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Lost certificate

BlazB
BlazB
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Hello,

I had a private certificate (bank certificate) in mozilla firefox. My windows have crashed and I have put the disk onto another computer and I don't find that certificate. Will I be able to recover the certificate or have to order another one?

Thanks for reply

Blaz

Hello, I had a private certificate (bank certificate) in mozilla firefox. My windows have crashed and I have put the disk onto another computer and I don't find that certificate. Will I be able to recover the certificate or have to order another one? Thanks for reply Blaz

All Replies (1)

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 25 Contributor
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Hi Blaz, Firefox probably would have stored the certificate in a file named cert8.db in your active Firefox profile folder on the old drive. This is under a hidden path, so the first step is:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/show-hidden-files

And .db may be a hidden file extension, so:

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/how-to-show-file-extensions-in-windows/

Next, try to drill down here (assuming your old drive is "E"):

E:\Users\username\AppData\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles

In that folder, you might find one or multiple semi-randomly-named folders. Whichever one was updated last probably was your active profile folder. You can copy the latest cert8.db file to your desktop (or if you are using a USB flash drive, that device).

To replace a file in your currently live Firefox profile folder:

Open your profile folder using either

  • "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > 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, click the "Open Folder" button. This should launch a new window listing various files and folders in Windows Explorer.

Leaving that window open, switch back to Firefox and Exit, either:

  • "3-bar" menu button > "power" button
  • (menu bar) File > Exit

Pause while Firefox finishes its cleanup, then rename cert8.db to something like cert8-old.db. Then copy/paste the file from the desktop (or USB flash drive) into this folder.

Start Firefox back up again. Is your personal certificate present? You can check using the Options page:

  • Windows: "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Options
  • Mac: "3-bar" menu button (or Firefox menu) > Preferences
  • Linux: "3-bar" menu button (or Edit menu) > Preferences

In the left column, click Advanced. Then on the right side, with the "Certificates" mini-tab active, click the "View Certificates" button. It would be in the "Your Certificates" category.

Success?