Have lost all bookmarks on two accounts on my laptop & restore feature not working!
There are three accounts on my laptop; mine, my husbands and an Administration account. Yesterday morning, all was well! later in the morning I went back to my laptop account, signed on to Mozilla and discovered that all of my bookmarks were gone. I have tried the Restore feature that Mozilla outline under "Bookmarks, Import & backup" but get a message "Unable to process the backup file". Is it time to go to Gmail??
All Replies (8)
There have been some reports by users with Firefox 55 where their data is still present on the PC but Firefox's bookmark feature is broken (can't access, can't restore, can't add). However, you posted from Windows XP using Firefox 52 "Extended Support Release" which I hadn't previously seen being affected.
At the time being, the reason that some users experience is problem is unknown (to me, there are a lot of active threads). It could be an issue with an incomplete upgrade (broken program files) or a particular combination of settings, or it could be a conflict with an add-on or with external software (e.g., security software).
To advise on the best course of action, it would be helpful to get more information about at least the first two of these questions.
Do all of your Firefoxes share a Sync account? If so:
Q1: What versions of Firefox are connected to the Sync account?
Q2: Does it help to go into Firefox's Safe Mode? Steps for that at the end.
Q3: Does it help to go into Windows' "Safe Mode with Networking" mode? This is to see whether other software that runs between Windows boot-up and when you start Firefox may be causing the issue. This article has the steps to do this: Start Windows in Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking—ESET Knowledgebase. Please limit your browsing to your most trusted sites while in Safe Mode with Networking because your security software may not be fully functional.
In its Safe Mode, Firefox temporarily deactivates extensions, hardware acceleration, and some other advanced features to help you assess whether these are causing the problem.
If Firefox is not running: Hold down the Shift key when starting Firefox.
If Firefox is running: You can restart Firefox in Safe Mode using either:
- "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
- Help menu > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
and OK the restart.
Both scenarios: A small dialog should appear. Click "Start in Safe Mode" (not Refresh).
Any improvement? (More info: Diagnose Firefox issues using Troubleshoot Mode)
Make sure you do not run Firefox in permanent Private Browsing mode (Always use Private Browsing mode; Never Remember History).
- Options/Preferences -> Privacy -> Firefox will: "Use custom settings for history"
- Deselect: [ ] "Always use Private Browsing mode"
If the Places Maintenance extension can't repair the places.sqlite database then remove all places.sqlite file(s) in the Firefox profile folder to make Firefox rebuild the places.sqlite database from the most recent JSON backup in the bookmarkbackups folder.
- keep a backup copy of places.sqlite in case a new places.sqlite database has to be created
- http://kb.mozillazine.org/Unable_to_process_the_backup_file_-_Firefox
You can also check the read/write permissions of all files (especially places.sqlite) in the profile folder and make sure that you are the owner.
You can use the button on the "Help -> Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page to go to the current Firefox profile folder or use the about:profiles page.
- Help -> Troubleshooting Information -> Profile Directory:
Windows: Show Folder; Linux: Open Directory; Mac: Show in Finder - http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox
hi CZBrat, did this happen on the same windows xp system you were posting your question from?
Is there anything shown in the "browser console"? (Ctrl+Shift+J)
jscher2000 said
There have been some reports by users with Firefox 55 where their data is still present on the PC but Firefox's bookmark feature is broken (can't access, can't restore, can't add). However, you posted from Windows XP using Firefox 52 "Extended Support Release" which I hadn't previously seen being affected. At the time being, the reason that some users experience is problem is unknown (to me, there are a lot of active threads). It could be an issue with an incomplete upgrade (broken program files) or a particular combination of settings, or it could be a conflict with an add-on or with external software (e.g., security software). To advise on the best course of action, it would be helpful to get more information about at least the first two of these questions. Do all of your Firefoxes share a Sync account? If so: Q1: What versions of Firefox are connected to the Sync account? Q2: Does it help to go into Firefox's Safe Mode? Steps for that at the end. Q3: Does it help to go into Windows' "Safe Mode with Networking" mode? This is to see whether other software that runs between Windows boot-up and when you start Firefox may be causing the issue. This article has the steps to do this: Start Windows in Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking—ESET Knowledgebase. Please limit your browsing to your most trusted sites while in Safe Mode with Networking because your security software may not be fully functional.
In its Safe Mode, Firefox temporarily deactivates extensions, hardware acceleration, and some other advanced features to help you assess whether these are causing the problem.
If Firefox is not running: Hold down the Shift key when starting Firefox.
If Firefox is running: You can restart Firefox in Safe Mode using either:
- "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
- Help menu > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
and OK the restart.
Both scenarios: A small dialog should appear. Click "Start in Safe Mode" (not Refresh).
Any improvement? (More info: Diagnose Firefox issues using Troubleshoot Mode)
I have tried everything that you suggested and nothing changed. I posted on my PC (running XP) but the issues are on my laptop running Win-7 Thanks for trying!
I have tried everything that you suggested and nothing changed. I posted on my PC (running XP) but the issues are on my laptop running Win-7 Thanks for trying!
Aha, that makes more sense, so it probably is Firefox 55.
I have not yet seen an explanation for why Firefox 55 does not install correctly/completely on some systems and then is broken in various puzzling ways.
At least one user had luck reinstalling Firefox 55 "as Administrator". This would involve:
(1) Download a full installer from the following page. Best to stick with the same number of bits (32-bit or 64-bit) as what you have now. In the Windows Control Panel, Uninstall a Program, "x86" indicates 32-bit and "x64" indicates 64-bit.
https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/all/
(2) With Firefox closed, instead of double-clicking the EXE file, right-click > Run as Administrator.
Any improvement?
one more question: when you type "about:profiles" into your firefox address bar what is the full path of your profile shown in the root folder column?