You can check for problems with the places.sqlite database (bookmarks and history) in the Firefox profile folder.

• https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/places-maintenance/

See also:

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Bookmarks_history_and_toolbar_buttons_not_working_-_Firefox
• https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/Bookmarks+not+saved#w_fix-the-bookmarks-file

If the Places Maintenance extension can't repair the places.sqlite database then remove all places.sqlite file(s) in the Firefox profile folder to make Firefox rebuild the places.sqlite database from the most recent JSON backup in the bookmarkbackups folder.

• keep a backup copy of places.sqlite in case a new places.sqlite database has to be created
• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Unable_to_process_the_backup_file_-_Firefox

You can use the button on the "Help -> Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page to go to the current Firefox profile folder or use the about:profiles page.

• Help -> Troubleshooting Information -> Profile Directory:
  Windows: Show Folder; Linux: Open Directory; Mac: Show in Finder
• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox

One thing you may notice is:

• History is completely empty in the Library dialog (Ctrl+Shift+h) BUT

• When you type the beginning of a site's name (e.g., fa for facebook) in the address bar, Firefox shows https://facebook.com/ as an in-URL-bar autofill match

The reason for this is that in-URL-bar autofill uses a separate database table for storage than the history of full URLs. It simply stores that site host name. In fact, the table is called moz_hosts and as far as I know, a host name is never cleared from that table unless you use a somewhat extreme feature called "Forget About This Site" to purge everything Firefox has saved about a site (history, bookmarks, cookies, site preferences, etc.). Without a recent visit in the Library dialog, that's not very practical.

There is an extension named SQLite Manager you can use to directly manipulate the places.sqlite database. However, another option is this two-step program:

(1) Make a safety export of your bookmarks (see: Export Firefox bookmarks to an HTML file to back up or transfer bookmarks)

(2) Follow cor-el's option to remove the places.sqlite file from Firefox's view (move, rename, or delete -- while Firefox is completely closed, of course) and Firefox should rebuild it at startup with just bookmarks

I can't prove this is still a problem. There definitely seems to be a lag between the time you delete something from history -- which removes it from the moz_historyvisits or moz_bookmarks table -- to the time it is cleared from other tables. But setting aside delays of a couple minutes, I get no matches for hostnames in moz_hosts that do not have a url in moz_places:

SELECT host 
FROM moz_hosts LEFT OUTER JOIN
	(SELECT CASE 
	  WHEN instr(placeshost, 'www.') == 1
	  THEN substr(placeshost, 5)
	  ELSE placeshost
	  END AS basehost
	FROM (SELECT CASE 
	  WHEN instr(url, '//') > 0 
	  THEN
		CASE WHEN instr(substr(url, instr(url, '//')+2), '/') > 0
		  THEN 
			CASE WHEN instr(substr(substr(url, instr(url, '//')+2), 0, instr(substr(url, instr(url, '//')+2), '/')), ':') > 0
			  THEN substr(substr(substr(url, instr(url, '//')+2), 0, instr(substr(url, instr(url, '//')+2), '/')), 0, instr(substr(substr(url, instr(url, '//')+2), 0, instr(substr(url, instr(url, '//')+2), '/')), ':'))
			  ELSE substr(substr(url, instr(url, '//')+2), 0, instr(substr(url, instr(url, '//')+2), '/'))
			END
		  ELSE substr(url, instr(url, '//')+2)
		END
	  ELSE 
		CASE WHEN instr(url, '?') > 0
		  THEN substr(url, 0, instr(url, '?'))
		  ELSE url 
		END 
	  END
	AS placeshost, url
	FROM moz_places
	WHERE url NOT LIKE 'file:%' And url NOT LIKE 'jar:file:%' And url NOT LIKE 'javascript:%' And url NOT LIKE 'mailto:%' And url NOT LIKE 'place:%' 
	) AS placeshosts
	GROUP BY basehost) AS matches 
  ON moz_hosts.host = matches.basehost
WHERE matches.basehost IS NULL
ORDER BY host

I did try the places maintenance extension. It said my database was sane or something to that effect. It completed all the tasks but it is still there.

But while looking under places.sqlite I found these 3 entries places.sqlite places.sqlite-shm places-sglite.wal

I am going to try more of what is suggested but I wondered if this could be part of it. I am also not seeing a corrupt places.sqlite file.

figureguy said

But while looking under places.sqlite I found these 3 entries
places.sqlite
places.sqlite-shm
places-sglite.wal

While Firefox is running, the database engine creates journaling files and defers some database writes, so it's normal to see those companion files.

Make sure that Firefox is closed when you make modifications to files in the profile folder. The places.sqlite-shm and places-sglite.wal files are SQLite temp files and should be (re)moved as well.

Ok, it seems to have worked. The sites are not showing up in searches. However I do have the HTML bookmarks file now saved to my desktop. Is it okay to delete, or do I have to IMPORT my bookmarks back into FF? My bookmarks tab is showing my normal bookmarks but is that connected to the HTML file? Thank you to everyone for your help tonight. I appreciate your time and effort.

You don't need the HTML file, that was just for safety in case the restoration from Firefox's regular automatic backups were to have failed. But you may want to keep it somewhere "just in case" you find a use for it in the future. (For example, if you wanted to import your Firefox bookmarks into a different browser, this is the common format they all understand.)

Actually it seems I am incorrect. The sites that popped up the most frequently in searches DID disappear but other ones are there. For instance, there was a site I used to find a replacement part for my appliance over two months ago. I haven't used it since and didn't book mark it. When I went to put in a site name beginning with that letter the site came up. It is almost like it is recognizing the sites based on the history that is no longer there. Now I am stumped.

I think a bookmark would be the only other logical source. You can use the search box in the upper right corner of the Library dialog to check for an unexpected match to the same text you are typing in the address bar. Either:

• Ctrl+Shift+b
• "Show All Bookmarks"

Bookmarks shown as a suggestion in the location bar drop-down list have a star at the at the right end to distinguish them from a history item..

Ok, here is a wrinkle related to bookmarks. I have a page on a parts replacement site for my elliptical. I have the page on the site bookmarked, but when I begin to type the letter the main page of the site shows up in my history.

http://www.ereplacementparts.com/vision-fitness-x6000-ep3220022003-elliptical-traditional-parts-c-200814_200918_200932.html is what I have bookmarked.

the main www.ereplacementparts.com site shows in my history.

Even after cleaning the history it shows up in the results. Does bookmarking a page of a site make the default site show up in history results?

When you say it shows up in history, where do you see it? For example, does it show up when you use the search box in the upper right corner of the Library dialog? Either:

• Ctrl+Shift+h
• History menu > Show All History

Bookmarking a page on a site will allow the site's top level address to appear in "in URL bar autofill" as you type, even if it doesn't appear on the drop-down as a history entry.

It shows up in the "url bar autofill." I actually didn't know that bookmarking a page on a site caused it to show the top level page. That is helpful. I thought I was still having the issue that I was before of the autofill showing sites I hadn't visited in some time that weren't bookmarked.