Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

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

Session Restore - a version older than the previous session

more options

I had several windows open in Firefox. These have disappeared but I'm not sure exactly when it happened.

'Restore the previous session' does not help as it only restores a single window. I need to go back in history (I have backups so can refer to older files if needed). I have checked 'session-store.backups' and have several .jsonlz4 files, ranging from early October to late October. The older versions are much larger.

Do these files contain my older session data? If yes, how do I load them to get the relevant session windows? I am not worried about losing any data since that time.

Thanks

I had several windows open in Firefox. These have disappeared but I'm not sure exactly when it happened. 'Restore the previous session' does not help as it only restores a single window. I need to go back in history (I have backups so can refer to older files if needed). I have checked 'session-store.backups' and have several .jsonlz4 files, ranging from early October to late October. The older versions are much larger. Do these files contain my older session data? If yes, how do I load them to get the relevant session windows? I am not worried about losing any data since that time. Thanks

Isisombululo esikhethiwe

The only options for restoring an older session are upgrade.jsonlz4 files in the sessionstore-backups folder. If you want more control then you need to look on the Add-ons website for an extension.

You will normally find these files in the sessionstore-backups folder:

  • previous.jsonlz4 (cleanBackup: copy of sessionstore.jsonlz4 from previous session that was loaded successfully)
  • recovery.jsonlz4 (latest version of sessionstore.jsonlz4 written during runtime)
  • recovery.baklz4 (previous version of sessionstore.jsonlz4 written during runtime)
  • upgrade.jsonlz4-<build_id> (backup created during an upgrade of Firefox)

You can copy a file from the sessionstore-backups folder to the main profile and rename the file to sessionstore.jsonlz4 to replace the current file with Firefox closed.

  • make sure to backup the current sessionstore.jsonlz4
Funda le mpendulo ngokuhambisana nalesi sihloko 👍 1

All Replies (2)

more options

Isisombululo Esikhethiwe

The only options for restoring an older session are upgrade.jsonlz4 files in the sessionstore-backups folder. If you want more control then you need to look on the Add-ons website for an extension.

You will normally find these files in the sessionstore-backups folder:

  • previous.jsonlz4 (cleanBackup: copy of sessionstore.jsonlz4 from previous session that was loaded successfully)
  • recovery.jsonlz4 (latest version of sessionstore.jsonlz4 written during runtime)
  • recovery.baklz4 (previous version of sessionstore.jsonlz4 written during runtime)
  • upgrade.jsonlz4-<build_id> (backup created during an upgrade of Firefox)

You can copy a file from the sessionstore-backups folder to the main profile and rename the file to sessionstore.jsonlz4 to replace the current file with Firefox closed.

  • make sure to backup the current sessionstore.jsonlz4
more options

At least you got one window back. If you check any of these, can you get additional windows back:

  • "3-bar" menu button > History > Recently Closed Windows
  • "Library" toolbar button > History > Recently Closed Windows
  • (menu bar) History > Recently Closed Windows

Optional File Contents Preview

The compressed .jsonlz4 files are a pain to view, so I created a tool on my website to list out their contents. If you want to try that, you can drag and drop one of the recent files onto the large box on the following page, then click the "Scrounge URLs" button:

https://www.jeffersonscher.com/ffu/scrounger.html

If you don't get a list within 15 seconds, that probably means the script is caught in a loop. You may need to close the tab to avoid a tab crash and then try again in a new tab.

If you get a useful list, use the "Save List" button to archive it as a web page of clickable links for future reference, in case no other approach is successful.