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I can't understand how to do a copy install on a new machine?

  • 2 பதிலளிப்புகள்
  • 0 இந்த பிரச்னைகள் உள்ளது
  • Last reply by cor-el

Please help an old dummie? I have an existing FF install on a laptop. I would like to clone it (with bookmarks, settings tiles etc) onto a new PC. An article I read said open FF on the PC you want to sync. This is confusing! "Synchronising" is ambiguous, meaning 2-way. (but which way) "copy from" & "copy to" would be clear. I am worried I will synch(copy) from the new to the old....... effectively deleting/wiping out all my preferences in my original install. OR (preferably) Is there a way to just copy the whole installation from my original PC onto a USB stick & installing FF to the new PC from it? Many Thanks

Please help an old dummie? I have an existing FF install on a laptop. I would like to clone it (with bookmarks, settings tiles etc) onto a new PC. An article I read said open FF on the PC you want to sync. This is confusing! "Synchronising" is ambiguous, meaning 2-way. (but ''which'' way) ''"copy from" ''& ''"copy to"'' would be clear. I am worried I will synch(copy) from the new to the old....... effectively deleting/wiping out all my preferences in my original install. OR (preferably) Is there a way to just copy the whole installation from my original PC onto a USB stick & installing FF to the new PC from it? Many Thanks

All Replies (2)

wilts43, your bookmarks and passwords etc. are stored locally in a folder on your harddrive. It is possible to copy this folder to a new machine, and then use it in the new Firefox without using Sync, if that is your preference.

Before attempting anything I would reccomend keeping a second copy of the original profile folder somewhere safe, as a backup.

One way to transfer your data could be to copy the original profile folder to a stick, and then copy its contents from the stick into the default profile folder of the new Firefox, while Firefox is not running (and assuming that you have not added any data to the default profile on the new machine, as this could be overwritten).

For detailed steps, see this link for both how to backup the profile on the original machine, and also how to import the data from it into the new Firefox. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/back-and-restore-information-firefox-profiles

Helpful?

You can copy certain files with Firefox closed from one profile folder to another profile folder to transfer your personal data. 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)

Helpful?

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