How do I restore accidentally deleted passwords in Firefox 52 with Windows XP?
I accidentally deleted all my saved passwords in Firefox while intending to delete only one password.
I have Firefox version 52, with Windows XP. All of the solutions I have found online so far only apply to later versions of Windows (7 and beyond). I understand that my logins.json file is the one which needs to be restored to its earlier condition, but I cannot find any way to do this in Windows XP.
Immediate help requested. Thank you in advance for your assistance.
All Replies (12)
Unfortunately, Firefox does not have any kind of "Undo" for removing a saved login. You would need to have a backup of your Firefox data.
If you have a backup -- even an older one is better than nothing -- see: Recovering important data from an old profile.
If you ever used the Refresh feature and still have an Old Firefox Data folder on your desktop, check in there for possible recoverable files.
The last time I used the Refresh feature was over a year ago, and I deleted the Old Firefox Data folder immediately thereafter.
I understand that the passwords are saved either in a "logins.json" file or a "logons.json" file (not sure which one), is this correct? Is this file only accessible through Firefox, or is it saved somewhere on my hard drive? I have tried the Windows "Run" application to access it by typing in the file name in the command box, but have no results. If the "logins.json" or "logons.json" file was saved on my hard drive, I would think that I could access it again via System Restore. Can you please advise accordingly?
Clicking on "Properties" in the Firefox data files provides the option to restore earlier versions thereof in Windows 7, but not in Windows XP.
If System Restore will not revert to an earlier version of the "logins.json" or "logons.json" file on the hard drive, do you know of any free third-party software applications that may be able to recover the passwords and/or password files?
Also, Is there any manual method of recovering earlier versions of "logins.json" or "logons.json" in XP, such as through command prompt?
I don't know if System Restore on Windows XP would include logins.json. Usually using System Restore does more harm than good and should only be used a a last resort when every thing fails.
This utility doesn't work on window XP, so you do not have this as an option.
Hi DaveSteve, logins.json is saved in your profile folder. It's under a hidden path, so Windows search typically doesn't find it. Use the steps in this article: Profiles - Where Firefox stores your bookmarks, passwords and other user data.
However, the current file won't help you, since you already know it has been cleared.
Possibly you or Firefox could extract something from an earlier data file used for logins (I can't remember the name, but I don't think it was a .json file) from before Firefox 32, but if your Refresh was after the changeover, then you won't find this file in your current profile folder, it would have been in the Old Firefox Data.
While I suspect you'll just get garbage, you could try an erased file recovery tool to see whether it can dig up logins.json from your erased Old Firefox Data folder.
In that case, I won't try using System Restore, at least for now, if it's likely to do more harm than good and doesn't guarantee that "logins.json" or "logons.json" will be restored.
Since the System Restore Explorer utility won't work on XP, do you know of a similar utility which will?
If you turn on viewing of hidden and system files, you may find a System Volume Information folder at the root level of the C drive that you can poke around in. Microsoft has an article here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/309531/how-to-gain-access-to-the-system-volume-information-folder
Thank you for the link to the "Recuva/CCleaner" product. In the event that the product does not locate the old version of "logins.json", can downloading Recuva do any additional damage to my system and make the file even more unrecoverable? I would like to take all proper precautions before adding any more programs to my machine.
I am a little unclear as to the reason why you posted a link for the Microsoft article on System Volume Information. This does not appear to me to be tied in any way to recovery of "logins.json". Perhaps there is something I am missing?
Everything you do on your computer uses disk space and reduces the odds of a successful recovery.
System Volume Information is where the files are stored for restore points. You can go in there and see whether logins.json is in any of them. This would be similar to the ShadowExplorer approach for newer versions of Windows.
I followed all the methods that Windows suggests to access the System Volume Information folder on the C drive. The folder is empty and contains no files. Even after I select "view hidden files" and uncheck "hide protected operating files", nothing is shown. The "last modified" date for the folder is showing as 1/4/2016.
Please let me know of any further suggestions you might have at restoring prior versions of "logins.json." Thank you again.
Hmm, I guess if Windows isn't getting any updates, that could explain why it doesn't bother creating restore points.
I don't have any other ideas.
One final item I should have mentioned as that I run Advanced System Care on my PC on a daily basis. I also use CCleaner Pro which I run weekly, and a third program called Tweaking.com once every 6 months. Do you know if any of these programs created a restore point by which the "logins.json" file might be recoverable?
Check the logs of those programs or their support pages to see what they keep. I think they usually throw away more than they save.