Backup the current passwords with the Password Exporter extension. Then you can re-import them afterward.

For restoring the names and passwords from Firefox 3.5.x and later you need the file signons.sqlite from the old profile. You also need the corresponding file key3.db that stores the encryption key in addition to the signons file.

Password Exporter: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/2848

See also http://kb.mozillazine.org/Password_Manager#Backing_up_and_restoring_passwords --- For the bookmarks to need to do something similar unless you have a HTML backup of the old bookmarks because restoring a JSON backup replaces all current bookmarks.

If you need to preserve current bookmarks then you can export your bookmarks in Firefox to an HTML file and import that file afterward. Bookmarks > Organize Bookmarks > Import & Backup > Export HTML & Import HTML > From File Another possibility is to use the clipboard to store selected bookmarks before restoring a JSON backup (e.g. All Bookmarks: Ctrl + A and Ctrl + C). You can paste the bookmarks from the clipboard back after you have restored a JSON backup. That will preserve all data including tags and annotations, but you should create an HTML backup to be safe.

Great. I say "my case is not X" and what do I get? I get an answer of the form "for case X, this is what you do". There is no signons.sqlite file. Firefox 3.5.X and later has a signons.sqlite file, you say? Well then, what can we conclude from this? We can conclude that the version of firefox from the dead hard drive is not 3.5.X or later, but the version on the computer that works, is. Should I RENAME the signons2.txt file signons.sqlite? Should I just move that file into the directory without renaming it? Will this screw other things up? Screw it. If everyone here is too braindead to even understand the question let alone answer it, I'm going to have to uninstall the current version of firefox, not knowing the exact version of firefox from the bad hard drive, I will have to reinstall firefox of various earlier versions until I find one that uses signons2.txt and key3.db and not some other combination of files, take a screen shot of the password screen then, since the bookmarks are stored in a different way TOO, as html files instead of json files, I will have to manually, one at a time, save the site names and links of every bookmark, then reinstall the later version on the working computer, restore the profile I have now and manually use the passwords shown in the screen shot whenever I need a password and add in the bookmarks back in one at a time manually.

If you have a signons2.txt or signons3.txt file from an older Firefox version then you can copy that file to the Firefox Profile Folder. You need to remove the current signons.sqlite file in that folder and signons#.txt files with a higher number to make Firefox use that signons#.txt file.

See also http://kb.mozillazine.org/Password_Manager (Troubleshooting)

Hello, I have quite a similar problem on my computer (XP sp2, AMD 64 3800+). Firefox (3.6.2) stopped working, I updated it, but it did not fix the crash at startup. Before the total reinstallation, I'd like to be able to save my datas (mainly pwd). Thus I got this information about key... signeons... sqlite and of course "Password Exporter". It seems that the Password Exporter is a firefox addon, how can I export those passwords not using a script depending on the particular Firefox that doesn't start?

Rapha - See this: http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Backing+up+your+information