Is there a way to merge the bookmarks on my old pc to those on my new pc? (PS: I cannot login to old pc using old profile but can access the profiles folder.)
My user profile on my old laptop became corrupted and I cannot log into it using my regular (admin) account. I would like to add and merge the old firefox bookmarks to another laptop, which already has existing bookmarks. I cannot simply copy and paste the profile folder as this would overwrite my existing bookmarks and settings. Unfortunately I did not set up the Sync feature on that browser.
Chosen solution
Unfortunately, Firefox does not have good tools for merging and de-duplicating bookmarks. I'm going to suggest a round-about way to do this. Here's a general overview:
(1) Create a new blank profile (profile #3) in your current Firefox (see details at the end)
(2) While using profile #3, restore a JSON-format backup file from your old system (profile #1) (see Restore bookmarks from backup or move them to another computer)
(3) Export the restored bookmarks to an HTML format in a convenient location, with a unique file name (see Export Firefox bookmarks to an HTML file to back up or transfer bookmarks)
(4) Exit Firefox and start up again in your normal profile (profile #2)
(5) Import the HTML-format bookmarks file (see Import Bookmarks from an HTML file)
(6) Create a backup in case anything goes wrong in step 7 (see Restore bookmarks from backup or move them to another computer)
(7) Reorganize the bookmarks from the Imported Bookmarks folder (see https://support.mozilla.org/kb/use-bookmarks-to-save-and-organize-w...), possibly using a deduplicating add-on
Create a new Firefox profile
A new profile will have your system-installed plugins (e.g., Flash) and extensions (e.g., security suite toolbars), but no themes, other extensions, or other customizations. It also should have completely fresh settings databases and a fresh cache folder.
Exit Firefox and start up in the Profile Manager using Start > search box (or Run):
firefox.exe -P
Do not delete anything here. Any time you want to switch profiles, exit Firefox and return to this dialog.
Click the Create Profile button, assign a name like OldBookmarks, and skip the option to change the folder. Then start Firefox in the new profile you created.
You're ready to restore to this new profile and create the HTML-format export.
When returning to the Profile Manager, you might be tempted to use the Delete Profile button. But... it's a bit too easy to accidentally delete your "real" profile, so I recommend resisting the temptation. If you do want to clean up later, I suggest making a backup of all your profiles first in case something were to go wrong.
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Chosen Solution
Unfortunately, Firefox does not have good tools for merging and de-duplicating bookmarks. I'm going to suggest a round-about way to do this. Here's a general overview:
(1) Create a new blank profile (profile #3) in your current Firefox (see details at the end)
(2) While using profile #3, restore a JSON-format backup file from your old system (profile #1) (see Restore bookmarks from backup or move them to another computer)
(3) Export the restored bookmarks to an HTML format in a convenient location, with a unique file name (see Export Firefox bookmarks to an HTML file to back up or transfer bookmarks)
(4) Exit Firefox and start up again in your normal profile (profile #2)
(5) Import the HTML-format bookmarks file (see Import Bookmarks from an HTML file)
(6) Create a backup in case anything goes wrong in step 7 (see Restore bookmarks from backup or move them to another computer)
(7) Reorganize the bookmarks from the Imported Bookmarks folder (see https://support.mozilla.org/kb/use-bookmarks-to-save-and-organize-w...), possibly using a deduplicating add-on
Create a new Firefox profile
A new profile will have your system-installed plugins (e.g., Flash) and extensions (e.g., security suite toolbars), but no themes, other extensions, or other customizations. It also should have completely fresh settings databases and a fresh cache folder.
Exit Firefox and start up in the Profile Manager using Start > search box (or Run):
firefox.exe -P
Do not delete anything here. Any time you want to switch profiles, exit Firefox and return to this dialog.
Click the Create Profile button, assign a name like OldBookmarks, and skip the option to change the folder. Then start Firefox in the new profile you created.
You're ready to restore to this new profile and create the HTML-format export.
When returning to the Profile Manager, you might be tempted to use the Delete Profile button. But... it's a bit too easy to accidentally delete your "real" profile, so I recommend resisting the temptation. If you do want to clean up later, I suggest making a backup of all your profiles first in case something were to go wrong.
I assumed you knew, but I should specify, that you are looking for the most recent backup in your old profile's bookmarkbackups folder. The format changed recently, so the extension might be either .json or .jsonlz4 which is a compressed format so it may be much smaller than earlier backups. Firefox includes a count of the number of bookmarks in the file name (after the date).
Thank you for the clear instructions jscher2000. I am very happy with the results!