Did you select Remove my Firefox personal data and customizations in the UN-installation routine?

If so, all your Firefox data was deleted, and you'll need to use a file recovery utility program like Recuva to try to recover your files.

Hi Bella Fierce, (Quick reply in response to a pm)

Try to use the computer as little as possible until you attempt a recovery.

Note that the files you are trying to recover are (or were) in the firefox profile and specifically the file named places.sqlite or any of the files in the folder bookmarks backups, again within the Firefox profile.

• you may download recuva from : http://www.piriform.com/recuva

I do not suppose you have made any prior attempt to backup the profile, the bookmarks or the computer hard drive. (If you have done you would have a better chance of recovering bookmarks).

Follow any advice from the-edmeister you are in good hands there.

Good luck, I am not going to be available for the remainder of the day, I am working and will not have internet access.

Like the-edmeister said, if you selected the "Remove my Firefox personal data and customizations" in the UN-installation routine then that removed your Firefox profile data (bookmarks, passwords, etc.)

For the record, updating from Firefox 15.0 to 15.0.1 does not remove the Mozilla Firefox 15.0 entry from the Windows "Programs and Features" list of installed programs, so you will see both 15.0 and 15.0.1, even though only Firefox 15.0.1 is installed. This is a bug that should be fixed in a future release (related discussion). If you uninstalled Firefox by selecting the Mozilla Firefox 15.0 entry, this would remove Firefox 15.0.1 from your computer (and your Firefox user data and settings if you selected that option).

I'm so sorry that this caused you to uninstall Firefox and lose your Firefox data and settings.

For starters i'm taken aback at the fact that there's no live or call support. All this from a bug that could so easily have been avoided. Its obvious that i chose remove personal data but i thought it would only remove the older version. And i have read ALL the older posts about this problem .. even downloaded recuva and did a DEEP scan of 5hrs atleast 3 times but each time i recieved the message below 'ran out of memory'

LInk here

This is when i do a short normal scan of the c - drive :link here

I've barely slept .. constantly tearing up because the passwords and LINKS are basically part of my life, school work and without them I ...

- I clicked cancel after like 3 hours of the deep scan and got a lot of file displays some firefox profiles too. When i did a normal scan of like a minute, some files did display but instead of like excellent most say unrecoverable.

1. I REALLY wish there was a step by step on which drives or folders [eg. documents] hold those files to narrow the search. HOW DO I KNOW WHERE TO SEARCH.
2. What name files i need to recover and when i recover where to save them?
3. How to sync them back with my browser and make a backup
4. Lastly is there even hope for my passwords or do i just need to go pay a technical worker to see if he can? :(

Thanks for the helpful tips so far but sadly i already knew of those steps >.<

You asked, I REALLY wish there was a step by step on which drives or folders [eg. documents] hold those files to narrow the search. HOW DO I KNOW WHERE TO SEARCH. What name files i need to recover and when i recover where to save them?

On Windows Vista and Windows 7, Firefox profile folders are found in this location, by default:

• C:\Users\<Windows login/user name>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<profile folder>.

The AppData folder is a hidden folder; to show hidden folders, open a Windows Explorer window and choose "Organize → Folder and Search Options → Folder Options → View (tab) → Show hidden files and folders".

Each folder in the "Profiles" folder (e.g., the "xxxxxxxx.default" folder, where xxxxxxxx is a random string) is a profile on your computer.

• The file that stores your bookmarks and browsing history is places.sqlite
• Your passwords are stored in the key3.db and signons.sqlite files.

For more information see

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox
• Profiles - Where Firefox stores your bookmarks, passwords and other user data

ok but like i showed you from the link what do i do when i find the rocevered files .. how can i restore them properly?

1. 1. and most importantly, how do i even recover all the files when i get the 'ran out of memory' message each time i do a deep scan.

Bella, I can't help with the recovery process but if you do recover any files, just copy the files from your old Firefox profile folder to your new Firefox profile folder, overwriting existing files. These articles should help:

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

i understand Alice , thanks for the effort hopefully someone can help me more on this because I am indeed lost.

do i need to pay attention to date of files created [because i redownloaded firefox so i found some places.qlite files and i feel like they are just the new ones firefox made from it's new browser not the old ones with the information i need?

example .. i found this file and saved it on my desktop link here

and if anyone knows another recovery programme please do let me know ^^

Note that the Firefox Profile Folder is not in %AppData%\Local, but in %AppData%\Roaming, so you can try to restore the Mozilla\Firefox folder in that location with the Recuva program.

The key3.db file on that screenshot is probably one of the files that you are looking for (26-09-2008), but you also need the matching signons.sqlite file to have your passwords. Use that date as the "match" criteria.

As far as running out of memory during a scan, disconnect that PC from the internet and "End Process" in the Windows Task Manager (or whatever it's called in Vista) all non-essential processes - including security programs. You want all your processing power for running the file recovery program scan. I have seen some PC's right out-of-the-box that had half the RAM being sucked-up by start-up routine progtams.

As far as a different program, Recuva is the one most frequently recommended here. I have no experience myself with that type of program, never needed to use one in the almost 30 years that I have been using PC's. One mistake by an employee was all it took to follow through religiously on a daily backup regimen for important data with separate media for each day of the work week. Even if one backup disc is faulty, I haven't lot everything - only a day or two worth of business. And now that I am retired I do basically the same thing, although at less frequently intervals, using different backup media.

Hey guys, my gratitude for the help so far. I just realised something ... inother for it to be the right file it has to have this direct path; [C:\Users\Kahleese\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profile] and not local instead of roaming right?

1. when you delete a file does it go to ur bin or drive C or D? .. because i just had an idea instead of looking through my whole computer with a deep scan which makes it constantly run out of memory .. could i instead paste that path in the 'string' description so it can search for any of those specific files?

1. under task manager how do i know which prosessor isn't essential in other to turn it off?

1. and lastly while going through my computer i found -- that path: {C:\Users\Kahleese\AppData\Roaming\MozillaControl\profiles\MozillaControl\6lmgtd24.slt } and inside were these :

click here are any of them useable?

Hi Bella,

I've just finally got a very good ending wiz Recuva! I let it scan the whole computer (done in 15' or so) then a long list containing all lost files appeared. I immediately noticed the most recent lost files, which contained "..mozilla.." lying in the very first lines and chose several for testing recovery. Then I made the "restore" (bookmarks tab), link the shortcut to these recovered files (.json extension) and i found the file named "bookmarks-2012-12-12" - the date i mistakenly uninstalled FF, i click on and that's my everything @@".. Pls have one more try, dear.. If there is anything i can help, you can pm me 8-)