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Incomplete "refresh" profile is now missing or inaccessible. how to restore?

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  • 1 inale nkinga
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  • Igcine ukuphendulwa ngu cor-el

Christined
Christined
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I was having a lot of difficulty with Firefox. I did not want to uninstall and re install because I did not want to lose my bookmarks, etc. I found the option to Refresh. It seemed to go quickly and then I got a message "almost finished" but the message kept repeating and I finally turned off the computer. Big mistake! Because when I turned it back on the next day I got the following message: "Your Firefox profile cannot be loaded. It may be missing or inaccessible." I have tried some of the suggestions online but I always get that that same message that my profile cannot be loaded. It was suggested I try downloading Fireox without uninstalling it first. I tried that. Seemed to work and then the same message. I see suggestions to create a new profile. Is that instead of uninstalling and reinstalling. Nothing I tried opened up anything in firefox.

I was having a lot of difficulty with Firefox. I did not want to uninstall and re install because I did not want to lose my bookmarks, etc. I found the option to Refresh. It seemed to go quickly and then I got a message "almost finished" but the message kept repeating and I finally turned off the computer. Big mistake! Because when I turned it back on the next day I got the following message: "Your Firefox profile cannot be loaded. It may be missing or inaccessible." I have tried some of the suggestions online but I always get that that same message that my profile cannot be loaded. It was suggested I try downloading Fireox without uninstalling it first. I tried that. Seemed to work and then the same message. I see suggestions to create a new profile. Is that instead of uninstalling and reinstalling. Nothing I tried opened up anything in firefox.

All Replies (2)

FredMcD
FredMcD
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Firefox comes in two or more folders on all computers. They are;

Maintenance: (Programs Folder) <Windows Only> Firefox itself: (Programs Folder) And one folder in the profile of each user on the computer.

If you remove the Firefox folder, the user folders would not be affected.

Refresh Firefox {web link} is a LAST RESORT ! !

Refresh Firefox - reset add-ons and settings

If you're having problems with Firefox, refreshing it can help. The refresh feature fixes many issues by restoring Firefox to its default state while saving your essential information like bookmarks, passwords, and open tabs.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profile-manager-create-and-remove-firefox-profiles

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-run-firefox-when-profile-missing-inaccessible

cor-el
cor-el
  • Moderator
  • Top 10 Contributor
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You need to locate the profiles.ini file and delete this file or use the Profile Manager to create a new profile.

See:

This issue can be caused by a problem with the profiles.ini file or with the permissions (owner) of involved folders.

You can use one of these to make Firefox create a new default profile or recover an existing profile:

  • Delete the profiles.ini file to make Firefox create a new (default) profile
  • Use the Profile Manager to create a new profile
    If you still have an existing profile then click "Choose Folder" in the Profile Manager and browse to the location of a lost profile to recover this profile
    https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Managing+profiles

You should find the profiles.ini file in this hidden location:

  • Windows: %AppData%\Mozilla\Firefox\
    *C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\
  • Mac: *~/Library/Application Support/Firefox/
  • Linux: *~/.mozilla/firefox/

If clearing the profiles.ini file isn't working then also check the location of the cache files.

  • Windows: *C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<profile>\
  • Mac: *~/Library/Caches/Firefox/Profiles/
  • Linux:*~/.cache/mozilla/firefox/

You can also try to rename/delete the Mozilla\Firefox\ folder in both above mentioned locations (main, cache).

Do you have an "Old Firefox Data" folder on the desktop with your previous profile?

You can copy files like these from the "Old Firefox Data" folder on the desktop to the current Firefox profile folder to recover specific data.

  • bookmarks and history: places.sqlite
  • bookmark backups: JSON backups in the bookmarkbackups folder
  • SQLite files like cookies.sqlite (cookies) and formhistory.sqlite (saved form data)
  • logins.json and key3.db (decryption key) for Passwords saved in the Password Manager
  • cert8.db for stored intermediate certificates (Certificate Manager)
  • persdict.dat for words you added to the spelling checker dictionary
  • permissions.sqlite and possibly content-prefs.sqlite for Permissions and Site Preferences
  • sessionstore.js for open tabs and pinned tabs and tab groups

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