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I had to reset my old laptop and it uninstalled Firefox. Now that I am up and running again, how can I get them back, if I can at all? Thank you.

I had to reset my old laptop and it uninstalled Firefox. Now that I am up and running again, how can I get them back, if I can at all? Thank you.

All Replies (5)

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On your hard drive, look for a folder called Windows.old
Is it there?

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I found it.

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Everything from the original should be in that folder.

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You can copy files like these with Firefox closed to the current profile folder to recover specific data.

You can use the button on the "Help -> Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page to go to the current Firefox profile folder or use the about:profiles page.


  • bookmarks and history: places.sqlite
  • favicons: favicons.sqlite
  • bookmark backups: compressed .jsonlz4 JSON backups in the bookmarkbackups folder
  • cookies.sqlite for the Cookies
  • formhistory.sqlite for saved autocomplete Form Data
  • logins.json (passwords) and key4.db (58+) or key3.db (57 and older) (decryption key) for Passwords saved in the Password Manager
    if you only have key3.db then make sure to remove an existing key4.db
  • cert9.db (58+) or cert8.db (57 and older) for (intermediate) certificates stored in the Certificate Manager
    if you only have cert8.db then make sure to remove an existing cert9.db
  • persdict.dat for words you added to the spelling checker dictionary
  • permissions.sqlite for Permissions and possibly content-prefs.sqlite for other website specific data (Site Preferences)
  • sessionstore.jsonlz4 for open tabs and pinned tabs (see also the sessionstore-backups folder)
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poopumpkin said

I found it.

Set Windows to show hidden files and folders in order to explore it:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/14201/windows-show-hidden-files

Then, your previous Firefox data is along the following path.

C:\Windows.old\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles

Somewhere in there? Now see the above comments about the key files to recover.

Since C:\Windows.old is a temporary folder, move anything important to a real folder so Windows doesn't flush it before you have a chance to restore.