A possible cause is a problem with the file places.sqlite that stores the bookmarks and the history.

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Bookmarks_history_and_toolbar_buttons_not_working_-_Firefox
• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Bookmarks+not+saved#w_places-database-file

Thanks cor-el: appreciate your thoughts in the face of this (for me) increasingly frustrating browser.

I tried as much of the suggestions that I dared touch.... I added Places Maintenance 1.1 Add-on. I Exit FF I hit History menu and it's the same list of pages I had open a while back.

The running log of webpages visited is updating like gangbusters.... it's just the list of what used to be current pages under the History menu that's gone static

Mike

If the places.sqlite file is corrupted then you need to remove all places.* files to get things working like it should.

You can use this button to go to the Firefox profile folder:

• Help > Troubleshooting Information > Profile Directory: Open Containing Folder

Thanks a million for your help cor-el .... and please appreciate that what I type here is intended in no way as a reflection on your very-welcome efforts and excellent advice.

However, I'm sure you'll appreciate how intensely frustrating this browser's misbehaviour is to non-techie users.

To add insult, FireFox has just crashed again as I get to the end of this message to you.... so I've switched to IE to try and finish.

I checked places.sqlite and there's 3: places.sqlite places.sqlite-sgl places.sqlite-wal

That middle one ain't the exact suffix... but I'm running short of, er, enthusiasm

So, the only way of knowing one places file is corrupted is to kill the lot right?

And if I do that, I lose 5 years Bookmarking and months of History? If that's the case, I s'pose your non-techie Firefoxer MUST be given university instruction in the gentle art of manually backing-up these files... the procedure for which seems fiendishly complex... when what I want is a browser that (long before we got to version 9.0.1 actually operates on auto)

I probably don't need to add that the reason I'm still here, still persevering is that when FF is working well, I love it... and I am too darned keen to keep trying to get the program to operate my online activities to have enough inclination to switch browsers again.

You see: IE hasn't crashed in the last 7 paragraphs ;-)

Or am I doing something wrong and don't realise it?

Best from downunder

Mike

You need to remove all three of them. The others with the extra suffix (shm and wal and others) are temp files use by the SQLite engine and need to be removed to prevent problems.

Thanks cor-el

OKay.... so you're right.... adding .old to places.sqlite as the instructions said, didn't do the trick

Second time just now I tried Deleting places.sqlite and sensational news.... all my year's History deleted completely.... but I now see it's recording in the Menu

Bookmarks still in place, something to be thankful for...

Next problem, FF still doesn't restore the previous session. yesterday from the Mozilla book I tried all possible permutations to resolve that.....

Does choosing this setting help?

• Tools > Options > General > Startup: "When Firefox Starts": "Show my windows and tabs from last time"

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Session_Restore

Make sure that you do not run Firefox in permanent Private Browsing mode.

• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Private+Browsing

To see all History and Cookie settings, choose:

• Tools > Options > Privacy, choose the setting Firefox will: Use custom settings for history
• Deselect: [ ] "Always use private browsing mode"