During your upgrade, do you recall using Firefox's Refresh feature? This can happen when Firefox starts up slowly and says in order to make it less sluggish you can refresh/restore the browser. The best indication is that an Old Firefox Data folder appears on your desktop.

If so, your missing add-ons probably are in that folder... and there is a roundabout way to revert the Refresh:

Undoing a Refresh using Old Firefox Data

Check inside "Old Firefox Data" folder for a folder with a semi-randomized name. If there's only one, that probably has your old settings and add-ons. If there's more than one, you'll want to work with the one that was updated most recently.

Once you have identified the profile folder you want to restore, here is my suggested "old profile resurrection procedure":

Overview

These are the steps:

1. Create a new Firefox profile
2. Remove everything from that new profile folder
3. Copy in everything from the old profile folder

Create a new Firefox profile (Windows)

Exit Firefox and start up in the Profile Manager by pasting the following into the Start menu search box (or Run dialog) and pressing Enter:

firefox.exe -P

Do not delete anything here! Any time you want to switch profiles, exit Firefox and return to this dialog.

Click the Create Profile button, assign a name like OldSettings, and skip the option to change the folder location. Then select that new profile in the dialog and start Firefox.

Open the New Profile folder in Windows Explorer

Firefox in the new profile should look like a factory fresh installation. Open the Troubleshooting Information page using either:

• "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Troubleshooting Information
• Help menu > Troubleshooting Information
• type or paste about:support in the address bar and press Enter

In the first table, click the "Show Folder" button. Firefox will launch your brand new profile folder in Windows Explorer.

Leaving that folder open, switch back to Firefox, and Exit. When Firefox closes, the profile folder should be front and center, or you can activate it using the Task bar.

Copy Old Data in Place of New

In that new profile folder, select all the contents and delete.

Leaving that window open, open or switch over to your Old Firefox Data folder. Drill down into your old profile folder. At this level you should see a folder named bookmarkbackups among other things.

Select everything (Ctrl+a) and Copy (either right-click > Copy or Ctrl+c).

Switch to the empty new profile folder in other window and Paste (either right-click > Paste or Ctrl+v). This may take a minute since some of the files are large.

Start Firefox

Firefox should start up in that new profile with the resurrected old profile data. Success?

At this point, you can pick up where you left off, or if the performance really is lousy, just use it for reference/comparison in building up your newer profile.

Of maybe that won't be necessary if you can display the Add-on bar. You can turn toolbars on and off using any of these methods to display a toolbar list:

• right-click a blank area of the tab bar, or the "+" button on the tab bar
• "3-bar" menu button > Customize > Show/Hide Toolbars
• tap the Alt key to activate the classic menu bar temporarily, then View > Toolbars

Does that help?

None of those solutions worked. Can not copy Jack as the old add on items from profile was deleted when FF updated. When right clicking, that gets me to a general menu which I can uncheck tool bar. However, the toolbar itself does not show up on the menu bar where it should. Custom area is pretty much blank. It is like started FF brand spanking new concerning add ons and application. Applications I had are also gone but really never used the 2 I had so no loss. However, the add ons I need is important for video capture for a website that does reviews which is legal for me to copy under the law.

Added 3 add ons new but does not show up where I can actually use them.

So...either your profile or the Firefox installation is corrupt. First, refresh Firefox (resets settings to factory defaults). If that doesn't solve this problem, perform a clean reinstall:

Note: You might want to print these steps or view them in another browser.

1. Download the latest Desktop version of Firefox from mozilla.org (or choose the download for your operating system and language from this page) and save the setup file to your computer.
2. After the download finishes, close all Firefox windows (or open the Firefox menu and click the close button ).
3. Delete the Firefox installation folder, which is located in one of these locations, by default:
   • Windows:
     • C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox
     • C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox
   • Mac: Delete Firefox from the Applications folder.
   • Linux: If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it - see Install Firefox on Linux. If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder firefox in your home directory.
4. Now, go ahead and reinstall Firefox:
   1. Double-click the downloaded installation file and go through the steps of the installation wizard.
   2. Once the wizard is finished, choose to directly open Firefox after clicking the Finish button.

More information about reinstalling Firefox can be found here.

WARNING: Do not use a third party uninstaller as part of this process. Doing so could permanently delete your Firefox profile data, including but not limited to, extensions, cache, cookies, bookmarks, personal settings and saved passwords. These cannot be easily recovered unless they have been backed up to an external device! See Back up and restore information in Firefox profiles.

The refreshing did not solve the problem. It deleted out all of the installed add ons and the menu for the add ons is still missing. I am getting the worst add of FF the dreaded "Start a conversation" button that 99% of people hate that I have talked to. I hate it as well.

So, the problem is much deeper than simple refresh either. I am thinking that I might lose my bookmarks which is also not working as it should but working none the less. If it happens that I lose my bookmarks, I will be pissed beyond measure.

