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Power failure corrupted logins.json

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  • 1 has this problem
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  • Last reply by tomtp

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After a momentary brown-out, seems the logins.json file was corrupted. I see a file logins.json.corrupt. All it contains are binary zeroes. Any way to fix this?? Thanks...

After a momentary brown-out, seems the logins.json file was corrupted. I see a file logins.json.corrupt. All it contains are binary zeroes. Any way to fix this?? Thanks...

Chosen solution

Please read this entire reply to get an overview of what I'm suggesting. before deleting or changing anything.

Try to copy out a couple files for possible recovery. Here how:

Open your current Firefox settings (AKA Firefox profile) folder using either

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

In the first table on the page, on the Profile Folder row, click the "Open Folder" button. This should launch a new window listing various files and folders in Windows Explorer.

Back up Files if Desired

Find the current logins.json file, then:

  • right-click > Copy it, then right-click > Paste -- Windows should create a file with a name similar to logins - Copy.json
  • right-click > Properties, then click the Previous Versions tab -- Windows should query restore points for older copies of logins.json, and you can use Copy... to back up the previous one to a safe location such as your Documents folder or Desktop

Find the key4.db file, then repeat the above steps.

If you have a key3.db file, most likely it's not necessary, but just in case, repeat the above steps.

Replace Current Files with Older Ones?

If you extracted the old files and they are recent enough to try rolling back to:

Exit Firefox, either:

  • "3-bar" menu button > Exit
  • (menu bar) File > Exit

Pause while Firefox finishes its cleanup, then replace the logins.json file, the key4.db file and the key3.db file in your live profile folder with the older ones you recovered from the previous restore point.

Start Firefox back up again and see whether your logins are restored (at least as of that point in time).

Any luck?

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All Replies (4)

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There is not much you can do once a file corrupts especially with power failure.

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Chosen Solution

Please read this entire reply to get an overview of what I'm suggesting. before deleting or changing anything.

Try to copy out a couple files for possible recovery. Here how:

Open your current Firefox settings (AKA Firefox profile) folder using either

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

In the first table on the page, on the Profile Folder row, click the "Open Folder" button. This should launch a new window listing various files and folders in Windows Explorer.

Back up Files if Desired

Find the current logins.json file, then:

  • right-click > Copy it, then right-click > Paste -- Windows should create a file with a name similar to logins - Copy.json
  • right-click > Properties, then click the Previous Versions tab -- Windows should query restore points for older copies of logins.json, and you can use Copy... to back up the previous one to a safe location such as your Documents folder or Desktop

Find the key4.db file, then repeat the above steps.

If you have a key3.db file, most likely it's not necessary, but just in case, repeat the above steps.

Replace Current Files with Older Ones?

If you extracted the old files and they are recent enough to try rolling back to:

Exit Firefox, either:

  • "3-bar" menu button > Exit
  • (menu bar) File > Exit

Pause while Firefox finishes its cleanup, then replace the logins.json file, the key4.db file and the key3.db file in your live profile folder with the older ones you recovered from the previous restore point.

Start Firefox back up again and see whether your logins are restored (at least as of that point in time).

Any luck?

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Briiliant! Thanks so much. That did it.