Bookmarks lost
My bookmarks have disappeared. I have tried to restore and also import from another browser but nothing works to recover my bookmarks. Any suggestions?
Chosen solution
Hi tlfoley, I haven't used a file unlock utility for several years, so I don't know what works on Windows 10.
Could you check whether removing temporary database files helps:
Open your current Firefox settings (AKA Firefox profile) folder using either
- "3-bar" menu button > "?" Help > 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, on the Profile Folder row, click the "Open Folder" button. This should launch a new window listing various files and folders in File Explorer.
Leaving that window open, switch back to Firefox and Exit, either:
- "3-bar" menu button > Exit
- (menu bar) File > Exit
Pause while Firefox finishes its cleanup, then if these files have not been removed after 15-30 seconds, try renaming the following files, or moving them out of this folder, or deleting them:
- favicons.sqlite-shm
- favicons.sqlite-wal
- places.sqlite-shm
- places.sqlite-wal
Start Firefox back up again. Any improvement with adding new bookmarks or restoring a bookmark backup?
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Have you seen this article?
The article - Recover lost or missing Bookmarks did not help. I tried everything it mentioned and nothing worked.
Hi tlfoley, to see whether this is a case of file corruption, could you let us know what you get when you run the "Verify Integrity" function. That's here:
Open Firefox's Troubleshooting Information page using any of these methods:
- "3-bar" menu button > "?" Help > Troubleshooting Information
- (menu bar) Help > Troubleshooting Information
- type or paste about:support in the address bar and press Enter
Near the bottom, there is a section titled Places Database -- that's the file which stores history and bookmarks. Click the button labeled Verify Integrity. There may be a 10-15 second delay before results appear.
If all is well, the report that appears below the button should start with:
> Task: checkIntegrity + The places.sqlite database is sane + The favicons.sqlite database is sane
Does yours say that, or something else? You can select and copy the report, and then paste it into a reply for review and comment.
Places Database Integrity
> Task: checkIntegrity + The places.sqlite database is sane + The favicons.sqlite database is sane > Task: invalidateCaches - Unable to invalidate caches > Task: checkCoherence - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task. > Task: expire - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task. > Task: originFrecencyStats - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task. > Task: vacuum - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task. > Task: stats - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task. > Task: _refreshUI - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task.
Accessibility Activated true
Hmm, maybe the file is locked somehow. Have you already tried doing a normal shutdown and restart of Windows to release all file locks?
I've tried restarting several times. Is there a way to do a file unlock?
Chosen Solution
Hi tlfoley, I haven't used a file unlock utility for several years, so I don't know what works on Windows 10.
Could you check whether removing temporary database files helps:
Open your current Firefox settings (AKA Firefox profile) folder using either
- "3-bar" menu button > "?" Help > 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, on the Profile Folder row, click the "Open Folder" button. This should launch a new window listing various files and folders in File Explorer.
Leaving that window open, switch back to Firefox and Exit, either:
- "3-bar" menu button > Exit
- (menu bar) File > Exit
Pause while Firefox finishes its cleanup, then if these files have not been removed after 15-30 seconds, try renaming the following files, or moving them out of this folder, or deleting them:
- favicons.sqlite-shm
- favicons.sqlite-wal
- places.sqlite-shm
- places.sqlite-wal
Start Firefox back up again. Any improvement with adding new bookmarks or restoring a bookmark backup?