retrieve former bookmarks
Last week, I had to re-installed OS X 10.8.5 (Mountain Lion) on my iMac because of lightening bolt surge. And, after doing so, I then had to re-install the Waterfox browser app. to gain better access to my email account (because the old version of Safari that came with the vintage OS re-installation is no longer viable)
My questions are: 1. Do my former bookmarks (or the Waterfox profile that they were stored in) still exist somewhere? and 2. Is it possible to retrieve them to replace (and/or add them to) the new profiled bookmarks created with the updated Waterfox app.?
I've already tried following some of the suggested help from the forum questions that I read here, but have been disheartened because no backups for my years of bookmarking seem to exist. Sadly, I never knew that there was a way to back up bookmarks prior to this recent investigation.
Wšě wotmołwy (12)
Go to your local department/electronics store and look around for a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) that is useful for you. The lowest price is $50 +. There are also units on the market that plug into the computer. So, if the battery gets low, it will shut down the computer to protect it.
Note: Sudden power loss can damage or destroy a hard drive's data.
Waterfox - Official Site https://www.waterfoxproject.org/
Waterfox is a separate program based on Firefox.
briandn07 said
1. Do my former bookmarks (or the Waterfox profile that they were stored in) still exist somewhere?
What about the rest of your profile? Settings, bookmarks, history, passwords . . . .
Restore Bookmark Backups
Firefox automatically makes backups of the bookmarks. These are stored in the bookmarkbackups folder.
Open the Bookmarks Manager; Press the Alt or F10 key to bring up the toolbar, and select Bookmarks. Hot key is <Control> (Mac=<Command>) <Shift> B. Firefox 84+ <Control> (Mac=<Command>) <Shift> O.
Once the window is open, at the top of the page, press the button labeled Import and Backup. Select Restore. From the list, pick the file you want and click it.
The backups are stored in a jsonlz4 file named something like this; bookmarks-2016-06-29_1424_enD1GTH ya0JmicnYWg4V4g==.jsonlz4
In this example; 2016-06-29 = date created, 1424 = number of entries.
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/restore-bookmarks-from-backup-or-move-them
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/recover-lost-or-missing-bookmarks
https://support.mozilla.org/kb/forum-response-recover-bookmarks-after-update
briandn07 said
2. Is it possible to retrieve them to replace (and/or add them to) the new profiled bookmarks created with the updated Waterfox app.?
That depends on several things. If the new file is empty, all you have to do is Copy a backup into the profile folder, replacing the new file.
If there is data in the new profile you want to save, First: save that data using these instructions below. Next, after replacing the bookmark file with the backup, merge the saved file.
Open the Bookmarks Manager; Press the Alt or F10 key
to bring up the toolbar, and select Bookmarks.
Hot key is <Control> (Mac=<Command>) <Shift> B.
Firefox 84+ <Control> (Mac=<Command>) <Shift> O.
Once the window is open, at the top of the page, press the button labeled Import and Backup. Select Export Bookmarks To HTML, and follow the prompts and save it to a HTML file. Copy the file to another computer/profile. Repeat the instructions above, BUT select Import Bookmarks From HTML.
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/restore-bookmarks-from-backup-or-move-them
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/recover-lost-or-missing-bookmarks
Mozilla search: Import {web link}
Thank you Fred for your effort in trying to help, but I think that my question should have been: How can I retrieve my lost bookmarks from a former Waterfox account that THEY may have stored somewhere? . . . because there doesn't seem to be any backup profile folders on my computer (see screen grab pictures).
The about:profiles page only shows folders that are registered in profiles.ini.
Did you look in the Waterfox\Profiles folder to see whether unregistered profiles are present ?
briandn07 said
How can I retrieve my lost bookmarks from a former Waterfox account that THEY may have stored somewhere?
Neither Mozilla nor Waterfox store any of your profile data except for the sync service.
If neither Mozilla nor Waterfox stored my bookmarks in a profile somewhere, then all must have lost when I installed the new OS (as was recommended by a "genius" from Apple support) because there's nothing to be found in any Library list that was either created or modified prior to the date of the new installation, July 30 . . . even in the cache. All functions & files of the Waterfox App (including the default profile) indicate their recent creation and/or use.
Thanks for the effort guys!
If you use the Time Machine or other backup then try to restore file(s) from this backup.
Cor-el,
A page couldn't be found for the apple support timemachine address link that you suggested.
I was able to find the Time Machine app on my iMac, but since I never saw or used it before today, there were no back-ups previously created by it. Now, after having discovered and used it, I have my whole system on a flash drive to search should lightening ever strike again. My problem wasn't solved, but knowledge was gained from the experience.