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Bookmarks have been lost and I get following message "Unable to process the backup file." when I try to restore. I tried using Places Maintenance but checking

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I tried Places Maintenance and first got this message > Task: stats - Unable to collect stats. When I clicked NEXT, I received the Checking Integrity note in the Box and this has hung up overnight. Needed to cancel it this morning. I assume it should not take 10 hours...Please help

I tried Places Maintenance and first got this message > Task: stats - Unable to collect stats. When I clicked NEXT, I received the Checking Integrity note in the Box and this has hung up overnight. Needed to cancel it this morning. I assume it should not take 10 hours...Please help

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Note: V55 has been giving users problems. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/update-firefox-latest-version?cache=no Update Firefox to the latest version 55.0.2


If there is still a problem, Reinstall v54.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/install-older-version-of-firefox?cache=no Be sure to read everything here.

If you still want to downgrade, look under; I still want to downgrade. Click the Directory of other versions and languages link. Look for the directory of the version that you want. But, remember that old versions may have security issues.

You should also check out Firefox; Extended Support Release https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/ https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/notes/ https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/system-req

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Many thanks, going back to 54 worked. I was already on 55.0.2 and this was causing the problem. I first loaded 54 without uninstalling 55.0.2 and my button sent me back to 55.0.2 with the problem still existing. I uninstalled 55.0.2 and this left only 54. All appears to work.

Many thanks again

JAMA

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Are there compressed .jsonlz4 backups in the bookmarkbackups folder?

If the Places Maintenance extension can't repair the places.sqlite database then remove all places.sqlite file(s) in the Firefox profile folder to make Firefox rebuild the places.sqlite database from the most recent JSON backup in the bookmarkbackups folder.

You can use the button on the "Help -> Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page to go to the current Firefox profile folder or use the about:profiles page.

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All is good. Problem had been noted as solved in my earlier email.

Many thanks again

JAMA

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Things were going well having gone back to FF 54 but my PC was automatically upgraded to 55.0.3 creating the same problem killing bookmarks. Will revert to 54 again - just to let people know that the latest 55 upgrade creates the same problem. Thanks again for your help earlier this week JAMA

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I updated FF by mistake this morning - it loaded 56 I believe and the Bookmarks disappear again. Just reverted to 54 in order to get bookmarks sidebar to show my bookmarks.

FYI - any update still seems to be mess the Bookmark sidebar

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I even could not revert to 54. Can anyone help? I cannot access my bookmarks at the moment Thanks in advance

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A post was flagged as Solved Problem. If the problem is not solved, please remove that flag. If you don’t, others that can help may not read this post.

Go to that message, and use the Undo link to its right.


Or you can choose to create a new question. This might be better.

One last thing, many problems have come up with restoring the .jsonlz4 bookmark backup file.

Once you get things fixed, you should create bookmark backups like this;

Open the Bookmarks Manager; Press the Alt or F10 key to bring up the toolbar, and select Bookmarks. Hot key is <Control> (Mac=<Command>) <Shift> B.

Once the window is open, at the top of the page, press the button labeled Import and Backup. Select Export Bookmarks To HTML, and follow the prompts and save it to a HTML file. Copy the file to another computer. Repeat the instructions above, BUT select Import Bookmarks From HTML.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/restore-bookmarks-from-backup-or-move-them

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/recover-lost-or-missing-bookmarks

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Hi JAMA, are your backups in a valid format? I have a tool on my website to decompress them and save them in plain JSON or HTML format. If the format is corrupted, the tool should inform you of that.

The files are stored in your profile folder. You can open that using either:

  • "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Troubleshooting Information
  • (menu bar) Help > Troubleshooting Information
  • type or paste about:support in the address bar and press Enter

In the first table on the page, click the "Open Folder" button. This should launch a new window listing various files and folders in Windows Explorer.

Double-click into the bookmarkbackups folder and try dragging a recent file onto this page:

https://www.jeffersonscher.com/res/bookbackreader.html

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Thanks for helping out. I tried to restore (using 56) and it will not allow me to take today's or other dates' back up. All I get is UNABLE TO PROCESS THE BACKUP FILE

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I understand the problem you're encountering, but I don't know the reason for it. Could you try using the decompression tool to see whether the file contents are valid?

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I used your tool with HTML export and all files appear to be ok

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Is there still a way to downgrade back to 54? This had allowed me to get bookmarks going. I was just messed up this morning when i accepted the update by mistake?

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When you download the file, save it in a safe place in case you need it again.


Type about:preferences#advanced<enter> in the address bar.

Under Advanced, Select Update. Check the settings.

Also turn off Use a background service to install updates


Install Older Version Of Firefox {web link} Be sure to read everything here.

If you still want to downgrade, look under; I still want to downgrade. Click the Directory of other versions and languages link. Look for the directory of the version that you want. But, remember that old versions may have security issues.

You should also check out Firefox; Extended Support Release {web link} ESR Notes System Requirements

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You can try to import the HTML file. See: Import Bookmarks from an HTML file.

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I am still unsuccessful...

1. When I opened Folder, I found Places but no sqlite extension 2. When I tried to get HTML, all appeared ok but could not restore 3. When I tried to get an older version, I found the Dir of older versions but there are about 20 different 54 links - do you know which one i should use/

Thanks

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JAMA said

1. When I opened Folder, I found Places but no sqlite extension

Could you make sure Windows is set to show all file extensions: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/how-to-show-file-extensions-in-windows/

2. When I tried to get HTML, all appeared ok but could not restore

What happened when you tried to import the HTML file? Did you get a specific error message? (Import Bookmarks from an HTML file)

3. When I tried to get an older version, I found the Dir of older versions but there are about 20 different 54 links - do you know which one i should use/

This is a hard question to answer because Firefox 54 is no longer supported so you shouldn't use any of them. But if you have to, the last in the series is numbered 54.0.1 -- if you see folders with a b in the name, those were beta test versions from before the formal release.

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jscher2000, Thanks for helping out. 1. Extension now shows sqplite a) when I tried to open it, Adobe showed that it could not be opened as it may be in wrong format or corrupted 2. When I went to your site, the output I got was jsonlz4 which it asks me to save or open - can I convert this to HTML? 3. I will continue the fight here and not go back to 54

Thanks for all

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Thanks for the update. .sqlite files are not intended to be opened directly by normal Windows applications, so that's definitely normal.

2. When I went to your site, the output I got was jsonlz4 which it asks me to save or open - can I convert this to HTML?

On https://www.jeffersonscher.com/res/bookbackreader.html after you drop your file from bookmarkbackups onto the white box, then you can choose to save as JSON or export as HTML using the buttons below the box. (That page cannot directly convert the places.sqlite database.)

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