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Profiles Directory in Windows 11 points to the "wrong" location

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  • Last reply by cor-el

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I installed the Firefox browser (version 113.0.2 (64-bit)) onto a new PC running Windows 11. When attempting to clean up the Firefox cache with another utility, I noticed that the amount of space recovered was much smaller than expected. When I tried to check my profile using the Troubleshooting Information page (to open the folder) I received a message that the location was not available. I double checked with Windows Explorer and this was the case. Searching for "cache2" in Explorer located the folder/directory in a different location.

The Firefox Profile Folder should be in this location, according to Firefox's Troubleshooting Information page (anonymized information in square brackets):

C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\[character string 1].[profile name]

The best I can tell, the actual Profile Folder created in Windows 11 is located here:

C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Packages\Mozilla.Firefox_[character string 2]\LocalCache\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\[character string 1].[profile name]

The cache folder for the profile is located here:

C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Packages\Mozilla.Firefox_[character string 2]\LocalCache\Local\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\[character string 1].[profile name]\cache2\entries

I am not sure if this situation is unique to me, or if this is a common occurrence with Windows 11.

The use of the Packages folder may be the result of installing an application that is not fully "Windows 11-native" or it may just be the new way Windows deals with some applications. I am not sure if the data in character string 2 is consistent, or if it is a unique string created by Windows when Firefox was installed.

If I go to the Settings and clear data, the folder that is a sub-folder of Packages is cleared, so Firefox "knows" where the data is, but the Troubleshooting Information page is confused.

If this is a common occurrence, a tweak to this page in a future release would be helpful. If it is a rare occurrence, a help article may be, well, helpful.

Thanks.

I installed the Firefox browser (version 113.0.2 (64-bit)) onto a new PC running Windows 11. When attempting to clean up the Firefox cache with another utility, I noticed that the amount of space recovered was much smaller than expected. When I tried to check my profile using the Troubleshooting Information page (to open the folder) I received a message that the location was not available. I double checked with Windows Explorer and this was the case. Searching for "cache2" in Explorer located the folder/directory in a different location. The Firefox Profile Folder should be in this location, according to Firefox's Troubleshooting Information page (anonymized information in square brackets): C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\[character string 1].[profile name] The best I can tell, the actual Profile Folder created in Windows 11 is located here: C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Packages\Mozilla.Firefox_[character string 2]\LocalCache\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\[character string 1].[profile name] The cache folder for the profile is located here: C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Packages\Mozilla.Firefox_[character string 2]\LocalCache\Local\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\[character string 1].[profile name]\cache2\entries I am not sure if this situation is unique to me, or if this is a common occurrence with Windows 11. The use of the Packages folder may be the result of installing an application that is not fully "Windows 11-native" or it may just be the new way Windows deals with some applications. I am not sure if the data in character string 2 is consistent, or if it is a unique string created by Windows when Firefox was installed. If I go to the Settings and clear data, the folder that is a sub-folder of Packages is cleared, so Firefox "knows" where the data is, but the Troubleshooting Information page is confused. If this is a common occurrence, a tweak to this page in a future release would be helpful. If it is a rare occurrence, a help article may be, well, helpful. Thanks.

Chosen solution

If you download and install Firefox from the Mozilla server then it should use a profile in the AppData\Roaming (main profile) and AppData\Local (cache) location.

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You didn't attach Troubleshooting Information, so I can't check what Firefox version you have. Are you using the MSIX version from the Microsoft Store as this version has its profile in a different location ?

I assume that the cache would be in the \LocalCache\Local location Does the button on the "Help -> More Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page or on the about:profiles page brings to the correct location ?

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Thanks for the reply. Since this was a new computer, I was installing apps from multiple locations. I think I got Firefox from the Microsoft Store, but I can't be certain about it.

The button on the More Troubleshooting Information does not take you to the correct location. You get a Windows Explorer window with an error message stating that the location (directory/folder) can not be found. I think that I tried the profiles page as well, with the same result.

I'm not a programmer, but it _may_ be that (some of) the directory data in this page is "hard coded" somehow, rather than using information from a configuration file. If so, changing this page to use information from a config file, and/or passing directory information from the installation process to a config file might be worthwhile in a future release.

Would removing Firefox from my computer and then downloading it directly from Mozilla create profiles in the directory that shows on the Troubleshooting Information page when I re-install it? I'm a bit reluctant to go through setting up preferences/options all over again, but I'm willing to do so in order to keep things as "unconfused" as possible.

Thanks again.

Modified by Irgendjemand

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Chosen Solution

If you download and install Firefox from the Mozilla server then it should use a profile in the AppData\Roaming (main profile) and AppData\Local (cache) location.