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Firefox blocking addition of some bookmarks

  • 4 replies
  • 1 has this problem
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  • Last reply by FredMcD

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When I try to bookmark certain pages, I am blocked from doing so. Ctrl-D does nothing and clicking on the star will not bring up the add bookmark dialog box. On occasion, I've had all additions blocked and corrected the problem by restoring a previous backup, but the current problem is that selective websites are blocked from being added. One such is https://www dot alternet dot org.

When I try to bookmark certain pages, I am blocked from doing so. Ctrl-D does nothing and clicking on the star will not bring up the add bookmark dialog box. On occasion, I've had all additions blocked and corrected the problem by restoring a previous backup, but the current problem is that selective websites are blocked from being added. One such is https://www dot alternet dot org.

Chosen solution

Thanks for your replies. I could not get Places Maintenance to complete its evaluation of places.sqlite (a problem many have had apparently) and the Troubleshooting Information option to check integrity seemed to indicate that some other operation had intefered with getting results. I was finally able to force FF to rebuilt the places.sqlite file by exiting, removing places.sqlite and checking for any other 'places' files, then trimming back the entries in bookmarkbackups to one that looked valid (the most recent ones were very small in size) and restarting FF. I watched the bookmarks being rebuilt in the bookmarks sidebar and when it was completed, the "Add Bookmarks" was functioning again.

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Places Maintenance {web link} Allows to run Maintenance tasks on the database that drives Places, the bookmarks and history module behind Firefox.

Open the Add-ons Manager. Locate the add-on and press the Options button. Then follow the directions.

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If you use Sync then best is to disconnect Sync while performing maintenance/repair efforts to files in the Firefox profile folder.

Note that the "Help -> Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page has a button further down on the page to check the integrity of places.sqlite.

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Chosen Solution

Thanks for your replies. I could not get Places Maintenance to complete its evaluation of places.sqlite (a problem many have had apparently) and the Troubleshooting Information option to check integrity seemed to indicate that some other operation had intefered with getting results. I was finally able to force FF to rebuilt the places.sqlite file by exiting, removing places.sqlite and checking for any other 'places' files, then trimming back the entries in bookmarkbackups to one that looked valid (the most recent ones were very small in size) and restarting FF. I watched the bookmarks being rebuilt in the bookmarks sidebar and when it was completed, the "Add Bookmarks" was functioning again.

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That was very good work. Well done. Please flag your last post as Solved Problem so others will know.


These can't get your data back, but will help in the future.

These add-ons can be a great help by backing up and restoring Firefox

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/febe/ FEBE (Firefox Environment Backup Extension)

FEBE allows you to quickly and easily backup your Firefox extensions, history, passwords, and more. In fact, it goes beyond just backing up -- It will actually rebuild your saved files individually into installable .xpi files. It will also make backups of files that you choose.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/opie/ OPIE

Import/Export extension preferences