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• /questions/1445766 'Bad' Current Session of Firefox (Windows)!

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• https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/user/balls69bc/questions

Can I not just change some current setting to prevent Firefox v 115.9lesr from saving the current 'Windows' and Tabs so that, when I again open Firefox, the previous session 'Windows' and Tabs would be used?!?

I can't think of any setting for that. Also, if you restart without restoring, then some old data would be lost.

The address for the Troubleshooting Information page has a colon -- about:support -- think of it like https: file: and other protocols.

O.K., so, with some help and searching (on a smartphone), I have managed to find the files you mentioned in my Firefox profile and have made copies of them (saved in my 'Documents' folder). They are: recovery.jsonlz4; recovery.baklz4; previous.jsonlz4; upgrade.jsonlz4-build_id (the last update was Mar. 23/24). What I need to know now are the steps to get from my currently open, "Rogue" Firefox browser to an open one with my previous 7 or 8 'Windows', each with their dozens and dozens of Tabs - I am pretty sure that it involves renaming and/or replacing some of the above Firefox files! I have found several 'roadmaps' but they each involve quite a few (and somewhat different)steps! CLEARLY, I DON'T WANT TO SCREW THIS UP!! I had a lot of work planned for this week (on-line banking, catching up on emails, printing out statements and filing our Cdn. Income Taxes by Sunday), none of which can happen until I can close my current session of Firefox, restart my laptop, which will hopefully get me my internet connection back, and then reopen Firefox! Short story is that I need this issue solved ASAP! Thnx for your help in that regard!

Did you say that your laptop doesn't have internet access right now? That would make it hard to verify which of the files you backed up might be useful, if any. It also would make it kind of challenging to export your session to a file or install any add-ons to save it.

If you do have access:

Let's start with checking the contents of previous.jsonlz4. If you preview its contents on the Scrounger tool, does it have the URLs you need, or at least a large proportion of them, or is it also messed up?

https://www.jeffersonscher.com/ffu/scrounger.html

Firefox doesn't keep backups of earlier sessions apart from the upgrade.jsonlz4 files automatically created when Firefox is updated.

You can look at this tool to inspect a compressed jsonlz4 sessionstore file like upgrade file in the sessionstore-backups folder. This tool works locally, no uploading done.

• https://www.jeffersonscher.com/res/scrounger.html

You can copy a file with Firefox closed from the sessionstore-backups folder to the main profile and rename the file to sessionstore.jsonlz4 to replace the current file.

• make sure to backup the current sessionstore.jsonlz4

You can use the button on the "Help -> More Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) to go to the current Firefox profile folder or use the about:profiles page (Root directory).

• Help -> More Troubleshooting Information -> Profile Folder/Directory:
  Windows: Open Folder; Linux: Open Directory; Mac: Show in Finder
• https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-where-firefox-stores-user-data

No, I don't have internet access on my laptop. I lost it about 5 days ago! At that time, I was using Google Chrome to do my work because of the problem I was having with Firefox (which started about 3 to 4 weeks ago I don't know how I can use the "scrounger" took without the internet? I can provide you with the dates and times on the Firefox files whose names I have provided. Since I have saved the listed files, is it generally safe to close my open Firefox, restart my laptop (hopefully solving my internet access problem), then open Chrome and carry on with my pressing work which has been backing up, getting back to my missing Firefox 'Windows' and Tabs issue when I have more time?!?! Cor-el seems to provide a way 'forward' like that in his reply. I will write down his file copying/saving instructions - I am in the Profile area ("Application Basics") but I didn't get there via the "about:support" search! I don't see a sessionstore.jsonlz4 in my sessionstore-backups folder and I don't know where my "main profile" is! Sorry, while I have worked with computers, software and files for over 50 years, this specific detail is all very new to me! Thanks for the help!

Yes, you have backed up what Firefox currently has, so you can restart.

sessionstore.jsonlz4 is created when you close Firefox normally, so that will be there after the restart and before you start Firefox again. Maybe create a shortcut to the profile folder on your desktop for easier access.

So, having now used Jefferson's 'scrounger' tool on a friend's computer and with his internet connection, I believe that I have a way forward to 'restoring' my 'lost' Firefox 'Windows' and Tabs! The 'scrounger' tool has allowed me to view the "previous.jsonlz4 file" and it appears to contain all/most of those 7 Windows' and dozens and dozens of Tabs! Here are my planned steps: 1. Exit the currently open, 'bad' Firefox. This should create a sessionstore.jsonlz4 file in the main profile. Rename that file to sessionstore.jsonlz4OLD. 2. Copy the backed up "previous.jsonlz4" file from my flash drive's 'sessionstore-backups' folder and paste it into the main profile file folder and then rename it to "sessionstore.jsonlz4". Do I need to be concerned about 'extensions' at this point?! 3. Finally and only when I feel really ready, open Firefox on my laptop (fingers crossed)!

