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None of my bookmarks show up in either the library or bookmarks icon

  • 11 replies
  • 3 have this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by frankcaruso

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Hi,

i just upgraded (I guess), to Mozilla Quantum 52 from an older version, and now none of my bookmarks show up in either the library subdirectory or under the bookmarks icon. I know they are there somewhere because when I start typing a website that i know was bookmarked, it fills the rest of the name in the search bar, and then shows up with a star next to it, with all my sub-directories. However, I cannot find the complete list anywhere. Any help?

thanks

Hi, i just upgraded (I guess), to Mozilla Quantum 52 from an older version, and now none of my bookmarks show up in either the library subdirectory or under the bookmarks icon. I know they are there somewhere because when I start typing a website that i know was bookmarked, it fills the rest of the name in the search bar, and then shows up with a star next to it, with all my sub-directories. However, I cannot find the complete list anywhere. Any help? thanks

Chosen solution

Maybe... the database has become corrupted somehow. We do have a few reports a week of data loss, but the steps listed above have fixed the cases I've seen.

If you can afford to lose your history, you can remove the places database file which stores bookmarks and history and let Firefox create a new one with just your bookmarks. I'll give the steps for that at the end.

Meanwhile, could you use my converter page to view your last bookmark backup as an HTML page and see if the data looks complete? Here's how:

Open your current Firefox settings (AKA Firefox profile) folder using either

  • "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Troubleshooting Information
  • (menu bar) Help > Troubleshooting Information
  • type or paste about:support in the address bar and press Enter

In the first table on the page, click the "Open Folder" (or "Show in Finder") button. This will launch a file browser window in Windows Explorer (or Finder for Mac users).

Double-click into the bookmarkbackups folder. The files here have the creation date coded into their names, so it should be clear which is the most recent.

Keeping that window open, switch back to Firefox and open this tool:

https://www.jeffersonscher.com/res/bookbackreader.html

Then you can resize the file browser window so you can drag and drop the latest backup onto the page. Then click Export HTML to generate a document listing your bookmark backup contents in the classic export format. You can open that page in a new Firefox tab to see how complete it looks. Does it seem to have all your bookmarks?


To have Firefox build a new places database file (assuming your backup is good):

(1) Open your profile folder as described above

(2) Exit Firefox and allow 15 seconds for file maintenance to complete

(3) Scroll down and rename places.sqlite to placesOLD.sqlite

(4) Sometimes Firefox doesn't clean up the temporary files places.sqlite-shm and places.sqlite-wal so you may need to delete those yourself

(5) When you start Firefox, it should create a blank places.sqlite file and use your lack bookmark backup file to rebuild your bookmarks

Success?

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All Replies (11)

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Did you look in "Other Bookmarks"?

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Yes, I click on the bookmark icon near the search engine bar and none of my bookmarks show up in any of the sub-directories. If I use the library icons, then the only ones that show up are "Recently bookmarked" and they are not sorted the way i had previously saved them.

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The optional new bookmarks menu button () should work the same way as the old bookmarks menu button (), which was the "right-half" of the inseparable star+book duo.

To add that button, either:

(A) Use the Customize panel (Customize Firefox controls, buttons and toolbars) to drag the icon to the desired spot on the toolbar

(B) Use the method from Bookmarks in Firefox - section entitled: How do I add the Bookmarks Menu button to the toolbar?

  • Click the "Library" button:
  • Click "Bookmarks"
  • Click "Bookmarking Tools"
  • Click "Add Bookmarks Menu to Toolbar"

Once the button is on the toolbar, it should show the main level of the Bookmarks Menu (matching what you see when you use the Bookmarks menu on the top menu bar, give or take a few items at the top).

