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I've lost all my bookmarks and can't restore them, and can't add new bookmarks.

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  • Last reply by H_Duffy

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My entire list of bookmarks has gone; when I hit the history/bookmarks/more icon and choose Bookmarks, then Show all bookmarks (or if I use the star icon to the left of the address bar), I get a completely empty library. If I got to Import and Backup and then Restore, it offers me a list of dates (all with 90 items), but whichever one I pick, it then says "Unable to process backup file". I'm also unable to bookmark any sites, whether by hitting the star icon or using the bookmarks menu.

My entire list of bookmarks has gone; when I hit the history/bookmarks/more icon and choose Bookmarks, then Show all bookmarks (or if I use the star icon to the left of the address bar), I get a completely empty library. If I got to Import and Backup and then Restore, it offers me a list of dates (all with 90 items), but whichever one I pick, it then says "Unable to process backup file". I'm also unable to bookmark any sites, whether by hitting the star icon or using the bookmarks menu.

Chosen solution

If you use Sync then best is to disconnect Sync temporarily during troubleshooting.

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

  • use "Verify Integrity" on the "Help -> Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page

See also:

If "Verify Integrity" on the "Help -> Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page cannot repair places.sqlite then remove all places.sqlite files in the Firefox profile folder. Firefox will rebuild places.sqlite and restore the bookmarks from a recent JSON backup in the bookmarkbackups folder.

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.

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Chosen Solution

If you use Sync then best is to disconnect Sync temporarily during troubleshooting.

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

  • use "Verify Integrity" on the "Help -> Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page

See also:

If "Verify Integrity" on the "Help -> Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page cannot repair places.sqlite then remove all places.sqlite files in the Firefox profile folder. Firefox will rebuild places.sqlite and restore the bookmarks from a recent JSON backup in the bookmarkbackups folder.

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.

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Thank you!

I went to Help, Troubleshooting information, and from there, clicked through to my profile folder; saved the three places files to a separate folder just in case, and deleted the originals. Closed down firefox and restarted it, and my bookmarks are back and functioning as normal!