Restore Bookmarks, history etc.
Hello, All along I have installed Firefox on my desktop pc with operating system Win. 7 and able to surf the internet etc. though I am aware that at my own risk that this is no longer supported. Recently there was a problem with my pc and I reinstalled Win 7 using the "Firefox Setup 115.4.0esr" where my Firefox account is now related to my gmail in accounts.google.com. From this NEW Firefox website all my previous bookmarks,history etc are not restored at all and instead it showed a fresh page on Bookmarks bar. Please let me know : 1). how to perform my PREVIOUS restoration of bookmarks, history etc ? I did not perform any "Sign in to Syn" because I fear that I will lose my previous bookmarks, history etc. 2). As a test only I keyed in my google accounts password in "Sign in to Syn" and was incorrect ? How can I retrieve/view my ORIGINAL password created in Firefox when I FIRST INSTALLED years ago ? 3). Does it mean that if my ORIGINAL password created can restore all my previous bookmarks, history etc if entered in "Sign in to Syn" ? 4). I DO NOT WISH TO change password because as per article read there is risk that I will lose some/all my previous bookmarks,history etc.
Thank You for your attention and early response.
Best Regards Vincent Ang gmail : [removed email from public]
Modified by James
Chosen solution
Hi jscher2000, I did not use internal feature to reset Window 7 but instead reformat and reinstalled using "Firefox Setup 115.4.0esr". Unfortunately I did not save any data at all and this was my oversight. I managed to view my Mozilla account under "accounts@firefox.com" (Thank You !) and under Security saw my password in dotted form created in 2017. Unfortunately again I forgotten the actual password (sign!) created. However I copy/paste this dotted form password to Firefox "Sign In" to synchronise and EUREKA !. All my past history and bookmarks are restored ! Now I better start updating those recovery options.
Thank you again for your insights Vincent Ang
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Hi Vincent, if you want to rely on Sync, the key thing is NOT to reset your Mozilla Account password. Resetting your password without using a recovery code flushes your data from the Mozilla Cloud.
Quick initial question, though: did you use an internal Windows feature to reset Windows, the one where it asks whether you want Windows to save your data? In that case, you might have your previous data files on disk and we can suggest where to find them. If not, if you used a recovery disk/recovering partition or formatted the disk, then you might not have any local files to recover from.
Do you know for sure that you used your Google email address as your Mozilla Account username? Perhaps you can tell from an old email sent to your account from "accounts@firefox.com" when you set up the account or when you last signed into it.
If that is the correct email, then it's a matter of remembering what password you used. Easier said than done, I know.
Chosen Solution
Hi jscher2000, I did not use internal feature to reset Window 7 but instead reformat and reinstalled using "Firefox Setup 115.4.0esr". Unfortunately I did not save any data at all and this was my oversight. I managed to view my Mozilla account under "accounts@firefox.com" (Thank You !) and under Security saw my password in dotted form created in 2017. Unfortunately again I forgotten the actual password (sign!) created. However I copy/paste this dotted form password to Firefox "Sign In" to synchronise and EUREKA !. All my past history and bookmarks are restored ! Now I better start updating those recovery options.
Thank you again for your insights Vincent Ang
Good solution! Thank you for reporting back.
And you may want to make a backup of your profile folder for any future just-in-case scenarios: Back up and restore information in Firefox profiles.