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Lost all my tabs and history from Yesterday

  • 8 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 12 views
  • Last reply by FredMcD

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So I have been having this issue lately where my computer just won't respond, and the only thing I have to fix it with my limited skills is to force the computer to power off and restart it. Unfortunately, this tends to result in me losing my tabs and having to find them all over again in Firefox. Usually it's not a big deal, as it's just a few tabs missing, and I can just remember what I need. This time, however, I've lost a weeks worth of tabs, and it was a very busy week. I can't remember what tabs I had open, and the few things I've tried to get them back, are not working.

I have, unfortunately, already tried restarting my computer, which inevitably led to firefox being closed and reopened, and though I have tried to find my previous session data in the profiles information on my computer, it only has this session that is currently missing a week of work, and the session from the week previous. I am very distressed right now, not gonna lie.

So I have been having this issue lately where my computer just won't respond, and the only thing I have to fix it with my limited skills is to force the computer to power off and restart it. Unfortunately, this tends to result in me losing my tabs and having to find them all over again in Firefox. Usually it's not a big deal, as it's just a few tabs missing, and I can just remember what I need. This time, however, I've lost a weeks worth of tabs, and it was a very busy week. I can't remember what tabs I had open, and the few things I've tried to get them back, are not working. I have, unfortunately, already tried restarting my computer, which inevitably led to firefox being closed and reopened, and though I have tried to find my previous session data in the profiles information on my computer, it only has this session that is currently missing a week of work, and the session from the week previous. I am very distressed right now, not gonna lie.

All Replies (8)

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meg_morgan68 said

So I have been having this issue lately where my computer just won't respond

Can you explain the details on this? Any idea of the cause? What programs were running at the time?


Start your Computer in safe mode with network support. Then start Firefox. Try Secure websites. Is the problem still there?

Starting Any Computer In Safe Mode (web link) Free Online Encyclopedia

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/how-to-start-windows-in-safe-mode/

https://www.digitalcitizen.life/4-ways-boot-safe-mode-windows-10/ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ If the problem goes away with the computer in Safe Mode, the problem is with one of the other programs on the system.

As a test, disable your protection programs.

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meg_morgan68 said

Unfortunately, this tends to result in me losing my tabs and having to find them all over again in Firefox.

Firefox keeps track of what tabs/windows are open. If the browser crashed or did not close properlly, it will try to restore the last session. This is how the browser is set up.

If the last session does not show up, try: Press Alt or F10 to bring up the toolbar. Then History > Restore Previous Session

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Are you using "Open previous windows and tabs" as the startup setting as that is safest ?

  • Settings -> General -> Startup

If you have that often issues with the computer hanging regularly then you can consider to use a session manager extension and possibly bookmark important links.

If it happens again:

Backup the session files in the sessionstore-backups folder in the Firefox profile folder to make sure not to lose possible important session data. Do NOT close Firefox when Firefox is already running.

You will normally find these files in the sessionstore-backups folder:

  • previous.jsonlz4 (cleanBackup: copy of sessionstore.jsonlz4 from previous session that was loaded successfully)
  • recovery.jsonlz4 (latest version of sessionstore.jsonlz4 written during runtime)
  • recovery.baklz4 (previous version of sessionstore.jsonlz4 written during runtime)
  • upgrade.jsonlz4-<build_id> (backup created during an upgrade of Firefox)

You can copy a file from the sessionstore-backups folder to the main profile and rename the file to sessionstore.jsonlz4 to replace the current file with Firefox closed.

  • make sure to backup the current sessionstore.jsonlz4

Location used for the main profile that keeps your personal data (Root Directory on about:profiles) in a hidden location.

  • C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<profile>
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I'm not sure I have much to add here.

Do you still have your history from the past week (for example, in the Library window, Ctrl+Shift+H)?

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FredMcD said

meg_morgan68 said

So I have been having this issue lately where my computer just won't respond

Can you explain the details on this? Any idea of the cause? What programs were running at the time?

Usually I have Discord, Firefox, maybe a folder or two open, and sometimes Microsoft Edge. Not entirely sure what I'd be looking for in running safe mode, as this freeze tends to happen very sporadically, though often enough to be a problem, and I can't predict when it will happen.

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cor-el said

Are you using "Open previous windows and tabs" as the startup setting as that is safest ?
  • Settings -> General -> Startup
If you have that often issues with the computer hanging regularly then you can consider to use a session manager extension and possibly bookmark important links. If it happens again: Backup the session files in the sessionstore-backups folder in the Firefox profile folder to make sure not to lose possible important session data. Do NOT close Firefox when Firefox is already running. You will normally find these files in the sessionstore-backups folder:
  • previous.jsonlz4 (cleanBackup: copy of sessionstore.jsonlz4 from previous session that was loaded successfully)
  • recovery.jsonlz4 (latest version of sessionstore.jsonlz4 written during runtime)
  • recovery.baklz4 (previous version of sessionstore.jsonlz4 written during runtime)
  • upgrade.jsonlz4-<build_id> (backup created during an upgrade of Firefox)
You can copy a file from the sessionstore-backups folder to the main profile and rename the file to sessionstore.jsonlz4 to replace the current file with Firefox closed.
  • make sure to backup the current sessionstore.jsonlz4
Location used for the main profile that keeps your personal data (Root Directory on about:profiles) in a hidden location.
  • C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<profile>

Thank you for all the advice, I'll keep it in mind. I'm definitely going to try the session manager, that might help with the ongoing issue.

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jscher2000 said

I'm not sure I have much to add here. Do you still have your history from the past week (for example, in the Library window, Ctrl+Shift+H)?

I do have the history, it seems like, but sorting through it is... not easy, as I visit and close a lot of tabs while keeping a select bunch open that I visit not as often, but with more repetitiveness than the other tabs.

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One thing you could also do is to open the Windows Task Manager. Set it to show the CPU.