Hi Gary, if you right-click one of the bookmarks and choose Edit Bookmark, is the URL still there? Just want to make sure you didn't have a major data loss here.

Second test, right-click a bookmark and choose Open in New Tab. Does that work any better than a regular click?

Third test, can you still add new bookmarks?

Hi, I just tried all 3 tests. First test, URL is not there. Second test, cannot Open in New Tab. Third test, cannot add new bookmarks. Looks like I may have to refresh. What do you think. Thank you for your help. Gary

Hi Gary, just getting back online here in California. It sounds like some possible database damage. A refresh might resolve it, but if you have time to try something less drastic:

First, if you haven't already, please do a normal shutdown and/or restart of your system. Restarting Windows can help by freeing up locked files, completing any deferred updates, and resolving temporary file permission issues.

Next, if Firefox still has bookmark problems, could you let us know what you get when you run the "Verify Integrity" diagnosis and repair function. That's here:

Open Firefox's Troubleshooting Information page using any of these methods:

• "3-bar" menu button > Help > More Troubleshooting Information
• (menu bar) Help > More Troubleshooting Information
• type or paste about:support in the address bar and press Enter

Near the bottom, there is a section titled Places Database -- that's the file which stores history and bookmarks. Click the button labeled Verify Integrity. There may be a 10-15 second delay before results appear.

If all is well, the report that appears below the button should start with:

> Task: checkIntegrity
+ The places.sqlite database is sane
+ The favicons.sqlite database is sane

Does yours say your databases are "sane", or something else? You can select and copy the report, and then paste it into a reply for review and comment.

Hi, I followed your instructions and this is what it said in the Verify Integrity.

> Task: checkIntegrity

+ The places.sqlite database is sane + The favicons.sqlite database is sane > Task: checkCoherence + The database is coherent > Task: expire + Database cleaned up > Task: vacuum + Initial database size is 10240KiB + The database has been vacuumed + Final database size is 5120KiB > Task: stats + Places.sqlite size is 5120KiB + Favicons.sqlite size is 8096KiB + pragma_user_version is 82 Hope this helps Thank you for all your help[. Gary

Hi Gary, that's a very small database (5 MB).

Are you able to add any new bookmarks at this point? You can just test with any page.

Are you able to restore any recent automatic bookmark backup? See: Restore bookmarks from backup or move them to another computer.

Hi, I still cannot add new bookmarks.

But I may have found the problem. I went into Mozilla account profile and found out the Two-step authentication is disabled. I clicked add and it wants me to Step 1: "Scan this QR code using any authenticator app, like Duo or Google Authenticator." Then it wants me to Step 2: Enter 6-digit code. I have a cell phone and can receive a text, but it's not a smart phone. So I dont how to receive the 6-digit code. Thank you again for your help, maybe this is the problem. Gary

Hi Gary

What do you mean by the bookmarks are "dead"? Are you able to share a screenshot of what you are seeing?

Hi, I restarted my computer since our last contact and now I don't have access to bookmarks any longer. Plus every time I contact you I have to log back in Mozilla again. It allows me sign in so I can contact you, but still wants the Two-step authentication that I can't provide. So the Two-step authentication that is disabled is probably the problem. I'm an 80 year old and not to computer savvy. I don't know how to do a screenshot or share it. Sorry I'm not much help. But I do thank you again for all your help. Gary

Hi Gary, you can think of your Mozilla Account and the Sync cloud as an adjunct service. Your data primarily lives locally on your computer. Somewhere.

If you check the Restore menu, can you see automatic backups from recent days? This article should get you to that menu: Restore bookmarks from backup or move them to another computer.

If that menu doesn't have recent backups (other than maybe one made after you lost your bookmarks, could you check whether there is an Old Firefox Data folder on your Windows desktop? That folder is created when you run the Firefox "Refresh" command and would have data from the time that command was run. Anything there? If so, click down into the bookmarkbackups folder and see what files you find there. The naming pattern includes the creation date and the number of bookmarks + folders (total item count):

bookmarks-2025-10-12_888_gibberish=.jsonlz4

Hi, I am not computer knowlegeable enough to perform the "Restore bookmarks from backup or move them to another computer". I'm fear I might screw it up even more. I have a laptop computer which has firefox on it and it was working fine late yesterday. I checked just now and it looked just fine for about 3 seconds and then it switched to the same state as this one (my desktop). I still think that Two-step authentication that is disabled is the problem. I don't know why they can't send me a text to my cellphone for verification with the 6 digit code so i can confirm the Two-step authentication. I tried to find my profile in Mozilla to verify my cellphone number, but now I can't even find my Mozilla profile. I don't understand whats going on. But I can still access the internet manually not using bookmarks though my Firefox home page. Again thank you for all your help. Gary