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IT guy changed my password without getting a recovery key; info still exists on two other computers

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  • 2 have this problem
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  • آخر ردّ كتبه mpbodin

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I'm trying to switch to a new desktop. IT guy claimed to be a Firefox expert, but, when my password didn't work, he changed it without getting a recovery key. My old setup still exists on my old desktop and my laptop. Is there any way to save what's on either of those two computers so that I'm not starting from zero? I have literally been brought to tears at the thought of saving all those bookmarks and passwords manually. Any help would be deeply appreciated!

I'm trying to switch to a new desktop. IT guy claimed to be a Firefox expert, but, when my password didn't work, he changed it without getting a recovery key. My old setup still exists on my old desktop and my laptop. Is there any way to save what's on either of those two computers so that I'm not starting from zero? I have literally been brought to tears at the thought of saving all those bookmarks and passwords manually. Any help would be deeply appreciated!

الحل المُختار

Thank you both! I used a combination of your solutions.

I didn't want to start out by syncing, because the computer I was replacing was my main computer and I believe that my other two computers sync of the one that was having the problems. I was concerned that the sync would erase what remained on the other computers.

So I used Cor-El's jump drive method. I copied over the profile files to a jump drive and copied it over to the new computer. I put the old profile folders (because there were two) into a subfolder called "archive." I started Firefox and got a message that said: "Your Firefox profile cannot be loaded. It may be missing or inaccessible."

I changed the name of the file from the old computer to the name of the file on the new computer. And I got the same message.

The second folder on the new computer had the extension ".default-release" This had more files in it and I renaming the file folder that next. That one took.

Finally, I ran the sync. At first, it looked like I had lost the settings in the menu bar. Since I had all my bookmarks and passwords, I figured it wasn't a total loss. Then I opened a new tab, and that tab had the menu bar just as it should be. I'm thinking that it wasn't the tab that was magic, but maybe the time elapsed or the number of times I opened and closed the program.

Many thanks to the two people who helped me with this. I deeply appreciate it!

And, please, get that recovery key before you change your password!

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If the data is still on your other computer(s), then it's saved locally on Firefox. Therefore, nothing that happens in Firefox Sync should do anything to that data.

Of course, a password reset does mean that your Firefox Sync data is no longer on your account, but if you sign into the other computer(s), the Firefox Sync system should copy that existing information back to the Firefox Sync server and return to normal.

If you are concerned about losing any data, you may want to back up your Firefox profile data first to ensure that you don't lose anything in the unlikely event that something goes wrong.

Hope this helps.

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You can alternatively use a USB jump drive to transfer data between devices.

"Help -> Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page

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الحل المُختار

Thank you both! I used a combination of your solutions.

I didn't want to start out by syncing, because the computer I was replacing was my main computer and I believe that my other two computers sync of the one that was having the problems. I was concerned that the sync would erase what remained on the other computers.

So I used Cor-El's jump drive method. I copied over the profile files to a jump drive and copied it over to the new computer. I put the old profile folders (because there were two) into a subfolder called "archive." I started Firefox and got a message that said: "Your Firefox profile cannot be loaded. It may be missing or inaccessible."

I changed the name of the file from the old computer to the name of the file on the new computer. And I got the same message.

The second folder on the new computer had the extension ".default-release" This had more files in it and I renaming the file folder that next. That one took.

Finally, I ran the sync. At first, it looked like I had lost the settings in the menu bar. Since I had all my bookmarks and passwords, I figured it wasn't a total loss. Then I opened a new tab, and that tab had the menu bar just as it should be. I'm thinking that it wasn't the tab that was magic, but maybe the time elapsed or the number of times I opened and closed the program.

Many thanks to the two people who helped me with this. I deeply appreciate it!

And, please, get that recovery key before you change your password!

Modified by mpbodin

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Modified by mpbodin