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lost the bookmarks and profile on my laptop, however i had it synced to my phone before this happened, how do i fix this?

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Today i messed up my profile for mozilla on my laptop, i recovered 3 json files (but when importing nit says unable to process the backup file) and the bookmark.html and the places.sqlite but it wont import or restore a thing with any of them, i think i may have lost all of my bookmarks/unsorted bookmarks.

However i do remember that my phone was synced to my laptop before this happened. does that mean that all of my bookmarks are saved somewhere? please help.

Today i messed up my profile for mozilla on my laptop, i recovered 3 json files (but when importing nit says unable to process the backup file) and the bookmark.html and the places.sqlite but it wont import or restore a thing with any of them, i think i may have lost all of my bookmarks/unsorted bookmarks. However i do remember that my phone was synced to my laptop before this happened. does that mean that all of my bookmarks are saved somewhere? please help.

All Replies (13)

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If you set up Sync on your old profile AND on your Firefox mobile, then you should be able to connect a new Firefox profile to that same account. But before trying that could you describe a bit more how your profile got messed up? There may be better ways to restore a more complete data set from files on your system.

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This is a continuation from this thread:

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I went into my appdata/roaming/mozilla/ folder/profiles and actually deleted the profile from there, the .default file.. the recycle bin was emptied so i download Recuva and was able to fully recover 3 .json files (each 79kb) each one dated differently a bookmarks.html file and a places.sqlite.. however, the 3 .json files do not work when i import them. i get a message that reads unable to process the backup file. i dont think they are partially corrupted or corrupted because in the program Recuva it said that they were "Excellent" ..

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i also have files from that old mozilla in my computer under the x86 program files folder.. not sure if this can make some sort of difference.

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according to my phone the last firefox sync was done in April. it says "sync now" but i am scared that if i hit sync now it will sync with the new profile and what i need is my bookmarks from the one that no longer exists.

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    • UPDATE**

From my android device i opened firefox, i went to settings and clicked request desktop site. i opened a new tab, went to bookmarks>desktop bookmarks and they were all there, even the unsorted. now how do i save that in an email or something so that i can send it to myself and import it to my desktop firefox browser?

i see in the settings of firefox that i can go to sync and then it says sync settings adn it has my email addresses listed and one that says my email with firefox sync.. i am scared that if i choose it and click ok that it will somehow sync the new firefox profile that i have with no bookmarks and overwrite the one in my phone that has it all. please help so that i save the ones in my phone the correct way.

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I've only tested Sync lightly, so this is somewhat speculative:

I assume you are using a new profile in your desktop Firefox that is not connected with your Sync account. Presumably the Sync account contains the latest copy of your last desktop settings.

I think you are right to be somewhat concerned that connecting the new profile to your Sync account will overwrite its contents.

I think it makes sense to update your Android device first to ensure it has the latest settings in case adding the new device wipes out what's on the server.

Next, to pair your computer's new profile to your existing Sync account, check out the steps in this thread: How do I setup sync on my desktop PC if all I have is Mobile Firefox?. Or in summary, if you can generate a code on your phone to pair your computer, great, if not, the add-on should help you extract your Sync account Recovery Key from your Android device.

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i have not switched phones, i think thats what you are saying when you say new device. my phone is fine and displays the desktop bookmarks. its just that the desktop profile is no longer the same. do you have an email address so that i can screenshot you what my phone shows me?

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nevermind i see the option below..

the picture that has all the email addresses is the settings to sync within the firefox web browser on the phone.. the one that says pair a device is the settings in my actual phone when i click firefox sync..

Modified by ginnetteali

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Last screen, Pair a Device, should generate a code you can use to connect your new computer profile to your existing Sync account. See the other thread I linked.

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yes but thats what scares me. is the current desktop bookmarks going to stay there?

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i got to the bottom of the issue, now both of my devices just arent connecting.

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Neither your computer nor your phone will connect to... your Sync account? the internet?