Showing questions tagged:

New Firefox backup feature backing up way too frequently

Hi everyone. Basically when the browser is (I think) idle while watching YouTube, FF is constantly backing up (the timestamp in the backup file name keeps getting updated… (read more)

Hi everyone.

Basically when the browser is (I think) idle while watching YouTube, FF is constantly backing up (the timestamp in the backup file name keeps getting updated). From the settings page I thought it once every 24 hours. I noticed from higher than normal CPU usage impacting FF and the Windows search indexer. Which reverted to normal once I disabled the backup.

I checked the about config:

  • browser.backup.scheduled.minimum-time-between-backups-seconds

Is set to 24 hours (86400 seconds)

But I also noticed:

  • browser.backup.scheduled.idle-threshold-seconds

Is set to 15 seconds(!). Is that what I think it is? Back up whenever there's a 15 sec idle window, regardless of the minimum? Can I safely make that 86400 seconds too, or does it do something else entirely?

Many thanks in advance.

Open 3 138

Export Bookmarks to a File

I'm changing computers. I want to upload my browser's bookmarks to a file. Then I can clear it for the next person to start from scratch. So far, I can't find a tab to ma… (read more)

I'm changing computers. I want to upload my browser's bookmarks to a file. Then I can clear it for the next person to start from scratch. So far, I can't find a tab to make it happen. Please help. Thanks.

Open 1 138

‘backup authentication codes’ ??

Does ‘Firefox’ automatically send extra ‘backup authentication code’ once I use up the current lot it sent?? If not, what does 1 do for extra extra ‘backup authentication… (read more)

Does ‘Firefox’ automatically send extra ‘backup authentication code’ once I use up the current lot it sent?? If not, what does 1 do for extra extra ‘backup authentication codes’ ??

Solved Archived 3 135

No "Manage Backup" Option

I went to [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-backup] and under "Create a Firefox backup file" at step 3 it says, "Scroll down to Backup, and click Manage backu… (read more)

I went to [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-backup] and under "Create a Firefox backup file" at step 3 it says, "Scroll down to Backup, and click Manage backup" but when I went there no such "Manage backup" option exists as you can see in the attached screen capture. So what gives? How can I "Create a Firefox backup file"? I am using Firefox v147.0 (64-bit) on Windows 11 Please instruct. Thanks RJB

Solved 10 132

storage\default is 2.65G,can I exclude it when backup my profile?

Hello, I want to travel my profile manually. And may automate it by my home computer which is a WebDAV server. But I find a big folder "Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\… (read more)

Hello, I want to travel my profile manually. And may automate it by my home computer which is a WebDAV server.

But I find a big folder "Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\fgrfgcgt.default-release\storage\default" It is 2.65G which is a bit big. I can exclude/delete it from my backup?

Solved Archived 1 130

Pocket export not received - possible issue with Mozilla/Pocket account?

I requested my Pocket export three times in June '25 and have received nothing. (Most recent request on 24th June '25, ID: 25174602-3e81-421e-a30d-71ff91dd2d66 I have als… (read more)

I requested my Pocket export three times in June '25 and have received nothing. (Most recent request on 24th June '25, ID: 25174602-3e81-421e-a30d-71ff91dd2d66

I have also contacted Mozilla Support using the contact form twice to raise this issue and didn't receive any confirmation of those support requests to my email address.

The only possible explanation that I can think of is that maybe there has been a problem at the time when Mozilla acquired Pocket and I linked my Pocket account with my Mozilla account. I had previously used a different email address for my Pocket account prior to 2017. I currently have two email addresses (primary and secondary) associated with my Mozilla account but none of these email addresses are showing up in my Pocket settings, only my username. My Mozilla account is the only place where I can see my email addresses listed in my account details but I can't understand why I didn't get the confirmation emails to my Mozilla Support requests.

I used Pocket extensively for work so I really need to get the export. I'd really appreciate some help, thank you.

Archived 1 128

Missing one of two Backup option

I read article at: [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/.../firefox-backup?as=u&utm_source=inproduct#w_create-a-firefox-backup-file] But in my up-to-date (or updated… (read more)

I read article at: [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/.../firefox-backup?as=u&utm_source=inproduct#w_create-a-firefox-backup-file]

But in my up-to-date (or updated) FireFox, the restore backup by file option is appearing BUT enable backup or backup to file option is NOT appearing (screenshot attached).

Solved 1 128

Bookmarks disappeared over night?

