Understanding Options for Transferring Firefox to a New Computer

I have recently purchased a new Windows 11 computer, and want to install Firefox there and transfer all my bookmarks, passwords, etc. There are obviously quite a few Supp… (ვრცლად)

I have recently purchased a new Windows 11 computer, and want to install Firefox there and transfer all my bookmarks, passwords, etc. There are obviously quite a few Support articles on this topic, and seemingly quite a few methods to use: copy and paste profile folder, sync, the backup/restore function within Settings, etc. I'm a bit reluctant to use sync, as some users report it can be an incomplete transfer. My current profile also may contain some "corruption", so I'm reluctant to copy the entire profile folder to the new computer.

Comments by esteemed and superb contributor cor-el in this Support article: [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/que.../1454070] therefore may be my best option. He wrote:

Note that best is to avoid restoring a full profile folder and only restore important files that are safe to restore/transfer.

   bookmarks and history: places.sqlite
   favicons: favicons.sqlite
   bookmark backups: compressed .jsonlz4 JSON backups in the bookmarkbackups folder
   cookies.sqlite for the Cookies
   formhistory.sqlite for saved autocomplete Form Data
   logins.json (encrypted logins) and key4.db (encryption key/primary password) for logins saved in the Password Manager
   cert9.db for certificates stored in the Certificate Manager
   persdict.dat for words added to the spell checker dictionary
   permissions.sqlite for Permissions and possibly content-prefs.sqlite for other website specific data (Site Preferences)
   sessionstore.jsonlz4 for open tabs and pinned tabs (see also the sessionstore-backups folder) 

My questions are: 1. Why is it "best is to avoid restoring a full profile folder"? 2. Is this the complete list of "important files that are safe to restore/transfer"? 2. In my profile folder, there are several files that start with the same file name, but then have different file extensions. For example: cookies.sqlite, cookies.sqlite.bak, cookies.sqlite-shm, cookies.sqlite-wal. Should I restore ALL these files, or just "cookies.sqlite"? 3. Is the correct procedure to copy the selected files from the "old" profile, and then paste them to the "new" profile, which presumably would overwrite files of the same name in the "new" profile? Thanks!

(Apologies for any formatting, bold text, and italicized test oddities. I selected these options for parts of this text, but am not sure I did that correctly. It would be very helpful if a question/message could be previewed prior to sending!)

Open

When accessing my bookmarks list, I clicked on the wrong location and my whole list of bookmarks disappeared; left me with tabulated folders. How do I get my list of bookmarks back?

When accessing my bookmarks list, I clicked on the wrong location and my whole list of bookmarks disappeared; left me with tabulated folders. How do I get my list of book… (ვრცლად)

When accessing my bookmarks list, I clicked on the wrong location and my whole list of bookmarks disappeared; left me with tabulated folders. How do I get my list of bookmarks back?

Open 9

Bookmarks disappeared after force quitting applications and restarting my computer

My Macbook wasn't responding, so I restarted it and force quit all applications. When I opened Firefox again, none of my bookmarks showed on my bookmarks bar. The bar its… (ვრცლად)

My Macbook wasn't responding, so I restarted it and force quit all applications. When I opened Firefox again, none of my bookmarks showed on my bookmarks bar. The bar itself is not hidden. I checked to make sure I have the same profile I always use open and I do. I also tried to go into Bookmarks, Manage Bookmarks, Import, but nothing is available to import.

Open 13

Firefox lost all data. no history is there. Many open tabs: lost :-(

Starting the Windows 11 laptop again. Then Firefox. Result: No sites are starting. All history lost, many tabs: lost. Great work!!! Last update was already shit (many exc… (ვრცლად)

Starting the Windows 11 laptop again. Then Firefox. Result: No sites are starting. All history lost, many tabs: lost. Great work!!! Last update was already shit (many exception rules have to be set manual again. I love such updates! Useless). And now that. I think I will switch now to chrome. Sorry. Such experience is enough. It is my time - I need a reliable browser, not where I have to spend time to get the things like they have been before

Open 24

Profile missing after update

My browser updated to 149.0.2 on Windows 11 early April 2026. I first noticed the browser asking me to select a profile when trying to open hyperlinks from emails, but s… (ვრცლად)

My browser updated to 149.0.2 on Windows 11 early April 2026. I first noticed the browser asking me to select a profile when trying to open hyperlinks from emails, but since I had not closed the browser since the update, I still had all of my information. When I went to restart, I was forced to make a new profile as no other ones were recognized. This also happened during an update at the end of 2025 and I was able to fix it with advise from support articles., Unfortunately, none of those fixes seem to be applicable anymore. Does anyone have a current fix? I have lost so much saved info!

Open 22

How do I recover recent windows after MS "updates" their programs?

I normally have 4 windows open, each with multiple tabs, for 4 work streams. Whenever Firefox or MS decides to do an update, one window sometimes, 4 rarely, none usually,… (ვრცლად)

I normally have 4 windows open, each with multiple tabs, for 4 work streams.

Whenever Firefox or MS decides to do an update, one window sometimes, 4 rarely, none usually, are recovered after restart. How can I ensure that Firefox remembers all the windows and their tabs before shutting down? Then reinstates them after starting up. After the last MS update, the option "Recently closed windows" was greyed out. But there had been 4 of them.

Firefox's recovery after simply rebooting the computer is more, but not completely, reliable. Win11 on a desktop computer

Thank you

Open 25

Which file to bypass in Iolo System Mechanic to avoid loss of bookmarks

Just found that using Iolo System Mechanic to clean up my desktop is constantly causing the loss of my bookmarks and possibly my passwords. I have tried to specify which … (ვრცლად)

Just found that using Iolo System Mechanic to clean up my desktop is constantly causing the loss of my bookmarks and possibly my passwords. I have tried to specify which file(s) to ignore in System Mechanic to avoid this issue, but it is not allowing me to specify the files in my Appdata folders that I suspect it is clobbering. Has anyone been successful with this? I am getting tired of restoring my bookmark files every time I use the program. My wife's computer is having the same issue, and even worse in that she has also had her entire bookmark backup files wiped clean, which required her to re-enter all of her bookmarks manually. The folks at Iolo want me to pay for support before I can get any help from them.

Open 2 32

I lost all my data whit the new update

Whit the new things of the profiles or something I just didn't like it so I just delete the thigs that appear in my face, but that deleted all my stuff(hystory, bookmarks… (ვრცლად)

Whit the new things of the profiles or something I just didn't like it so I just delete the thigs that appear in my face, but that deleted all my stuff(hystory, bookmarks, passwords), I supossley had all on my account on mozilla but it's not there, i don't know what to do, I already try the backup or something that appear in the support page but the only profile that is older than the rest doesn't work or is empty, pls I need help

Open 21