restore bookmarks to a certain Firefox (ESR) Sync state
Dear all,
at my (Win7x64) notebook which I use mainly for work I use the Firefox ESR.
I use the FF Sync just to backup my bookmarks, add-ons, passwords, ... just everything.
My Laptop with this setting was in use almost every day for about 1 year until the end of July 2014. Firefox updates I think was done regularly.
Then in August 2014 I was on vacation. My employees IT department want to use this time to set up my Laptop with Windows 8.1. This was done and at present I have a default FF ESR 24.7.0 Installation.
Because there are no other devices which I synced so far I had to click on something like "lost my device" to log in to my existing account and set up the Sync settings. Everything is checked to sync but my FF do not change anything. I have no bookmarks, no add-ons and my passwords I miss as well.
How is it possible to get the FF ESR Sync state of the end of July to my current FF? Where are my synced data?
Many thanks in advance and regards, taz
All Replies (5)
Sync isn't meant to be used as a backup device, but merely to sync data between multiple devices. So it is not guaranteed that you can restore data from the Sync server. If you have reset the Sync key then all data stored on the Sync server has been removed and is no longer accessible. You should always backup the Sync key to avoid having to reset the Sync key. With the old Sync version you can request a new password, but the Sync key is essential to access stored data.
Note that there is currently a new Sync version being used by Firefox 29 and later that works differently. The next Firefox 31.x.0 ESR versions will use this new Sync version that no longer uses a Sync key, but only a name (e-mail) and password.
Athraithe ag cor-el ar
These can't get your data back, but will help in the future.
These add-ons can be a great help by backing up and restoring Firefox
FEBE (Firefox Environment Backup Extension) {web link} FEBE allows you to quickly and easily backup your Firefox extensions, history, passwords, and more. In fact, it goes beyond just backing up -- It will actually rebuild your saved files individually into installable .xpi files. It will also make backup of files that you choose.
OPIE {web link} Import/Export extension preferences
Ok, many thanks so far.
Yes I reset the Sync Key to login to my account with the naked FF ESR Version. ;(
Is there a last chance to get my old bookmarks etc back when I start a virtualized Version of my Laptop from January 2014. Out of that I can get the old Sync Key, can't I?
Yes yes I know in there I will find my bookmarks from January 2014 (already exported in html) ... Maybe I also could an update sync to get the additionaly bookmarks from January to the End of July. Is that right?
Note, I use the same account local and in my VM.
Athraithe ag tazman4ever ar
I don't know if this will help you now, but normally;
Open a new tab or window. type about:support in the address box and press enter. Or Press the Alt or F10 key to bring up the tool bar. Then Help > Troubleshooting Information.
Under the page logo on the left side you will see Application Basics. Under this find Profile Folder. To it’s right press the button Show Folder. This will open your file browser to the current Firefox profile. Now Close Firefox.
Enter the bookmarkbackups folder. This is where Firefox makes backups of your bookmarks. Look for the json file you want to restore (check the time / date / size). Right click on that file and select Copy. Now go back to the parent folder where you started. Rename the file bookmarks.html by adding .old to it. Now right click in the folder and select Paste. The file you just pasted here, rename it to bookmarks.html. After you are done, restart Firefox.
First off, there is only one "Sync state" saved. No older versions or backups are saved by Sync.
If you reset the Sync key your data was wiped from the Sync server, so trying to recover the old Sync key won't do you any good now.
Best bet is to try to recover your bookmarks from the VM as Fred described.