to restore these? I had a ton of important job related sites bookmarked.
Thanks!
All Replies (4)
Bookmark / History Backups
Type about:support<Enter> in the address bar.
Under the page logo on the left side you will see Application Basics. Under this find Profile Folder. To it’s right press the button Show Folder. This will open your file browser to the current Firefox profile. Now Close Firefox.
Enter the bookmarkbackups folder. This is where Firefox makes backups of your bookmarks. Look for the jsonlz4 file you want to restore (check the time / date / size). Right click on that file and select Copy. Now go back to the profile folder where you started. Rename the file places.sqlite by adding .old to it. Now right click in the folder and select Paste. The file you just pasted here, rename it to places.sqlite. After you are done, restart Firefox.
Thanks for the quick reply. I tried this, but unfortunately there are no backups in the folder prior to March 17th, the date of the installation. It seems to have overwritten or wiped all bookmark data prior to that date.
Is there something else I can try? Still really hoping to retrieve the job related material.
Thanks again!
Unless you have backup files somewhere . . . . . . . .
These can't get your data back, but will help in the future.
These add-ons can be a great help by backing up and restoring Firefox
FEBE (Firefox Environment Backup Extension) {web link} FEBE allows you to quickly and easily backup your Firefox extensions, history, passwords, and more. In fact, it goes beyond just backing up -- It will actually rebuild your saved files individually into installable .xpi files. It will also make backup of files that you choose.
OPIE {web link} Import/Export extension preferences
If you use the Time Machine then try to restore the file(s) from that backup.
- https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Recovering+important+data+from+an+old+profile
- http://kb.mozillazine.org/Transferring_data_to_a_new_profile_-_Firefox
See this article about how to install multiple versions on Mac OS X: