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recovering profile settings after a fresh install

  • 3 replies
  • 1 has this problem
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  • Last reply by gadiran

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hi folks,

Is it possible to restore a firefox profile to a new install from previously synced profiles ? I have several different profiles of firefox running on a few machines. On one of them I had to format the SSD but forgot to save to settings. When logging into the firefox account I see a list of all my machines but I don't see an option to recover settings from any of them

I would be eternally grateful for any help.

Thank you !

Gadi

hi folks, Is it possible to restore a firefox profile to a new install from previously synced profiles ? I have several different profiles of firefox running on a few machines. On one of them I had to format the SSD but forgot to save to settings. When logging into the firefox account I see a list of all my machines but I don't see an option to recover settings from any of them I would be eternally grateful for any help. Thank you ! Gadi

All Replies (3)

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Unless settings was part of the data synced . . .

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Note that Sync isn't meant to be used as a backup, but merely to sync data between connected devices.

If al least one of the devices connected to this Sync account is a desktop device then you can use a USB jump drive to transfer data.

You can copy certain files with Firefox closed to the current profile folder to transfer or recover personal data. Note that best is to avoid copying a full profile folder.

  • 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;32+) and key4.db (decryption key;58+) for Passwords saved in the Password Manager
    key3.db support ended in 73+; to use key3.db in 58-72, make sure to remove key4.db
  • cert9.db (58+) for (intermediate) 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)

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

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Thank you very much !