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Copying FF 60 profiles to a new computer does not work (completely)

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I am copying my FF 60.6.3 ESR profiles from a Windows 7 machine to a Windows 10 machine

I have two profiles ... HOME and WORK

I followed various notes about coping %APP_DATA% ... to the new machine

I created two new profiles ... HOME and DATA ... and pointed them to the copied directories from W7

HOME works fine

WORK only partially works ... when it starts it treats it as a new profile ... has no bookmarks toolbar (critical) ... it seems to have my bookmarks ... but no passwords or cookies

Any suggestions?

I am copying my FF 60.6.3 ESR profiles from a Windows 7 machine to a Windows 10 machine I have two profiles ... HOME and WORK I followed various notes about coping %APP_DATA% ... to the new machine I created two new profiles ... HOME and DATA ... and pointed them to the copied directories from W7 HOME works fine WORK only partially works ... when it starts it treats it as a new profile ... has no bookmarks toolbar (critical) ... it seems to have my bookmarks ... but no passwords or cookies Any suggestions?

Chosen solution

Best is to only copy (database) files you really need and not a complete folder because that can cause issues.

You can copy files like these with Firefox closed to the current profile folder to recover specific data.

  • bookmarks and history: places.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 (passwords) and key4.db (58+) or key3.db (57 and older) (decryption key) for Passwords saved in the Password Manager
    if you only have key3.db then make sure to remove an existing key4.db
  • cert9.db (58+) or cert8.db (57 and older) for (intermediate) certificates stored in the Certificate Manager
    if you only have cert8.db then make sure to remove an existing cert9.db
  • persdict.dat for words you added to the spelling 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)
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All Replies (10)

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Separate Issue; Your System Details shows;

Installed Plug-ins

Shockwave Flash 12.0 r0 Shockwave Flash 32.0 r0
Having more than one version of a program may cause issues. You must remove the older programs. Then get the current full installer.

Flash: Grab the uninstaller from here: Uninstall Flash Player | Windows {web link} Uninstall Flash Player | Mac {web link}


Then reinstall the latest version.

Note: Windows users should download the active_x for Internet Explorer. and the plugin for Plugin-based browsers (like Firefox).

Note: Windows 8 and Windows 10 have built-in flash players and Adobe will cause a conflict. Install the plugin only. Not the active_x.

Flash Player Version 32.0.0171

https://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/ Direct link scans current system and browser Note: Other software is offered in the download. <Windows Only>

https://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/otherversions/ Step 1: Select Operating System Step 2: Select A Version (Firefox, Win IE . . . .) Note: Other software is offered in the download. <Windows Only>


See if there are updates for your graphics drivers https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/upgrade-graphics-drivers-use-hardware-acceleration

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dicecollector said

WORK only partially works

Do you still have the original Work profile?

Open the non-work profile folder. Type about:support< enter > in the address bar.

Under the page logo on the left side, you will see Application Basics. Under this find Profile Folder. To its right press the button Show Folder. This will open your file browser to the current Firefox profile. Now Close Firefox. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Open another file browser to the original Work folder. The non-work folder, delete everything.

After, Copy the original to the cleared folder As Is.

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I removed both copies of Adobe Flash ... as I dont think I need it anymore ... I then copied both profiles over to the new machine ... I now have my bookmarks toolbar ... but is is about 3 years old ... yet the bookmarks on THIS machine ... are current

===========

Do you still have the original Work profile?

yes ... I am using it daily

I need to switch profiles to do as you suggest

Back in a bit

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The directory is correct ... and has the same files on both machines ... the odd thing is ... both the Bookmarks and the PROXY is out of date

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I wonder if this has to do with SYNC ... I turned that off a long time ago as it kept destroying my profiles every time it synced

Home would overwrite Work and the reverse

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Chosen Solution

Best is to only copy (database) files you really need and not a complete folder because that can cause issues.

You can copy files like these with Firefox closed to the current profile folder to recover specific data.

  • bookmarks and history: places.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 (passwords) and key4.db (58+) or key3.db (57 and older) (decryption key) for Passwords saved in the Password Manager
    if you only have key3.db then make sure to remove an existing key4.db
  • cert9.db (58+) or cert8.db (57 and older) for (intermediate) certificates stored in the Certificate Manager
    if you only have cert8.db then make sure to remove an existing cert9.db
  • persdict.dat for words you added to the spelling 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)
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I seem to have lost all of my cookies ... passwords ... and the bookmarks are still at least 5 years old

I tried importing bookmarks that I exported from my current machine ... and it seems to have merged the two

Is there a way that I can pay for Firefox support?

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A new thing I discovered

I seem to have a profile for my WORK profile under both ROAMING and LOCAL

Could this have something to do with it ?

I only have my HOME profile ... under LOCAL

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The profile under AppData\Roaming is the main profile and stores your personal data. The profile under AppData\Local is the secondary location and is used for temporary files like the disk cache and thumbnail cache (about:newtab) and the phishing protection database. So if you do not see any files in the HOME profile in the main location then something went wrong with copying the profile(s).

Note that profiles need to be registered in profiles.ini, otherwise Firefox won't find them.

Modified by cor-el

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PROBLEM SOLVED

I only copied the profile under ROAMING (WORK)

The odd thing is ... there is no ROAMING (HOME) ... only LOCAL (HOME) ... and during this investigation ... I discovered that I copied LOCAL (HOME) on the current machine to ROAMING (HOME) on the new machine