The old firefox.exe isn't relevant. That is easily replaceable. What you need is the Profiles folder from

C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox

I don't know what is going on with copy/paste. It seems a lot of things are broken at the moment.

I assume the folder should be C:\Users\dougkeeling\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox. But I don't know how to find that. Can you guide me there? I put that in the search window but got no hit.

I only mentioned the copy and past problem to illustrate just what you concluded, but perhaps should be aware of as we seek a solution.

In the search box, try

%APPDATA%

That should jump you into the Roaming folder.

But if you didn't have the missing profile there before, can you find that folder in the Recycle Bin?

That got me to a Mozilla folder -> Firefox -> Profiles. There are two folders in there. aitppovh.default-release h7jfft2.default

Just scanning them with my less than expert understanding, they look similar but not alike.

Now that I have that, I don't know what to do with it. Can you guide me on?

dougkeeling said

That got me to a Mozilla folder -> Firefox -> Profiles. There are two folders in there. aitppovh.default-release h7jfft2.default

Are those the same ones you checked through the about:profiles page and reported earlier that neither had your missing data? See: https://support.mozilla.org/questions/1275698#answer-1275983

The names are different from the ones I found in about:profiles. They may be the same, but I don't know how to compare them.

dougkeeling said

The names are different from the ones I found in about:profiles. They may be the same, but I don't know how to compare them.

No need to compare, if they are different, you have not looked at them before. If you double-click into the bookmarkbackups folder of each profile folder, can you find one with relevant dates?

I have examined both of the bookmarkbackup folders and can find nothing concerning profiles or other information of interest. But it appears that the dates in them are so recent as to be of no help in finding a profile that predates my deletion and reinstall of Firefox.

Hi dougkeeling, here are two other methods to try to recover files:

First, set Windows to show hidden files and folders:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/14201/windows-show-hidden-files

Deleted File Recovery

A tool like Recuva can recover some erased files. This could be useful to track down recently removed files.

• https://www.ccleaner.com/recuva

The usual path for a Firefox profile is:

C:\Users\your-user-name\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\

The profile folder names may or may not match your current ones.

Can you find any recently deleted files whose names start with

bookmarks-2012-12...

Shadow Copies

You can use a utility program to search inside restore points to try to locate an old file that's usable. (Please do NOT try to use the built-in Windows System Restore for this because you probably would lose data.)

Download and run one of these two 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 shadow copy of your profile:

\Users\your-user-name\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\

You can export interesting files to a convenient location such as your currently live desktop.

Any luck?

Hey, jscher

Can I send you a private message without violating Mozilla Support protocol?