Why does Firefox not clear my history?
I cannot clear my history in any of the following ways: restarting Firefox (I have the "Clear history when Firefox closes" box checked in the Privacy section of the Preferences screen), using "Clear Recent History" in the menu bar; using "Clear recent history" from the "history" drop down in the Library menu; or using the "Forget" add-on from the Tool Bar. If I delete the "places.sqlite" and "places.sqlite-wal" files in my profile, all history is removed, but the problem re-occurs the next time I open the browser. Checking the integrity of the places data base returns a "The task queue was cleared by an error in another task" error (this happened both initially, as well as after closing/restaeting firefox as well as a complete reboot of the machine). I am using Firefox 67.0.2 on a Mac running OS 10.13.6. I am running the NoScript add-on, but of course all the prefrences and help pages are privaledged, so that should not matter?
Can anyone offer some suggestions?
Chosen solution
Hello, and thanks to all for the suggestions. By setting up additional profiles and moving files over to them as suggested by cor-el I was able to localize the issue to two files in my profile: favicons.sqlite and formhistory.sqlite. By moving all files except these into a new profile I was able to eliminate the problem and the Places Database integrity check is now error free.
Cheers,
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Hello Chipschmelz,
While I cannot diagnose a root cause, it may be easily resolve by first performing a Clean reinstall." This process does not remove your data (such as bookmarks and passwords), since that information is stored in a different location. In your particular case, you may consider moving your existing personal data/extensions to a different directory as they may be a source of error.
To do a clean reinstall of Firefox, please follow these steps: Note: You might want to print/save these steps or view them in another browser.
- Download the latest Desktop version of Firefox from mozilla.org (or choose the download for your operating system and language from this page) and save the setup file to your computer.
- After the download finishes, close all Firefox windows (or open the Firefox menu
and click the close button 
).
- Delete the Firefox installation folder, which is located in one of these locations, by default:
- Windows: (Note: Check both folders.)
- C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox
- C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox
- Mac: Delete Firefox from the Applications folder.
- Linux: If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it - see Install Firefox on Linux. If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder firefox in your home directory.
- Windows: (Note: Check both folders.)
- Now, go ahead and reinstall Firefox:
- Double-click the downloaded installation file and go through the steps of the installation wizard.
- Once the wizard is finished, choose to directly open Firefox after clicking the Finish button.
More information about reinstalling Firefox can be found here.
WARNING: Do not use a third party uninstaller as part of this process. Doing so could permanently delete your Firefox profile data, including but not limited to, extensions, cache, cookies, bookmarks, personal settings and saved passwords. These cannot be easily recovered unless they have been backed up to an external device! See Back up and restore information in Firefox profiles.
Please report back to say if this helped you!
Thank you.
[v57+] Places Maintenance is built into Firefox.
Type about:support<enter> in the address bar.
You will find Places Database near the bottom. Press the Verify Integrity button.
When done, copy and post the results here.
Separate Security Issue: Update your Flash Player or remove it using these links; Uninstall Flash Player | Windows {web link} Uninstall Flash Player | Mac {web link}
Note: Windows users should download the ActiveX for Internet Explorer. and the plugin for Plugin-based browsers (like Firefox).
Note: Windows 8 and Windows 10 have built-in flash players and Adobe will cause a conflict. Install the plugin only. Not the ActiveX.
Flash Player Version 32.0.0.207
https://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/ Direct link scans current system and browser Note: Other software is offered in the download. <Windows Only>
https://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/otherversions/ Step 1: Select Operating System Step 2: Select A Version (Firefox, Win IE . . . .) Note: Other software is offered in the download. <Windows Only> +++++++++++++++++++ See if there are updates for your graphics drivers https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/upgrade-graphics-drivers-use-hardware-acceleration
This could possibly be a permission issue with files in the profile folder or you have security software that might corrupt the places.sqlite database.
Do you only have a problem with the history ?
You can create a new profile to test if your current profile is causing the problem.
See "Creating a profile":
- https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profile-manager-create-and-remove-firefox-profiles
- http://kb.mozillazine.org/Standard_diagnostic_-_Firefox#Profile_issues
If the new profile works then you can transfer files from a previously used profile to the new profile, but be cautious not to copy corrupted files to avoid carrying over problems.
Chosen Solution
Hello, and thanks to all for the suggestions. By setting up additional profiles and moving files over to them as suggested by cor-el I was able to localize the issue to two files in my profile: favicons.sqlite and formhistory.sqlite. By moving all files except these into a new profile I was able to eliminate the problem and the Places Database integrity check is now error free.
Cheers,
That was very good work. Well done. Please flag your last post as Solved Problem so others will know.