Master Password
I created a master password yesterday (7/15/20) forgot to write it down and now can't remember it. Is there a way to get out of this mess?
All Replies (9)
Mmm, there is a way to reset the Master Password that makes all your currently saved logins inaccessible, so that's the backup plan. Reset your Primary Password if you've forgotten it
Do you have a backup of your Firefox data from recent days or recent weeks?
As a fallback, you can check for "shadow copies" that Windows may have made when doing updates. 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/ - (new) ShadowCopyView: https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/shadow_copy_view.html
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 both of these files to a convenient location such as your currently live desktop:
- logins.json
- key4.db
To see what is in a logins.json file, you can drag and drop it onto a Firefox tab. After a few moments, Firefox should display a structured view of the file. Although the passwords are not readable (encrypted using something in key4.db) you can at least see what accounts are saved in that file and make sure it looks reasonably coherent.
Any luck so far? Then we can discuss next steps.
Okulungisiwe
Using ShadowExplorer I followed the path down to \Users\your-user-name\AppData\Roaming, but that's as far I as I could get, \Mozilla etc did not appear.
also: the Folder underneath Roaming is Intel.
Whoops, I forgot to mention that AppData is a hidden folder and if you haven't changed the default setting you can't see it. See: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/14201/windows-show-hidden-files
There are a lot of folders under [username]\AppData\Roaming and whatever is under [username]\Roaming isn't relevant to Firefox.
Note that you can rename/remove logins.json (login data) and key4.db (key file that also stores the MP) with Firefox closed to make Firefox create new files.
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.
- Help -> Troubleshooting Information -> Profile Folder/Directory:
Windows: Open Folder; Linux: Open Directory; Mac: Show in Finder - https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-where-firefox-stores-user-data
Okulungisiwe
I first read your response last night but I didn't come back to work on it until today. It looks like part of the original message is missing, above I'm seeing today. I've tried to work what you wrote but I've been unable to find the Help button anywhere in the Firefox "domain." So I'm stuck.
Hi Timo, Help can be found under either:
- Main menu button at the right end of Firefox's main toolbar (three horizontal bars)
- Optional top menu bar (File, Edit, View...) which you can summon temporarily by tapping either the F10 key or the Alt key
hhHi,
I am unable to see or find File, Edit, View... Hi,
I cannot seem to find (File, Edit, View...) regardless of what I try to do. I cannot get F10 or Alt to do anything When I scroll down to the bottom of the drop I see a Help button which when pushed gives me options but I don't see anything that helps to find what I am looking for..............
Main menu button at the right end of Firefox's main toolbar (three horizontal bars) Optional top menu bar (File, Edit, View...) which you can summon temporarily by tapping either the F10 key or the Alt key
Hi Timo, were you able to recover an older logins.json and key4.db file that you want to try using? That was the first step.
Next step is opening your currently live Firefox profile folder:
It's a Windows platform guideline that applications should hide their top menu bars. You usually can show them temporarily by tapping either of these keys:
- Alt
- F10
If you want that menu bar displayed persistently, you can turn it on under either:
- right-click a blank area of another toolbar > Menu Bar
- tap Alt or F10 > View > Toolbars > Menu Bar
- Customize tab > Toolbars > Menu Bar (Customize Firefox controls, buttons and toolbars)
The next steps was to find Troubleshooting Information on the Help menu. This displays a page full of info about your Firefox. In the top section, there's a table under the Application Basics header that has a Profile Folder row. This has an Open Folder button to open your currently active Firefox profile folder with your valuable settings data.