Lost all bookmarks and history
Dear community,
This morning, after a reboot of my Laptop during the night, I opened Firefox with the frustrating surprise that I lost all my bookmarks and all my history (websites and downloads). The saved passwords looks fine.
How could that have happen? Need your help to get those back... specifically my bookmarks!
Note: I went trough several support articles of Firefox but none helped. I tried to restore my bookmarks but got the message "Unable to process the backup file.".
Any thanks.
Chosen solution
Hello all,
After many attempts to restore my bookmarks (and history) in Firefox, I decided to try a migration to another browser for a fresh start. Because of a highly Microsoft oriented professional environment, I went for Edge.
On profile creation, Microsoft Edge proposed me to "import data from another browser" installed on my Laptop. The import included "bookmarks, passwords, history, and other data".
To my surprise, no error message: all my bookmarks back (youhou!), even my history. To be fully transparent, the passwords import did not work and I had to manually do a .cvs export from Firefox and import it in Edge.
That's my solution to this incident.
Read this answer in context 👍 0All Replies (5)
Hello,
Firefox automatically creates backups of your bookmarks, which can be helpful if your bookmarks are lost or missing. To recover them, follow the instructions below.
- Click the Library button , then click Bookmarks.
- Scroll to the bottom and click Show All Bookmarks.
- At the top of the Library window, click on Import and Backup and select Restore.
- Click the date of the bookmark backup you want to recover.
- In the new window that appears, click OK.
Your bookmarks from the selected date should now be restored.
For more information, see the Restore bookmarks from backup or move them to another computer article. For other solutions, see the Recover lost or missing Bookmarks article.
Did this fix your problems? Please report back to us!
Thank you.
Hi ysfff,
Thanks for the quick response. Unfortunately, and as mentioned in my initial post, I'm getting this pop-up error when following this procedure: "Unable to process the backup file.".
Also I already when through both articles you shared: I don't have a Windows.old folder and no manual backup. I didn't try yet to more the backup JSON from one computer and restore it on another computer, but I don't really see how that would fix my problem. I don't see default bookmarks (it is just all empty). And no "Old Firefox Data" folder on my desktop.
If you use Sync, 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).
- Bookmarks -> Manage Bookmarks -> Import & Backup -> Restore
- https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/restore-bookmarks-from-backup-or-move-them
See also:
- https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/fix-bookmarks-and-history-will-not-be-functional
- https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/cant-add-change-or-save-bookmarks
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).
- Help -> More Troubleshooting Information -> Profile Folder/Directory:
Windows: Open Folder; Linux: Open Directory; Mac: Show in Finder - https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-where-firefox-stores-user-data
Hi cor-el,
Places Database > Integrity check: > Task: checkIntegrity - Unable to fix corruption, places.sqlite will be replaced on next startup
Then I performed next steps you recommended, got a new places.sqilte (and favicons.sqlite) files (empty), but then couldn't import any valid bookmark backup as all are giving me the error message "Unable to process the backup file."
I'm thinking to uninstall Firefox completely... it might fix the issue after a fresh install.
Chosen Solution
Hello all,
After many attempts to restore my bookmarks (and history) in Firefox, I decided to try a migration to another browser for a fresh start. Because of a highly Microsoft oriented professional environment, I went for Edge.
On profile creation, Microsoft Edge proposed me to "import data from another browser" installed on my Laptop. The import included "bookmarks, passwords, history, and other data".
To my surprise, no error message: all my bookmarks back (youhou!), even my history. To be fully transparent, the passwords import did not work and I had to manually do a .cvs export from Firefox and import it in Edge.
That's my solution to this incident.