FF in last year has not been as good as in past. Had to use IE with a few sites as FF does not work properly especially with Wordpress frame.

Now, I am looking at what? New Profile does not solve the problem either as add ons activating in the add on menu bar is still missing. Right now it does not even acknowledge that I even have an add on bar. I had to get the add on bar fix extension just to find the add on bar in the tool menu and in right click. However, it is a waste if I can not get the add ons themselves to be on the window so that I can work with them.

pablo222 said

None of those solutions worked. Can not copy Jack as the old add on items from profile was deleted when FF updated.

I'm confused about your reply here. Do you have an Old Firefox Data folder on your desktop?

If you do, does it have your old settings folder from before the add-ons were lost?

If so, did you try the procedure I listed? If so, where did you run into a problem with copying. The instruction is to copy the entire contents of the old profile folder, not to look for individual add-ons in there.

pablo222 said

When right clicking, that gets me to a general menu which I can uncheck tool bar. However, the toolbar itself does not show up on the menu bar where it should. Custom area is pretty much blank. It is like started FF brand spanking new concerning add ons and application.

Maybe it would help if you were more specific about the add-ons, since some will have one toolbar button, and some may have a whole toolbar. If you are using something that requires the classic (pre-Firefox 29) Add-on bar, then you would need -- as it sounds as though you already have -- something like https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/ad.../the-addon-bar/. The classic Add-on bar should appear along the bottom edge of the Firefox window. Are you saying that not only is the Add-on bar not displayed, but it is not even on the toolbar list?

pablo222 said

The refreshing did not solve the problem. It deleted out all of the installed add ons and the menu for the add ons is still missing. I am getting the worst add of FF the dreaded "Start a conversation" button that 99% of people hate that I have talked to. I hate it as well. So, the problem is much deeper than simple refresh either. I am thinking that I might lose my bookmarks which is also not working as it should but working none the less. If it happens that I lose my bookmarks, I will be pissed beyond measure. FF in last year has not been as good as in past. Had to use IE with a few sites as FF does not work properly especially with Wordpress frame. Now, I am looking at what? New Profile does not solve the problem either as add ons activating in the add on menu bar is still missing. Right now it does not even acknowledge that I even have an add on bar. I had to get the add on bar fix extension just to find the add on bar in the tool menu and in right click. However, it is a waste if I can not get the add ons themselves to be on the window so that I can work with them.

Refreshing didn't fix the problem? Definitely go for a clean reinstall, then. That won't delete your bookmarks.

Are you talking about the add-on bar as in this?: http://www.techfeb.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/wordpress-toolbar-extension-for-firefox-2.png

The new versions of Firefox (Australis) don't have the add-on bar anymore. Extensions like Classic Theme Restorer can bring back the add-on bar, and those extensions not working is what you're talking about, right?

Did you reset Firefox and?

You can check for problems with the places.sqlite database file in the Firefox profile folder.

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Bookmarks_history_and_toolbar_buttons_not_working_-_Firefox
• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Bookmarks+not+saved#w_fix-the-bookmarks-file

• Places Maintenance: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/places-maintenance/

Firefox no longer has the Add-ons bar, so you need at least install and enable an extension that provided this toolbar.

• The Addon Bar (restored): https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/the-addon-bar/
• Classic Theme Restorer: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/classicthemerestorer/

When you reset Firefox then a new profile is created and some personal data (bookmarks, history, cookies, passwords, form data) is automatically imported and the current profile folder will be moved to the desktop to an "Old Firefox Data" folder. Installed extensions and other customizations (toolbars, prefs) that you have made are lost and need to be redone.

It is possible to recover data from the old profile, but be cautious not to copy corrupted files to avoid carrying over problems.

• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Recovering+important+data+from+an+old+profile
• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Transferring_data_to_a_new_profile_-_Firefox

If you were using an add-on to restore the add-on bar before the update, then give us a link, please. That add-on might not be compatible anymore. (if the add-on no longer works, try the above suggestions)

ok Just a User.

Concerning Bookmarks. They work right now. The only problem is in the sorting of new Bookmarks. It does not allow to select location of the bookmark to be selected with drop down menu. Rather have to manually place where I want the bookmark by manually moving it to its location. Edit bookmark also does not work. The choose option within the bookmark does not allow me to select beyond the 5 most common folders.

This issue occurred at same time as the loss of add on icons off menu bar that used to be to the right of Edit bookmark/show bookmark, download display, Home, and the dreaded Start a communication crapper button.

FYI, I am running FF 36.0.4 Funnelcake July 2012 and Modzilla 14 1.0. FF auto updated as I forgot to disable that feature knowing full well that each new version has a 4 to 9 month debugging period. My mistake and one which I doubt I will repeat for a 4 to 6 years. 1998 at was the first time I had a problem like this where, I decided to never do an OS update ASAP but wait a few months for the debugging. Time fades the human memory.

