Profile folder names are semi-random, so if you copy the entire folder over to the new system, Firefox doesn't know about that folder; it's invisible to Firefox. You have a few different options:

First, the starting point is the Profiles folder (this is a shortcut to get to the folder):

%APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles

In that folder, you should have a new profile folder Firefox created -- abc123.default folder here (where abc123 is randomized) -- and the old folder you copied over.

Are we there? You can:

(1) Right-click > Rename on the new folder, Ctrl+C copy its name, then add OLD to the end. Then right-click > Rename on the old folder and Ctrl+v paste the folder name you copied from the other profile. When you start Firefox, it should be none-the-wiser and automatically use the renamed old folder instead of the new one.

(2) Double-click into the new folder, Ctrl+a select all, then Delete. Return to the Profiles folder and double-click into the old folder, Ctrl+a select all, Ctrl+c copy, then go back to the empty folder and Ctrl+v paste. This may take a few moments depending on the file sizes. When you start Firefox, it should pick up using the copied-in files.

(3) Use the Profile Manager to add your old profile folder as a second profile on the new installation of Firefox. I haven't tried this for years and would need to test before posting steps.

If you copied the full profile folder, but not the profiles.ini file or updated the profiles.ini file then Firefox won't find that profile folder. In such a case you can use the Profile Manager to create a new profile and click "Choose Folder" and browse to that missing profile. Firefox will recognize and use that folder.

Note that you should only use "Choose Folder" to point to an existing and valid profile folder or to an empty folder and never specify an existing folder that already contains other files that do not belong to Firefox.

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_Manager

jscher2000 said

Profile folder names are semi-random, so if you copy the entire folder over to the new system, Firefox doesn't know about that folder; it's invisible to Firefox. You have a few different options: First, the starting point is the Profiles folder (this is a shortcut to get to the folder): %APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles In that folder, you should have a new profile folder Firefox created -- abc123.default folder here (where abc123 is randomized) -- and the old folder you copied over. Are we there? You can: (1) Right-click > Rename on the new folder, Ctrl+C copy its name, then add OLD to the end. Then right-click > Rename on the old folder and Ctrl+v paste the folder name you copied from the other profile. When you start Firefox, it should be none-the-wiser and automatically use the renamed old folder instead of the new one. (2) Double-click into the new folder, Ctrl+a select all, then Delete. Return to the Profiles folder and double-click into the old folder, Ctrl+a select all, Ctrl+c copy, then go back to the empty folder and Ctrl+v paste. This may take a few moments depending on the file sizes. When you start Firefox, it should pick up using the copied-in files. (3) Use the Profile Manager to add your old profile folder as a second profile on the new installation of Firefox. I haven't tried this for years and would need to test before posting steps.

I have tried this (copying old firefox data into the newly created firefox profile folder after deleting the new firefox data). Firefox just creates new data and ignores the copied data.

cor-el said

If you copied the full profile folder, but not the profiles.ini file or updated the profiles.ini file then Firefox won't find that profile folder. In such a case you can use the Profile Manager to create a new profile and click "Choose Folder" and browse to that missing profile. Firefox will recognize and use that folder. Note that you should only use "Choose Folder" to point to an existing and valid profile folder or to an empty folder and never specify an existing folder that already contains other files that do not belong to Firefox.

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_Manager

I copied the entire folder into the profiles folder on the new machine. I then launched "firefox.exe -P". I choose to create a profile and clicked on choose folder. The copied folder does not show up. The one that firefox created is the only one there.

Wierd thing is, you can import data from Internet Exploder, and google Chrome but not firefox.

What is the path to the Profiles folder where you copied the old profile folder -- can you copy-paste it here? You can mask your username with "me". For example:

C:\Users\me\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles

Note that Firefox uses two locations for the Firefox profile folder. Location used for the main profile in "AppData\Roaming".

• C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<profile>\

Location used for the disk cache and other temporary files in "AppData\Local".

• C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<profile>\

You can use this button to go to the current Firefox profile folder:

• Help > Troubleshooting Information > Profile Directory:
  Windows: Show Folder; Linux: Open Directory; Mac: Show in Finder
• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox

Thank you to both people who replied. Once I pulled my head out and actually read what the path was (not local but roaming) everything worked just as both of you said it would. Thanks again.