I reinstalled windows yesterday. When I installed firefox and signed it, everything was fine. However, this morning, it seems to have removed 80% of my bookmarks. When I … (read more)

I reinstalled windows yesterday. When I installed firefox and signed it, everything was fine. However, this morning, it seems to have removed 80% of my bookmarks. When I try to restore from the bookmarks yesterday, it just gives me the ones that I have this morning. I had tons and tons of resource bookmarks for my work that would be almost impossible to re-find in some cases due to the current state of search engines. Is there any way to salvage them? It seems like sync believes they never existed, but it DID sync them yesterday??? Please help.

Archived 9 119

Can I access the bookmarks without opening Firefox?

After a problem with his Internet connection, a friend is now unable to open Firefox. At first the message was that ‘… this tag has crashed.’ Now the message is that it c… (read more)

After a problem with his Internet connection, a friend is now unable to open Firefox. At first the message was that ‘… this tag has crashed.’ Now the message is that it cannot find something with a .dll at the end. I suggested to simply uninstall and then reinstall Firefox, which would also ensure that he has the latest version. However, he has no backup of his bookmarks.

I was, therefore, wondering whether it is possible to access the bookmarks somewhere else on the computer, in order to back them up before the uninstall/reinstall procedure.

Many thanks.

Solved 3 115

Cannot create local backup

Hi, On the "Your Firefox has updated" page, I recently found out that in addition to Firefox Sync, you can also create a backup in the form of a local file. When I try t… (read more)

Hi,

On the "Your Firefox has updated" page, I recently found out that in addition to Firefox Sync, you can also create a backup in the form of a local file. When I try to follow the instructions on the support page for the function (here I get stuck. For some reason I am only allowed to choose a file to restore my data, but I am not allowed to create a new backup. I have tried refreshing Firefox and even creating a new profile, but both have the same issue. I am not seeing a "manage backup" button either (see screenshot).

It's not the end of the world thanks to Firefox Sync, but I would like to get it working as a nice backup :)

Thanks in advance for any help you guys can give me!

Solved 5 103

Missing profile but Firefox still works

I have Firefox installed on a Windows 11 desktop. The profile is missing, yet Firefox is working fine, and I see all of my bookmarks, etc. I have windows set to show hidd… (read more)

I have Firefox installed on a Windows 11 desktop. The profile is missing, yet Firefox is working fine, and I see all of my bookmarks, etc.

I have windows set to show hidden files.

When I try to run %APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ it tells me that the location is unavailable.

I cannot find the profile anywhere in file explorer, despite multiple tries to search for it.

If I go to Help > Troubleshooting Information, I see a "Location is not available" message, shown in the attached image.

I could uninstall and reinstall Firefox, but I'd prefer to solve this because the exact same thing is happening to my Thunderbird profile. It doesn't exist anywhere, yet I can see all of my emails and it appears to be working properly. I only found this problem because I wanted to backup my emails but was unable to.

Both of these profiles must exist somewhere, but I've tried everything to find them. Please help me fix this in Firefox, and then if I have a fix here I'll try to apply it to Thunderbird, where I have a lot of emails I'd hate to lose.

Solved Archived 4 99

Creating a backup of FireFox

I am trying to create a backup of FireFox for moving from a Windows 10 machine to a new Windows 11 machine. The instructions for creating a backup don't make any sense. … (read more)

I am trying to create a backup of FireFox for moving from a Windows 10 machine to a new Windows 11 machine. The instructions for creating a backup don't make any sense.

--- Click the main menu, and go to Settings. Select Sync. Scroll down to Backup, and click Manage backup. Choose the location to save the backup file. ---

When I click the Main Menu, go to Settings, Select Sync, there is no Backup listed. If I search for the term "Backup", this is the result: "Sorry! There are no results in Settings for “backup”. Need help? Visit Firefox Support".

Syncing is on, so I am assuming that FireFox is being backup?? Or am I missing something somewhere?

Open 1 96

I have lost all my bookmarks on an update.

When I open the Manage Bookmarks --> Import Bookmarks --> Browse I have no listed backups, even though I can see them in File Manager \AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firef… (read more)

When I open the Manage Bookmarks --> Import Bookmarks --> Browse I have no listed backups, even though I can see them in File Manager \AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\c4i4a2zg.default\bookmarkbackups folder. I have copied the JSON file from my laptop which has not lost them but cannot select a folder/file location to import them, same for doing it via a HTML file.

I am stuck, thinking I may have to uninstall and then reinstall Firefox and then sync again.

Archived 1 94