Installed Firefox 64 bit, unistalled 32 bit and lost bookmarks and session info. How do I get them back?
First, I read on Mozilla Firefox support how to upgrade from 32 bit Firefox to 64 bit Firefox. Very simple. However, after I installed the 64 bit, I didn't have my bookmarks or my sessions restored. Now, despite having selected in options, startup to "show my windows and tabs from last time" it will not. It always starts with a blank slate. I re-installed Firefox 32 bit and it is behaving the exact same way. The only thing it seems to have retained is my add-ons and extensions. I am really disappointed with Firefox. Here I was trying to improve performance in Firefox and instead everything has gone to s**t. I looked in the folder where my Firefox data and bookmarks are stored and everything appears to still be there. Also, tried in Firefox 64 bit to restore bookmarks. I selected a date from a list ( the most recent) and it said something went wrong and did not restore the bookmarks. What the heck has gone wrong? Help would be most appreciated.
Okulungisiwe ngu Smartyred
All Replies (7)
It depends, did you install them in different folders? I am asking because in windows there are application folders separate for both 32bit and 64bit
Try opening Firefox with the Profile Manager to see if it detects other profiles where your bookmarks might be stored. http://mzl.la/1BAQGnB
Where the files are and what each file is: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/back-and-restore-information-firefox...
Please post back with what you find.
Thanks for replying. They are in different folders. One in the x86 programs folder and the other in the 64 bit programs folder. Also, I edited the original question and included more info.
There is only one profile called default. Additionally, Firefox has become incredibly slow. When I look in my profile folder, what is stored under storage\default? The files seem to be web addresses.
Okulungisiwe ngu Smartyred
That is the local cache.
What was the extension of the file you selected to restore the bookmarks, there are 2.
The first one jzon, the second is the sqlite, and even an export backup in html (done through the UI).
The easiest way is to copy the places file into the folder of the name profile (keep a copy just in case) you selected in the profile manager. Then restart Firefox with that profile.
Please make a backup of the sessionhistory-backups folder in a safe place (i.e., a place where Firefox won't remove any files) for potential future reference.
You also can generate a page of links from a session history file using my "Scrounger" tool to more easily reopen those lost tabs: https://www.jeffersonscher.com/res/scrounger.html
If you are not able to resolve your issues with Firefox 55 within a reasonable amount of time, you may need to reinstall Firefox 54.0.1 -- 64-bit -- until the problem is diagnosed and we have better questions to ask you about your system (e.g., permissions, external security software, etc.) than we do right now. You should find relevant links in this article: Install an older version of Firefox.
Well I backed up the entire Firefox folder, uninstalled Firefox 55 in both 32 and 64 bit and reinstalled FF 54.01. Now everything is gone. No more backups, nothing. Thanks guigs and jscher2000 for all your help.
As for the developers of Firefox, I am really pissed that they released version 55 in the state that it is and screwed my setup of FF. Firefox should have run a backup and I would not find myself in this incredibly frustrating situation. Not only did you loose all my bookmarks but you also are responsible for my wasting the better part of a day trying to fix you f**kup. Since I'll have to start from scratch, I'm going to find something that is more stable. IE is a pain, but I never lost 600+ of bookmarks. So thanks for nothing Mozilla Firefox development team. You really scored big this time.
Smartyred said
Well I backed up the entire Firefox folder, uninstalled Firefox 55 in both 32 and 64 bit and reinstalled FF 54.01. Now everything is gone. No more backups, nothing.
Firefox's uninstaller should not delete your data. It should still be in its original location, even if Firefox is blind to it and starts with a new profile. Can you confirm? See:
Profiles - Where Firefox stores your bookmarks, passwords and other user data
Is there still a semi-randomly-named profile folder under Profiles that has files from the correct date/time to match what you're missing?
If you used a third party cleaner to remove Firefox, it may have removed your profile folder. ASAP try an undelete utility such as:
http://www.piriform.com/recuva
If you haven't already, you may need to set Windows to show hidden files and folders: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/14201/windows-show-hidden-files