Are you missing Top Sites that you pinned (stored in prefs.js), or the standard ones that come with Firefox (mostly search engines, I think), or the ones you expect to populate from your browsing history?

Are you able to add new bookmarks?

If bookmarks and history aren't working normally:

Inability to create new bookmarks can indicate a problem accessing one or two different databases used for bookmark-related data.

I suggest first shutting down and restarting Windows at least once to release any file locks. That would minimize data loss if it works.

If that doesn't help, in order to figure out if a database is locked/inaccessible/corrupted, you could first try the "Verify Integrity" function. Here's how:

Open Firefox's Troubleshooting Information page using any of these methods:

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

Near the bottom, there is a section titled Places Database -- that's the file which stores history and bookmarks. Click the button labeled Verify Integrity. There may be a 10-15 second delay before results appear.

If all is well, the report that appears below the button should start with:

> Task: checkIntegrity
+ The places.sqlite database is sane
+ The favicons.sqlite database is sane

Does yours say that, or something else? You can select and copy the report, and then paste it into a reply for review and comment.

Thanks for such a quick reply.

The Places Database, 2nd line says

"Unable to fix corruption, places.sqlite will be replaced on next startup"

Oh, hmm, well, does it work any better on the next startup?

Yes... It did work!

Thank you for pointing me in the right direction. I did another restore/copy of my profile from my original backup and it is now showing the Top Sites.

Without the profile backup I would have been sunk. So from now on, I will be sure to do a Profile backup daily.

Thanks again.

Thanks for reporting back. When Firefox rebuilds the Places database (places.sqlite), it should restore your bookmarks to a point within the past day or so, but history is lost. If you were able to get an old, working places.sqlite including your history, that's great. You're way head of most people who do not make regular backups.

jscher2000 said

Are you missing Top Sites that you pinned (stored in prefs.js), or the standard ones that come with Firefox (mostly search engines, I think), or the ones you expect to populate from your browsing history? Are you able to add new bookmarks? If bookmarks and history aren't working normally: Inability to create new bookmarks can indicate a problem accessing one or two different databases used for bookmark-related data. I suggest first shutting down and restarting Windows at least once to release any file locks. That would minimize data loss if it works. If that doesn't help, in order to figure out if a database is locked/inaccessible/corrupted, you could first try the "Verify Integrity" function. Here's how: Open Firefox's Troubleshooting Information page using any of these methods:

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

Near the bottom, there is a section titled Places Database -- that's the file which stores history and bookmarks. Click the button labeled Verify Integrity. There may be a 10-15 second delay before results appear. If all is well, the report that appears below the button should start with: > Task: checkIntegrity + The places.sqlite database is sane + The favicons.sqlite database is sane Does yours say that, or something else? You can select and copy the report, and then paste it into a reply for review and comment.

> Task: checkIntegrity - Unable to check places.sqlite integrity: Error: Error(s) encountered during statement execution: > Task: invalidateCaches - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task. > Task: checkCoherence - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task. > Task: expire - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task. > Task: originFrecencyStats - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task. > Task: vacuum - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task. > Task: stats - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task. > Task: _refreshUI - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task.

Hi Manolis, that doesn't look good. Did you already try doing a normal Windows/Mac/Linux system shut down and restart to clear file locks and complete any pending updates?

Since this question is already marked solved, could you start a new one? Then you can also include your system details and more information on your specific symptoms. This link will get you started -- keep scrolling down past link suggestions to continue with the form:

https://support.mozilla.org/questions/new/desktop/fix-problems