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How to Move Firefox from Windows Vista PC to Windows 10 Laptop

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  • Last reply by Woodz

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I know how to migrate from one XP device to another XP device, (using a USB thumb drive). But not sure the steps to do it between different versions of Windows.

Will want to move the installed Firefox add-ons and plug ins as well. (current version of Firefox)

I'm unable to find a FAQ that matches my circumstances. Any pointers would be appreciated.

Will need to migrate Thunderbird as well.

Thanks.

I know how to migrate from one XP device to another XP device, (using a USB thumb drive). But not sure the steps to do it between different versions of Windows. Will want to move the installed Firefox add-ons and plug ins as well. (current version of Firefox) I'm unable to find a FAQ that matches my circumstances. Any pointers would be appreciated. Will need to migrate Thunderbird as well. Thanks.

Chosen solution

It's probably a good idea to post a separate question on the Thunderbird board about that part. https://support.mozilla.org/questions/new/thunderbird

The key thing is the concept of profile folders. Firefox stores your bookmarks, passwords, add-ons, nearly everything -- some add-ons use other folders for their data -- in your profile folder. On Vista, it's under:

C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Firefox\Profiles

Since AppData is a hidden folder, you may need this article to explore there: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/14201/windows-show-hidden-files (try the steps for Windows 7)

Since each installation of Firefox randomly generates part of the folder name, after you copy your old profile folder to the corresponding location on the new system, you need to point Firefox to it. Probably the simplest way is to steal the name of the folder Firefox created on the new system and give the old folder that name. However, you also can edit a settings file named profiles.ini which is where Firefox checks for the profile folder paths.

I realize that's not in full detail...

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Chosen Solution

It's probably a good idea to post a separate question on the Thunderbird board about that part. https://support.mozilla.org/questions/new/thunderbird

The key thing is the concept of profile folders. Firefox stores your bookmarks, passwords, add-ons, nearly everything -- some add-ons use other folders for their data -- in your profile folder. On Vista, it's under:

C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Firefox\Profiles

Since AppData is a hidden folder, you may need this article to explore there: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/14201/windows-show-hidden-files (try the steps for Windows 7)

Since each installation of Firefox randomly generates part of the folder name, after you copy your old profile folder to the corresponding location on the new system, you need to point Firefox to it. Probably the simplest way is to steal the name of the folder Firefox created on the new system and give the old folder that name. However, you also can edit a settings file named profiles.ini which is where Firefox checks for the profile folder paths.

I realize that's not in full detail...

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Thanks much. Exactly the info I was looking for and it worked seamlessly!

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Note that plugins always would have to be installed separately.

Firefox 52 and later releases only support the Shockwave Flash plugin and disable all other plugins. You can use the Firefox 52 ESR release if you need to use other plugins.

Why-do-Java-Silverlight-Adobe-Acrobat-and-other-plugins-no longer work.

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Note: I did not have to (re)nstall extensions (e.g. NoScript). They migrated with copying the profile.