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bookmarks gone, can not bookmark at all

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version 94.0.2 (64-bit) 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." I can not see any of my bookmarks and I can not bookmark any page. I have: Shut down Firefox and restarted: no help uninstalled, deleted folders, and reinstalled: no help Import bookmarks from another browser: no help. That doesn't work either

What "security software" is the message talking about?

Hope you can help, because I don't want to go to another browser.

Robert

version 94.0.2 (64-bit) 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." I can not see any of my bookmarks and I can not bookmark any page. I have: Shut down Firefox and restarted: no help uninstalled, deleted folders, and reinstalled: no help Import bookmarks from another browser: no help. That doesn't work either What "security software" is the message talking about? Hope you can help, because I don't want to go to another browser. Robert
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All Replies (8)

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Sorry to hear about this problem.

First, if you haven't already, please do a normal shutdown and/or restart of your system. Restarting Windows can help by freeing up locked files, completing any deferred updates, and resolving temporary file permission issues.

Next, if Firefox still has bookmark problems, could you let us know what you get when you run the "Verify Integrity" diagnosis and repair function. That's here:

Open Firefox's Troubleshooting Information page using any of these methods:

  • "3-bar" menu button > Help > More Troubleshooting Information
  • (menu bar) Help > More Troubleshooting Information
  • type or paste about:support in the address bar and press Enter

Near the bottom, there is a section titled Places Database -- that's the file which stores history and bookmarks. Click the button labeled Verify Integrity. There may be a 10-15 second delay before results appear.

If all is well, the report that appears below the button should start with:

> Task: checkIntegrity
+ The places.sqlite database is sane
+ The favicons.sqlite database is sane
> Task: invalidateCaches
+ The caches have been invalidated
> Task: checkCoherence
+ The database is coherent

Does yours say that, or something else? You can select and copy the report, and then paste it into a reply for review and comment.

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If you use Sync then best is to disconnect Sync temporarily during troubleshooting.

If errors are reported with "Verify Integrity", close and restart Firefox or reboot and retry.

If "Verify Integrity" cannot repair places.sqlite, rename/remove all places.sqlite and favicons.sqlite files in the Firefox profile folder with Firefox closed. Firefox will rebuild places.sqlite and restore the bookmarks from the most 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
  • you lose the history when a new places.sqlite is created

You may have to restore an older bookmarks backup in the bookmarkbackups folder via the Bookmarks Manager (Library).

See also:

You can use the button on the "Help -> More Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page to go to the current Firefox profile folder or use the about:profiles page (Root directory).

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My Verify Integrity report is different:

> Task: checkIntegrity + The places.sqlite database is sane + The favicons.sqlite database is sane > Task: invalidateCaches - Unable to invalidate caches > Task: checkCoherence - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task. > Task: expire - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task. > Task: originFrecencyStats - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task. > Task: vacuum - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task. > Task: stats - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task. > Task: _refreshUI - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task.

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Task: checkIntegrity + The places.sqlite database is sane + The favicons.sqlite database is sane > Task: invalidateCaches - Unable to invalidate caches > Task: checkCoherence - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task. > Task: expire - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task. > Task: originFrecencyStats - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task. > Task: vacuum - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task. > Task: stats - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task. > Task: _refreshUI - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task.

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same problem what is going on I can not bookmark anything, and my saves HTML bookmarks will not load! need help

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hihoag2 said

same problem what is going on I can not bookmark anything, and my saves HTML bookmarks will not load! need help

One possible reason is a file lock. If restarting your system didn't help, the next thing to suspect is a corrupted database file. Please check this article for more information: Fix "The bookmarks and history system will not be functional" error message.

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Okay so i removed or renamed the two files Favicons and Places when Firefox restarted even more of these files appeared??? is this what was to be expected???? it seems to allow me to bookmark pages again... Did i do the right thing? and with all the other files do i need to get rid of the shm and wal files?

favicons.sqlite favicons.sqlite-shm favicons.sqlite-wal places.sqlite places.sqlite-shm places.sqlite-wal

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Hi hihoag2, it's normal for Firefox to create those files. The SHM and WAL temp files normally only exist while the main file is open and in use. During a normal shutdown, Firefox should reconcile the two temp files with the main database file and remove the temp files. If all is well now, I wouldn't make any other changes.