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Corrupt History File

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  • 1 has this problem
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  • Last reply by cor-el

dalrymplep
dalrymplep
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I saw this problem addressed, but not sure how to proceed. Apparently I have a corrupt History file? Going to History, Clear Recent History doesn't work. I can go to Settings, Privacy and then Manage my Data to delete the recent pages (I usually delete all but 2 or 3).

But clearing my history is much faster than individually selecting each one. How do I get the History option to work? I'm using Firefox 97.

I saw this problem addressed, but not sure how to proceed. Apparently I have a corrupt History file? Going to History, Clear Recent History doesn't work. I can go to Settings, Privacy and then Manage my Data to delete the recent pages (I usually delete all but 2 or 3). But clearing my history is much faster than individually selecting each one. How do I get the History option to work? I'm using Firefox 97.

All Replies (1)

cor-el
cor-el
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  • Top 10 Contributor
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Make sure you do not run Firefox in permanent Private Browsing mode (Always use Private Browsing mode; Never Remember History).

  • Settings -> Privacy & Security
    Firefox will: "Use custom settings for history"
  • remove checkmark: [ ] "Always use Private Browsing mode"

If you use Sync then best is to disconnect Sync temporarily during troubleshooting.

This could be a problem with the places.sqlite and favicons.sqlite files in the Firefox profile folder.

  • use the "Places Database" -> "Verify Integrity" button on the "Help -> More Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page

If errors are reported with "Verify Integrity", close and restart Firefox or reboot and retry.

If "Verify Integrity" cannot repair places.sqlite, rename/remove all places.sqlite and favicons.sqlite files in the Firefox profile folder with Firefox closed. Firefox will rebuild places.sqlite and restore the bookmarks from the most recent JSON backup in the bookmarkbackups folder.

  • keep a backup copy of places.sqlite in case a new places.sqlite database has to be created
  • you lose the history when a new places.sqlite is created

You may have to restore an older bookmarks backup in the bookmarkbackups folder via the Bookmarks Manager (Library).

See also:

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