Join the AMA (Ask Me Anything) with the Firefox leadership team to celebrate Firefox 20th anniversary and discuss Firefox’s future on Mozilla Connect. Mark your calendar on Thursday, November 14, 18:00 - 20:00 UTC!

This site will have limited functionality while we undergo maintenance to improve your experience. If an article doesn't solve your issue and you want to ask a question, we have our support community waiting to help you at @FirefoxSupport on Twitter and/r/firefox on Reddit.

Avatar for Username

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

This thread was archived. Please ask a new question if you need help.

Did a Firefox Refresh and lost everything

  • 1 reply
  • 1 has this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by cor-el

babecki.technology
babecki.technology
more options

While troubleshooting internet connectivity issues I did a refresh of Firefox. I didn't back up my bookmarks or onetab links because it said no information would be lost, but I lost it all. There is an old Firefox data folder on my desktop but when I copied those files into firefox to use in this new profile there is still nothing there. I even tried a Windows system restore which was a colossal waste of time.

Are there any system files hidden somewhere that would contain my bookmark and onetab data or is it just gone?

While troubleshooting internet connectivity issues I did a refresh of Firefox. I didn't back up my bookmarks or onetab links because it said no information would be lost, but I lost it all. There is an old Firefox data folder on my desktop but when I copied those files into firefox to use in this new profile there is still nothing there. I even tried a Windows system restore which was a colossal waste of time. Are there any system files hidden somewhere that would contain my bookmark and onetab data or is it just gone?

Modified by babecki.technology

All Replies (1)

cor-el
cor-el
  • Moderator
  • Top 10 Contributor
more options

Are the compressed .jsonlz4 backup in the backup in the bookmarkbackups folder in the profile stored in the "Old Firefox Data" folder on the desktop ?

You can use the button on the "Help -> More Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page to go to the current Firefox profile folder or use the about:profiles page (Root directory).

You can copy certain files with Firefox closed to the current profile folder to transfer or recover personal data. Note that best is to avoid copying a full profile folder.

  • bookmarks and history: places.sqlite
  • favicons: favicons.sqlite
  • bookmark backups: compressed .jsonlz4 JSON backups in the bookmarkbackups folder
  • cookies.sqlite for the Cookies
  • formhistory.sqlite for saved autocomplete Form Data
  • logins.json (encrypted logins;32+) and key4.db (decryption key;58+) for Passwords saved in the Password Manager
    key3.db support ended in 73+; to use key3.db in 58-72, make sure to remove key4.db
  • cert9.db (58+) for (intermediate) certificates stored in the Certificate Manager
  • persdict.dat for words added to the spell checker dictionary
  • permissions.sqlite for Permissions and possibly content-prefs.sqlite for other website specific data (Site Preferences)
  • sessionstore.jsonlz4 for open tabs and pinned tabs (see also the sessionstore-backups folder)