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Firefox keeps randomly crashing and I lose all bookmarks

  • 6 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 6 views
  • Last reply by cor-el

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Hello, I have a problem that keeps randomly occurring. Firefox will "pop", I'll get a message in a typeface that looks like it's 1995, saying that a secure connection can't be made. The firefox logo in my bottom toolbar changes to an very old version of the logo. Then when i reopen firefox, everything has gone, all history, bookmarks, favorites.. I'm running Mac 0s mojave 10.14.6 No folder with previous firefox info shows up on my desktop. It's just game over.

If I can't find a solution, it's time to look for another browser as this is now unworkable. Any help gratefully received. Thank you!

Hello, I have a problem that keeps randomly occurring. Firefox will "pop", I'll get a message in a typeface that looks like it's 1995, saying that a secure connection can't be made. The firefox logo in my bottom toolbar changes to an very old version of the logo. Then when i reopen firefox, everything has gone, all history, bookmarks, favorites.. I'm running Mac 0s mojave 10.14.6 No folder with previous firefox info shows up on my desktop. It's just game over. If I can't find a solution, it's time to look for another browser as this is now unworkable. Any help gratefully received. Thank you!

All Replies (6)

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m48 said

Firefox will "pop",

What do you mean by this?


Let’s do a full clean re-install;

Note: Firefox comes in three or more folders on all computers. They are;

Maintenance: (Programs Folder) <Windows Only> Firefox itself: (Programs Folder) And two folders in the profile of each user on the computer for each Firefox profile for that user.

If you remove the Firefox folder, the user profiles would not be affected.


Download Firefox For All languages And Systems {web link}

Firefox ESR; Extended Support Release {web link}

Beta, Developer, Nightly versions https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/channel/desktop/

Install Older Version Of Firefox {web link}


Save the file. Then Close Firefox.

Using your file browser, open the Programs Folder on your computer.

Windows: C:\Program Files C:\Program Files (x86) Note: Check Both Folders

Mac: Open the "Applications" folder. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-download-and-install-firefox-mac

Linux: Check your user manual. If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it. See Install Firefox on Linux; https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/install-firefox-linux

If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder Firefox in your home directory. http://www.mozilla.org/firefox#desktop ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Look for, and remove any Mozilla or Firefox program folders. Do not remove the Mozilla Thunderbird folder if there is one.

Do Not remove any profile folders.

After rebooting the computer, run a registry scanner if you have one. Then run the installer. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ If there is a problem, start your Computer in safe mode and try again.

How to Start all Computers in Safe Mode; {web link} Free Online Encyclopedia

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m48 said

Then when i reopen firefox, everything has gone, all history, bookmarks, favorites..

Look on your desktop. Do you see a folder called; Old Firefox? Look inside. Look for the folder with the latest creation date.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/recovering-important-data-from-an-old-profile

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/back-and-restore-information-firefox-profiles

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-run-firefox-when-profile-missing-inaccessible

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Thanks for the reply, Sadly, such a folder has never appeared.

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https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-run-firefox-when-profile-missing-inaccessible

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox#Navigating_to_the_profile_folder

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profile-manager-create-and-remove-firefox-profiles

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/back-and-restore-information-firefox-profiles


Type about:profiles<enter> in the address bar. How many profiles are listed? How many should be there? Also, open the profile folder in your file explorer.

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I've done a clean new install, I can't find the missing data anywhere. By "pop" -it sort of crashes and then comes back in a much earlier version. I've removed that version, just in case. It's super odd, it only started happening a few months ago and I've used firefox for many years.

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Is that really an old Firefox version if you check this via "Firefox -> About Firefox" or on the "Help -> Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page ?

It is odd that you get SSL_ERROR_NO_CYPHER_OVERLAP on mozilla.com. That is an old domain and should redirect to mozilla.org, so try that domain.