automatic update loses all tabs yet again, menus not working either
Why don't you take more care not to lose all tabs when updating?
I have just updated firefox for the last time ever. Actually I didn't update it, it did it by itself and in doing so lost all tabs, bookmarks etc and even the menus don't work. The thing is this has happened to me over and over and over and over and over again! Actually add a few more over and overs in there. My father's firefox hasn't been updated in two years for the fear of losing data and now this is the last straw for me too. If I continue to use firefox the only way I can be sure not to lose data is to disable updates altogether. You simply cannot be trusted. How many threads on here with the same issue? We have work to do, sit down at the computer and are faced with this bs, are left to search nerdy threads for a complicated workarounds. Why don't you make a feature or program which recovers from this situation, i.e something we can click on? You know where the missing data is, why must we go on a wild goose chase? Programming is all about automation, so automate it! We should not have to fear updates, cross our fingers and hope our data doesn't go missing. Let me know when have fixed this.
Wšě wotmołwy (2)
Sorry to hear about this problem. It's not normal to lose any data when Firefox auto-updates, or when you install an update manually. Unfortunately, I don't have enough information about your system to be able to suggest what to check before the next update.
Session Restore
Do you still have your regular history, only the session history is lost?
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
If they are missing or grayed, check for closed windows (although windows open at the time Firefox restarts for an update shouldn't really be considered closed windows):
- "3-bar" menu button > History > Recently Closed Windows
- "Library" toolbar button > History > Recently Closed Windows
- (menu bar) History > Recently Closed Windows
Firefox's Backups
You probably already know the next part if you have recovered session history files previously.
(1) To open your profile folder...
If Firefox is still running:
You can open your current Firefox settings (AKA Firefox profile) folder using either
- "3-bar" menu button > "?" Help > Troubleshooting Information
- (menu bar) Help > 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.
If Firefox is closed:
Type or paste the following into the Windows Run dialog or the system search box and press Enter to launch Windows Explorer:
%APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles
In that folder, do you see a semi-randomly-named folder? If so, click into it. If you find multiple such folders, find the one that was most recently updated.
(2) Copy out session history files
In your profile folder, double-click into the sessionstore-backups folder. Save all files here to a safe location such as your Documents folder.
(3) What files did you find?
The kinds of files you may find among your sessionstore files are:
- recovery.jsonlz4: the windows and tabs in your currently live Firefox session (or, if Firefox crashed at the last shutdown and is still closed, your last session)
- recovery.baklz4: a backup copy of recovery.jsonlz4
- previous.jsonlz4: the windows and tabs in your last Firefox session
- upgrade.jsonlz4-build_id: the windows and tabs in the Firefox session that was live at the time of your last update
You may be able to persuade Firefox to use one of these files at startup; we can provide more detailed steps if you want to try it.
To preview the contents of a file, you can drag and drop it onto a tool on my site, then click the "Scrounge URLs" button:
https://www.jeffersonscher.com/ffu/scrounger.html
If you don't get a list within 15 seconds, that probably means the script is caught in a loop. You may need to close the tab to avoid a tab crash and then try again in a new tab.
If you get a useful list, use the "Save List" button to archive it as a web page of clickable links for future reference, in case no other approach is successful.
It would be great if this were more automated, but at this time, no, it's very improvised.
Mining Other Backups
If you do not have any session history files, then it may be worth checking a backup. We can describe options.
Using an Add-on as Extra Protection
There are some session management extensions you could consider. These are the ones I'm aware of that you might investigate/try out:
Use database storage:
- https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/tab-session-manager/
- https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/session-boss/
Use bookmark storage:
brokewokebloke said
I have just updated firefox for the last time ever. Actually I didn't update it, it did it by itself and in doing so lost all tabs, bookmarks etc and even the menus don't work.
I just noticed the "bookmarks etc." Did Firefox mention needing to create a new profile when it started up?
If you haven't already, could you close out of Firefox and do a normal Windows shutdown and restart to complete any pending updates and release any file locks.
If Firefox again starts up without your data, could you check whether your stuff is available in a different profile, as follows:
Profile Manager Page
Inside Firefox, type or paste about:profiles in the address bar and press Enter/Return to load it.
This page should list at least one profile and could list many. (Each profile has two folders and one or more buttons. Do not use any Remove buttons!)
The profile that Firefox is currently using will have this:
This is the profile in use and it cannot be deleted.
Do you have any other profile(s) listed on this page? If so, you can check whether it is the one you were using recently by clicking its Launch profile in new browser button.
If it isn't what you want, simply close that new window.
If it IS what you want, back on the about:profiles page, click the Set as default profile button for that profile so Firefox uses it automatically at the next startup.
Any luck?