A few final questions - what are the recovery.bak (dated 04/10/2017 - first time I used Firefox on my laptop), recovery.jsonlz4 (dates 25/04/2024) and recovery.baklz4 (dated 25/04/2024) files used for (these last two have the same date and size numbers!) Also, what are the 2 'JScript' (JavaScript) files in the sessionstore-backups' folder "recovery" and "previous" for?! Many Thnx!

A few final questions - what are the recovery.bak (dated 04/10/2017 - first time I used Firefox on my laptop), recovery.jsonlz4 (dates 25/04/2024) and recovery.baklz4 (dated 25/04/2024) files used for (these last two have the same date and size numbers!) Also, what are the 2 'JScript' (JavaScript) files in the sessionstore-backups' folder "recovery" and "previous" for?! Many Thnx!

Your profile has quite a history.

(1) recovery.jsonlz4 is the live session history file updated during your session, cleared when you do a normal exit out of Firefox. Before Firefox started applying lz4 encryption to the file (in Firefox 56), it was saved as recovery.js.

(2) recovery.baklz4 is the previous version of recovery.jsonlz4, created 15 or more seconds before the current recovery.jsonlz4 (although possibly it could become the same after some interval of time). Firefox uses this file is recovery.jsonlz4 is not usable during crash recovery. Before Firefox started applying lz4 encryption to the file (in Firefox 56), it was saved as recovery.bak.

(3) previous.jsonlz4 is created at startup to store the previous session and this file does not change during your session. Before Firefox started applying lz4 encryption to the file (in Firefox 56), it was saved as previous.js.

I AM NOT TRYING TO SHOUT HERE, ONLY AS A WAY TO DISTINGUISH THIS TEXT FROM WHAT I HAD ALREADY POSTED LAST NIGHT! DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT HAPPENED HERE BUT THIS REPLY OF MINE (lower case) WAS STILL SITTING HERE AS IF I HADN'T HIT "POST REPLY" (BUT I MUST HAVE SINCE JSCHER2000 HAS REPLIED TO THE LAST PART OF IT)! I WAS ALSO HOPING FOR AFFIRMATION OF THE 3-STEP PLAN I HAD BEGUN THAT REPLY WITH - DOES MY PLAN LOOK SOUND (I realize that I will have to arrange access to the main profile files while Firefox is closed - calling them up in Windows Explorer before exiting Firefox)?!?

So, having now used Jefferson's 'scrounger' tool on a friend's computer and with his internet connection, I believe that I have a way forward to 'restoring' my 'lost' Firefox 'Windows' and Tabs! The 'scrounger' tool has allowed me to view the "previous.jsonlz4 file" and it appears to contain all/most of those 7 Windows' and dozens and dozens of Tabs!

Here are my planned steps: 1. Exit the currently open, 'bad' Firefox. This should create a sessionstore.jsonlz4 file in the main profile. Rename that file to sessionstore.jsonlz4OLD. 2. Copy the backed up "previous.jsonlz4" file from my flash drive's 'sessionstore-backups' folder and paste it into the main profile file folder and then rename it to "sessionstore.jsonlz4". Do I need to be concerned about 'extensions' at this point?! 3. Finally and only when I feel really ready, open Firefox on my laptop (fingers crossed)!

A few final questions - what are the recovery.bak (dated 04/10/2017 - first time I used Firefox on my laptop), recovery.jsonlz4 (dates 25/04/2024) and recovery.baklz4 (dated 25/04/2024) files used for (these last two have the same date and size numbers!) Also, what are the 2 'JScript' (JavaScript) files in the sessionstore-backups' folder "recovery" and "previous" for?! Many Thnx!

Yes, that is a typical plan for fooling Firefox into restoring an older session history file. I didn't have any changes/corrections.

2. Copy the backed up "previous.jsonlz4" file from my flash drive's 'sessionstore-backups' folder and paste it into the main profile file folder and then rename it to "sessionstore.jsonlz4". Do I need to be concerned about 'extensions' at this point?!

I don't understand this bolded question, but the previous sentence is correct.