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Lolu chungechunge lwabekwa kunqolobane. Uyacelwa ubuze umbuzo omusha uma udinga usizo.

My password and login info seems to be corrupted. When I open the list, many of the login info looks like this ��bō�ԅ�x�m�/QF

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'bold text'

info seems to be corrupted. When I open the list, many of the login info looks like this �?�bō�ԅ�x?�m�/QF. What is going on? How can I fix it ?????
''''''bold text'''''' info seems to be corrupted. When I open the list, many of the login info looks like this ��bō�ԅ�x�m�/QF. What is going on? How can I fix it ?????

All Replies (7)

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Hi Don, what do you mean by "open the list"? Is that on Firefox's Logins and Passwords page, or when you export logins, or somewhere else?

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When I open the password/login page from the upper right hand corner

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So for example, in the attached, instead of the site name, URL, or username, you see gibberish?

I have not heard of that before. Could you test in Firefox's Safe Mode? In its Safe Mode, Firefox temporarily deactivates extensions, hardware acceleration, any userChrome.css/userContent.css files, and some other advanced features to help you assess whether these are causing the problem.

If Firefox is not running: Hold down the Shift key when starting Firefox. (On Mac, hold down the option/alt key instead of the Shift key.)

If Firefox is running: You can restart Firefox in Safe Mode using either:

  • "3-bar" menu button > "?" Help button > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
  • (menu bar) Help menu > Restart with Add-ons Disabled

and OK the restart.

Both scenarios: A small dialog should appear. Click "Start in Safe Mode" (not Refresh).

Any improvement?

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No change, still the same problem. Thanks anyway

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Let's talk about backups. Any chance you make regular backups of your Firefox profile folder?

If not, perhaps Windows could help us out with a "shadow copy" from a restore point. Please do not use the Windows System Restore feature, as that can cause greater data loss. You can use a utility program to mine restore points for selected files. Here's how:

First, it may help to set Windows to show hidden files and folders: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/14201/windows-show-hidden-files

Next, download and run one of these two programs:

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 usernames and 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.

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Well, I guess I shouldn't rule out the possibility that it might be a font problem. However, if only the username and password are messed up, then that is unlikely.

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Are you using a Primary/Master Password ?

Are there login related messages in the Browser Console if you check this possibly after opening the about:logins page ? You can possibly temporarily set signon.debug = true on the about:config page. Do not forget to reset this pref after you are done.

Are those usernames possibly in a foreign (i.e. not English) language as this can be a font issue or possibly related to a difference between the OS language and the language Firefox uses ?