I did not have this issue with FF version 35. It is new with version 36.

Just a user. Concerning the add on toolbar for Wordpress. No.

Meaning that FF version 34 and up has a conflict with WordPress where it does not format WordPress frame for Website design properly. I am now forced to use IE to upload data for my website because FF will not allow me to properly format the data I am uploading within set parameters of the WordPress website management frame. Specifically, the problem is with pictures or animated gifs. I use a special extension for videos which is unaffected.

I have used FF since version 4. However, I was forced away for a time because of versions 5,6,  8, and 10 for a significant period while major fixes to FF was done to correct major issues. FF has been way better than IE starting with FF 11 and generally is still better though some features are dragging down overall performance and reputation of FF. FF is also way super more secure but that gap is fast dwindling.

For Cor-el,

Yes, I am aware of the add on tool bar that was removed. However, even in FF 35, the icons of active add on extensions showed to the far right of the address and search bars.

FYI, I am running FF 36.0.4 Funnelcake 2012 (was added as part of FF update which I disabled and would like it removed) and Modzilla 14 1.0.

I tried using the Add on extension for showing the tool bar as a possible fix because I could not locate the extensions when I was in the customize menu tool bars application where I should see all the extensions and add ons. However, Nothing!

So, I tried the add on extension hoping to use the classic display option as a means to quickly access the add on extensions. It did not work.

Currently, all add ons that I downloaded are lost. (Had about 20 I downloaded) The only extensions are the locked ones (7 which is the same 7 locked prior to update) which can not be removed as they relate to security and FF OS frame operations.

I went to the old FF folder but could not locate the add ons. It is like they do not exist. My current problem is that I can not use any add on that I currently select and download. They simply do not activate and show up like they should on the menu bar which is how it was with FF version 35. Not so with Version 36.

pablo222 said

The only problem is in the sorting of new Bookmarks. It does not allow to select location of the bookmark to be selected with drop down menu. Rather have to manually place where I want the bookmark by manually moving it to its location. Edit bookmark also does not work. The choose option within the bookmark does not allow me to select beyond the 5 most common folders.

You should see a button to the right of the recently used folder list that expands a listbox where you can expand the folder tree and find the desired location. (Screen shot attached for reference.)

Jscher 2000,

Concerning the bookmarks. Yes I do see the drop down menu. However, when you click on choose, it does not let you select from the list of bookmark folders. I suspect that there is a limit to the number of bookmark folders being applied somehow or it is just corrupt. Anyway, in the drop down menu there is a list of 5 folders which I can select which is the most generally used folders for which I was adding bookmarks not which folders is used the most.

However, when I click on the edit to expand to the drop down menu, it does not help me if I want to put a bookmark in a folder that is not in the 5 it gives. When I try to scroll down, it greys out where you can not actually scroll through the folder list to put bookmark directly into the folder you want.

What I have been doing is bookmark to main drop down. Then moving it manually to the folder I want it to be located. It is a small problem and one which has a work around tedious as it is.

The loss of being able to use add ons on the other hand is unacceptable.

Do you have the same problem in the resurrected Old Settings profile? https://support.mozilla.org/questions/1054649#answer-710657

jscher2000

Yes.

I will have to put this on hold as 2 computer fans failed today. Will have to wait for parts. If it is not one thing it is another. Will check back in about 4 days.

pablo222 said

Just a user. Concerning the add on toolbar for Wordpress. No. Meaning that FF version 34 and up has a conflict with WordPress where it does not format WordPress frame for Website design properly. I am now forced to use IE to upload data for my website because FF will not allow me to properly format the data I am uploading within set parameters of the WordPress website management frame. Specifically, the problem is with pictures or animated gifs. I use a special extension for videos which is unaffected. I have used FF since version 4. However, I was forced away for a time because of versions 5,6, 8, and 10 for a significant period while major fixes to FF was done to correct major issues. FF has been way better than IE starting with FF 11 and generally is still better though some features are dragging down overall performance and reputation of FF. FF is also way super more secure but that gap is fast dwindling.

That picture was supposed to show the now-nonexistent add-on bar. It just happened to be pointing to the Wordpress add-on button.

I'd say to definitely go for the clean reinstallation of Firefox. Your problem is obviously much more complex then just a misconfigured setting or something. When you upgraded Firefox, something might have gone wrong. The instructions are in the 5th post.

Did a clean wipe of FF and created new profile. It is a pain the arse but I did a back up of bookmarks first and glad I remembered to do that. If I had not backed up the bookmarks first, I would have lost them as I removed all folders associated with FF because simple re-installation was not successful in fixing all issues. Complete new install finally removed whatever was corrupting the FF OS.

Again, the solution is a complete and utter wipe of all old FF folders and files. Then install as brand new. Import the back up bookmarks and everything seems to be working ok.

Only problem is that I lost all the add ons and apps that I had and will have to download them again as I need them as I do not remember all that I had.