Firefox won't let me restore from an older "bookmarks.json" file!?
Am I late to this monster party? I am using a Win7 system. When my Firefox was updated to version 62 (I think in Sept/18) all my bookmarks disappeared. This happened the day before I left for a long motor vacation in the US so I couldn't deal with this issue then. After I returned I was unable to get my bookmarks back. The last "bookmarks.json" backup file I have is dated September 12, 2018. FF won't load it using the Restore function.
It seems I'm not the only user to experience this issue. I have read several similar stories and purported "solutions" to this problem but, so far, none have helped me. I really need to get my "old" bookmarks back. I do extensive research and have amassed thousands of links using FF exclusively. My file "bookmarks-2018-09-12.json" is 17,814 kbs. These bookmarks represent many years and thousands of hours of work.
I don't understand how Mozilla could have allowed this to happen without providing a solution that works. I am besides myself with angst. I did my daily backups religiously. FF never reported a "failed" backup. The file exists, yet, it now has no value. I don't know what to do. I'm not a sophisticated computer guru. I've always trusted Mozilla to do the right thing.
Chosen solution
I have successfully restored my OLD(ER) bookmarks. I used the "cleaner/converter" tool on this site (https://www.jeffersonscher.com/res/bookbackreader.html) as FredMcDsuggested above and it worked!!!! Thank You!!!!! Thank you all for being so kind and patient with me. My next objective is to merge in the more recent (unsorted) bookmarks I saved (and already converted to html). We'll see how that goes. From now on, I will be backing up my bookmarts daily to both .json and .html files.
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What happens if you try to restore this JSON backup?
If Firefox freezes and doesn't respond then give Firefox a lot more time to complete because the file size suggests that you have a lot of bookmarks stored in the file.
You can also try to leave only this backup in the bookmarkbackups folder and remove places.sqlite to make Firefox automatically use this file to rebuild the bookmarks database.
If Firefox didn't create new backups after September 12 then this could indicate that there have been problems with places.sqlite.
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Unable_to_process_the_backup_file_-_Firefox
jscher2000 has a tool on his website to extract out your bookmarks and save them to an HTML-format bookmark export file. If you want to try it, here is the page:
https://www.jeffersonscher.com/res/bookbackreader.html
To open the bookmarkbackups folder in Finder, use the "Open in Finder" button in the first table on the Troubleshooting Information page, and double-click into bookmarkbackups where you should see several dated files. From there you can drag and drop onto the conversion tool.
To import the HTML file, see the steps in this article: Import Bookmarks from an HTML file.
^: I don't know how the bookbackreader utility performs with an JSON backup of 17 MB (this is done in JavaScript), that is a reason I didn't mention it.
cor-el said
What happens if you try to restore this JSON backup?
It returns the message "Unable to process the backup file".
cor-el said
If Firefox didn't create new backups after September 12 then this could indicate that there have been problems with places.sqlite.
This is on my desk computer. The bookmarks disappeared after September 12 and just before I left home and went to the USA. Bookmarking resumed in late October after I had returned from vacation.
cor-el said
You can also try to leave only this backup in the bookmarkbackups folder and remove places.sqlite to make Firefox automatically use this file to rebuild the bookmarks database.
I will try this. Where do I find the "bookmarkbackups" folder?
cor-el said
. . . and remove places.sqlite . . . .
Type about:support<enter> in the address bar.
Under the page logo on the left side, you will see Application Basics. Under this find Profile Folder. To its right press the button Show Folder. This will open your file browser to the current Firefox profile. Now Close Firefox.
Locate the above file. Then rename or delete it. Restart Firefox.
Chosen Solution
I have successfully restored my OLD(ER) bookmarks. I used the "cleaner/converter" tool on this site (https://www.jeffersonscher.com/res/bookbackreader.html) as FredMcDsuggested above and it worked!!!! Thank You!!!!! Thank you all for being so kind and patient with me. My next objective is to merge in the more recent (unsorted) bookmarks I saved (and already converted to html). We'll see how that goes. From now on, I will be backing up my bookmarts daily to both .json and .html files.
I am glad to hear that your problem has been resolved. If you haven't already, please select the answer that solves the problem. This will help other users with similar problems find the solution more easily.
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