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After Refreshing Firefox, do I need to keep the profile folder?

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My Firefox browser was running really slow, so I tried the Refresh Firefox feature. It runs great now, but do I need to keep the Old Firefox Data folder it created? I don't really like clutter in my memory. Honestly, I am not sure why it needed the refresh at all. I have a lot of bookmarks in my bookmarks menu; is that the issue? Will it hurt anything at all to delete the Old Firefox Data folder? I am not that great with computers, and I do not want to mess mine up. It's a great laptop, and if I do something wrong I don't think I will be able to fix it myself!

My Firefox browser was running really slow, so I tried the Refresh Firefox feature. It runs great now, but do I need to keep the Old Firefox Data folder it created? I don't really like clutter in my memory. Honestly, I am not sure why it needed the refresh at all. I have a lot of bookmarks in my bookmarks menu; is that the issue? Will it hurt anything at all to delete the Old Firefox Data folder? I am not that great with computers, and I do not want to mess mine up. It's a great laptop, and if I do something wrong I don't think I will be able to fix it myself!

Alle Antworten (7)

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I suggest giving it a week in case something important is missing and you haven't noticed yet.

Your old folder would contain your Firefox settings files (of course), but possibly also data stored by add-ons.


Also, your Firefox identified itself to the forum as version 48. An update is available: this article describes how to get Firefox 54 using the "About Firefox" dialog on the help menu: Update Firefox to the latest release.

If something is holding you back from upgrading to Firefox 54, please let us know so we can suggest solutions or workarounds. Version 48 is not secure; Mozilla discloses security flaws after each new release.

Sometimes Firefox reports the wrong version because that information was saved in a preferences file. If the "About Firefox" dialog (see first article link) shows Firefox 54.0, you may need to clear out that incorrect information. See: How to reset the default user agent on Firefox.

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It seems okay. What sort of things might be missing that I would need from the old folder? I don't do anything fancy. I set my preferred start page and preferred search engine. I seem to have all my bookmarks. I wouldn't know if something is wrong or how to fix it. Also, I posted my question from a different computer than the one in question. Didn't the reset essentially make my Firefox like it was when I first downloaded the browser. I have never had problems with Firefox (other than the slowness recently), so shouldn't it be safe to delete? If anything were seriously wrong, would uninstalling and then reinstalling Firefox fix it? Or would I be damaging something else in the computer that I don't know about?

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Note that you are behind in the Shockwave Flash plugin as well (26.0.0.131 is current).

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Again, a different computer is in question here. This one's Adobe has been out of date, and I'll worry about it another time. My other computer, the one I reset the browser on, is totally up to date.

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Were there any extensions in the old profile that could cause this issue (e.g. Adblock Plus)?

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Confused_about_Firefox said

What sort of things might be missing that I would need from the old folder? I don't do anything fancy. I set my preferred start page and preferred search engine. I seem to have all my bookmarks. I wouldn't know if something is wrong or how to fix it.

If you do not notice anything important missing after giving it a few days, there probably isn't anything important missing. If there's a problem, post again.

Also, I posted my question from a different computer than the one in question.

Well, it's still in need of updating...

Didn't the reset essentially make my Firefox like it was when I first downloaded the browser.

Not exactly. This article describes what Refresh keeps and throws away: Refresh Firefox - reset add-ons and settings.

If anything were seriously wrong, would uninstalling and then reinstalling Firefox fix it? Or would I be damaging something else in the computer that I don't know about?

There's such a large range of "seriously wrong" that the answer to this is "maybe" and/or "not necessarily." If you run into a serious problem, please post again for advice specific to the situation.

Removing Firefox from your system is unlikely to harm the system or any other applications. However, it's best to make sure you have at least one other working browser before removing Firefox.

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Okay thank you. If I see anything funky, I'll reply again. Otherwise, I'll get rid of that folder and try not to experiment anymore with computers! :) Thanks ever so much! Sometimes I need people to translate "tech-ese" for me. Like I said, I'm not the best with this sort of thing.