Lost bookmarks and history, tried ALL solutions on support site, still not working. Can you help?
-Crashed 12 times suddenly. No apparent cause. No shady websites, movie was playing on Amazon Prime.
-Bookmarks & history disabled- Error message: "The bookmarks and history system will not be functional because one of Firefox's files is in use by another application. Some security software can cause this problem."
-Attempted "places.sqlite" file solution multiple times (renaming, deleting, etc.). Did not work.
-Attempted refreshing Firefox solution (completely new profile). Did not work.
-Attempted deleted & reinstalling Firefox. Did not work.
-Attempted restoring bookmarks from library. Error message: "Unable to process the backup file."
-Attempted exporting bookmarks to HTML. Did not work.
-Attempted disabling all other programs and security that may have interfered with Firefox. Did not work.
I did not have any Windows System Restore points saved, so that solution may have worked but is not possible for me. To summarize, I still cannot access my history or bookmarks and I also cannot export my bookmark files (sqlite, json) to HTML. I have tried deleting places.sqlite, refreshing Firefox, reinstalling, and turning off all security or other programs. It has been 2 days- I am now using Google Chrome but I wish I could recover my bookmarks, as I had over 1,000 of them.
Modified by firefoxplshelp
All Replies (4)
We're sorry to hear that Firefox is crashing. In order to assist you better, please follow the steps below to provide us crash IDs to help us learn more about your crash.
The crash report is several pages of data. We need the report numbers to see the whole report bp-.
- Enter about:crashes in the Firefox address bar and press Enter. A Submitted Crash Reports list will appear, similar to the one shown below.
- Copy the 5 most recent Report IDs that start with bp- and then go back to your forum question and paste those IDs into the "Post a Reply" box.
Note: If a recent Report ID does not start with bp- click on it to submit the report.
(Please don't take a screenshot of your crashes, just copy and paste the IDs. The below image is just an example of what your Firefox screen should look like.)
Thank you for your help!
More information and further troubleshooting steps can be found in the Troubleshoot Firefox crashes (closing or quitting unexpectedly) article.
Note: If any reports do not have BP- in front of the numbers/letters, click it to submit them.
The crash report is several pages of data. We need the report numbers to see the whole report.
Boot the computer in Windows Safe Mode with network support (press F8 on the boot screen or hold down the Shift key) to see if that has effect.
- http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/how-to-start-windows-in-safe-mode/
- http://www.7tutorials.com/4-ways-boot-safe-mode-windows-10
If you use Sync then best is to disconnect Sync temporarily during troubleshooting.
You can check for problems with the places.sqlite database (bookmarks and history) in the Firefox profile folder.
- use "Verify Integrity" on the "Help -> Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page
See also:
- http://kb.mozillazine.org/Locked_or_damaged_places.sqlite
- https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/Bookmarks+not+saved#w_fix-the-bookmarks-file
If "Verify Integrity" on the "Help -> Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page cannot repair places.sqlite then remove all places.sqlite files (places.sqlite, places.sqlite-shm and places.sqlite-wal) in the Firefox profile folder. Firefox will rebuild places.sqlite and restore the bookmarks from a recent JSON backup in the bookmarkbackups folder.
- keep a backup copy of places.sqlite in case a new places.sqlite database has to be created
- http://kb.mozillazine.org/Unable_to_process_the_backup_file_-_Firefox
You may have to restore and older JSON backup manually in the Bookmarks Manager (Library).
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 Directory:
Windows: Show Folder; Linux: Open Directory; Mac: Show in Finder - http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox
Check the (read/write) permissions and owner of the Mozilla and Firefox folder and possibly rename Mozilla or Firefox to force Firefox to create a new folder structure.
- C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\