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Hi, thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, even after adding the icon to the bar, none of the bookmarks show up in any of the categories under all bookmarks , "other bookmarks" or "Mobile Bookmark"

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You might need to restore a backup. Could you check out this article and see whether Firefox shows a backup from yesterday that you could restore:

Restore bookmarks from backup or move them to another computer

If Firefox does not list any backups that have more than what you see in that window (the Library window), did Firefox perform a Refresh? The tell-tale sign is a folder on the desktop named "Old Firefox Data". We could give you steps to restore a bookmark backup from there.

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Or... could an add-on be interfering? You could test in Firefox's Safe Mode. 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?

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Tried to restore using bookmarks that were prior to the upgrade, didnt help. Also tried to restart in safe mode and that didnt help either.

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This is so puzzling:

  • Bookmarks menu doesn't show actual bookmarks within the folders/categories
  • Library window ("Show All Bookmarks") doesn't show actual bookmarks

But

  • Library button lists Recently Bookmarked
  • Folders are listed when you are adding/editing a bookmark using the star icon in the address bar
  • Bookmark matches are displayed in the address bar drop-down

And

  • Safe Mode has the same behavior indicating it is not an extension or userChrome.css problem

One possibility is that your Firefox program files got corrupted during the update and need to be replaced. For that we generally suggest:

Clean Reinstall

We use this name, but it's not about removing your settings, it's about making sure the program files are clean (no inconsistent or alien code files). As described below, this process does not disturb your existing settings. It's not essential to uninstall Firefox, but you can if you like, saying No to any request about removing personal data.

It only takes a few minutes.

(A) Download a fresh installer for Firefox to a convenient location:

https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/all/

(B) Exit out of Firefox (if applicable).

If you use Microsoft Office, please change your default browser to Internet Explorer before the next step.

(C) Using Windows Explorer/My Computer (hold down the Windows key and press E), right-click > rename the program folder as follows (you might have one or both):

C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox =to=> C:\Program Files (x86)\OldFirefox

C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox =to=> C:\Program Files\OldFirefox

(D) Run the installer you downloaded in step (A). It should automatically connect to your existing settings.

Any improvement?

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still no good, thanks for all your help. maybe the newer version of mozilla cannot read the older version of the bookmarks

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Chosen Solution

Maybe... the database has become corrupted somehow. We do have a few reports a week of data loss, but the steps listed above have fixed the cases I've seen.

If you can afford to lose your history, you can remove the places database file which stores bookmarks and history and let Firefox create a new one with just your bookmarks. I'll give the steps for that at the end.

Meanwhile, could you use my converter page to view your last bookmark backup as an HTML page and see if the data looks complete? Here's how:

Open your current Firefox settings (AKA Firefox profile) folder using either

  • "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Troubleshooting Information
  • (menu bar) Help > Troubleshooting Information
  • type or paste about:support in the address bar and press Enter

In the first table on the page, click the "Open Folder" (or "Show in Finder") button. This will launch a file browser window in Windows Explorer (or Finder for Mac users).

Double-click into the bookmarkbackups folder. The files here have the creation date coded into their names, so it should be clear which is the most recent.

Keeping that window open, switch back to Firefox and open this tool:

https://www.jeffersonscher.com/res/bookbackreader.html

Then you can resize the file browser window so you can drag and drop the latest backup onto the page. Then click Export HTML to generate a document listing your bookmark backup contents in the classic export format. You can open that page in a new Firefox tab to see how complete it looks. Does it seem to have all your bookmarks?


To have Firefox build a new places database file (assuming your backup is good):

(1) Open your profile folder as described above

(2) Exit Firefox and allow 15 seconds for file maintenance to complete

(3) Scroll down and rename places.sqlite to placesOLD.sqlite

(4) Sometimes Firefox doesn't clean up the temporary files places.sqlite-shm and places.sqlite-wal so you may need to delete those yourself

(5) When you start Firefox, it should create a blank places.sqlite file and use your lack bookmark backup file to rebuild your bookmarks

Success?

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THANK YOU SO MUCH. This actually worked, and I have everything back.

Again, thanks for your time