why were my bookmarks deleted when firefox updated
firefox updated itself today 3/1/2019 and when i came to use it again all my bookmarks have been deleted. there were lots of bookmarks saved but i didnt back them up because ive had no need before as they were always there, but not this time. is there any way that i can retrieve them
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I'm sorry to hear about this problem, that definitely isn't supposed to happen.
Firefox creates backups locally on disk, so later we may need to go looking for those, but a few other things first:
(1) During your update, did Firefox perform a "Refresh"?
The tell-tale sign is a new Old Firefox Data folder on your Windows desktop. If you see that, don't delete it.
(2) Before further troubleshooting, I suggest shutting down Windows and starting it up again to release file locks and complete any deferred updates.
(3) At your next Firefox startup, be on the lookout for the error message in the title of this article:
Fix "The bookmarks and history system will not be functional" error message
(4) You could try a bookmark backup restore. This article has the steps: Restore bookmarks from backup or move them to another computer
Any progress so far? Any new error messages?
there wasn't any files on my desktop.i don't know if it did a refresh when I loaded up firefox it just updating your files and opened when it finished
Hi samurai1966, did #4 work?
no it didnt work, jscher there are no back up files or anything its like it was a complete new install of firefox. looks like im just going to have to put up with it i think
Well, if you want to dig into something else, you could try finding data from the time of your last Windows 10 update (shadow copy in a restore point). Don't use system restore! That typically causes more problems.
There are several programs you can use to export files from restore points. Here's the rundown:
(1) Set Windows to show hidden files and folders:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/14201/windows-show-hidden-files
(2) Download and run one of these programs:
- ShadowExplorer: http://www.shadowexplorer.com/
- System Restore Explorer: http://nicbedford.co.uk/software/systemrestoreexplorer/
Within the most recent restore point shown in the program, you can explore along this path to see whether you can find a timely shadow copy of your profile:
\Users\your-user-name\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\
(3) Within your profile folder, double-click into the bookmarkbackups folder. Export one or two of the latest backups to a safe location.
Then you can try restoring that from Firefox's Library window. On the Restore menu, use "Choose File" on the bottom to point Firefox to wherever you exported the backups to.