Recover lost bookmarks !! help!
Hello. I've just had a very bad thing happen.
I just had to rebuild my computer from scratch - reformat, reinstall everything, etc. I had been taking regular backups of the Firefox bookmarks backup folder but I realised that for some reason that folder contained no auto-backups, so I no longer had those bookmarks saved.
Fortunately, when I reconnected my new installation of Firefox to my sync account, the bookmarks came down and everything was fine.
But then, trying to solve the initial problem of why my bookmarks were not backing up, I decided to take a copy of PLACES.SQLITE, which is where the bookmarks are supposed to be stored by Firefox. To test that this was true, I closed Firefox, move this file out of the folder, and reopened Firefox. Sure enough, the bookmarks were gone. I then intended to reinstate the PLACES.SQLITE file I had copied to another location, but when I did that (with Firefox closed) and then opened Firefox again, my bookmarks were not there!!
And THEN, before I could resolve the issue some other way, my sync account updated and also deleted all the bookmarks from my other devices!!
I have now lost YEARS worth of bookmarks - this is really REALLY terrible!
Please help!! Someone!! Is there a way to recover from the sync account in the cloud my historical bookmark files? I really need these bookmarks. Please.
Todd Carson
All Replies (3)
These can't get your data back, but will help in the future.
These add-ons can be a great help by backing up and restoring Firefox
FEBE (Firefox Environment Backup Extension) {web link} FEBE allows you to quickly and easily backup your Firefox extensions, history, passwords, and more. In fact, it goes beyond just backing up -- It will actually rebuild your saved files individually into installable .xpi files. It will also make backups of files that you choose.
OPIE {web link} Import/Export extension preferences
You said you moved/copied the original file. When you put it back, did you move or copy it?
Note: When working with files, it is a good idea to copy/move the original someplace else, then use a copy of the copy.
Firefox automatically makes backups of the bookmarks. These are stored in the bookmarkbackups folder. You can set how many backups are kept by doing this;
Type about:config<enter> in the address bar. If a warning screen comes up, press the Be Careful button. At the top of the screen is a search bar. Type browser.bookmarks.max_backups
The values for this setting are; -1 = unlimited number of backups 0 = Do not create any backups Any other number here will keep that many backups Example: 5 = 5 backups are kept.