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Bookmarks lost

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My bookmarks have disappeared. I have tried to restore and also import from another browser but nothing works to recover my bookmarks. Any suggestions?

My bookmarks have disappeared. I have tried to restore and also import from another browser but nothing works to recover my bookmarks. Any suggestions?

Chosen solution

Hi tlfoley, I haven't used a file unlock utility for several years, so I don't know what works on Windows 10.

Could you check whether removing temporary database files helps:

Open your current Firefox settings (AKA Firefox profile) folder using either

  • "3-bar" menu button > "?" Help > Troubleshooting Information
  • (menu bar) Help > Troubleshooting Information
  • type or paste about:support in the address bar and press Enter

In the first table on the page, on the Profile Folder row, click the "Open Folder" button. This should launch a new window listing various files and folders in File Explorer.

Leaving that window open, switch back to Firefox and Exit, either:

  • "3-bar" menu button > Exit
  • (menu bar) File > Exit

Pause while Firefox finishes its cleanup, then if these files have not been removed after 15-30 seconds, try renaming the following files, or moving them out of this folder, or deleting them:

  • favicons.sqlite-shm
  • favicons.sqlite-wal
  • places.sqlite-shm
  • places.sqlite-wal

Start Firefox back up again. Any improvement with adding new bookmarks or restoring a bookmark backup?

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All Replies (7)

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Have you seen this article?

Recover lost or missing Bookmarks

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The article - Recover lost or missing Bookmarks did not help. I tried everything it mentioned and nothing worked.

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Hi tlfoley, to see whether this is a case of file corruption, could you let us know what you get when you run the "Verify Integrity" function. That's here:

Open Firefox's Troubleshooting Information page using any of these methods:

  • "3-bar" menu button > "?" Help > Troubleshooting Information
  • (menu bar) Help > Troubleshooting Information
  • type or paste about:support in the address bar and press Enter

Near the bottom, there is a section titled Places Database -- that's the file which stores history and bookmarks. Click the button labeled Verify Integrity. There may be a 10-15 second delay before results appear.

If all is well, the report that appears below the button should start with:

> Task: checkIntegrity
+ The places.sqlite database is sane
+ The favicons.sqlite database is sane

Does yours say that, or something else? You can select and copy the report, and then paste it into a reply for review and comment.

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Places Database Integrity

> Task: checkIntegrity + The places.sqlite database is sane + The favicons.sqlite database is sane > Task: invalidateCaches - Unable to invalidate caches > Task: checkCoherence - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task. > Task: expire - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task. > Task: originFrecencyStats - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task. > Task: vacuum - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task. > Task: stats - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task. > Task: _refreshUI - The task queue was cleared by an error in another task.

Accessibility Activated true

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Hmm, maybe the file is locked somehow. Have you already tried doing a normal shutdown and restart of Windows to release all file locks?

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I've tried restarting several times. Is there a way to do a file unlock?

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Chosen Solution

Hi tlfoley, I haven't used a file unlock utility for several years, so I don't know what works on Windows 10.

Could you check whether removing temporary database files helps:

Open your current Firefox settings (AKA Firefox profile) folder using either

  • "3-bar" menu button > "?" Help > Troubleshooting Information
  • (menu bar) Help > Troubleshooting Information
  • type or paste about:support in the address bar and press Enter

In the first table on the page, on the Profile Folder row, click the "Open Folder" button. This should launch a new window listing various files and folders in File Explorer.

Leaving that window open, switch back to Firefox and Exit, either:

  • "3-bar" menu button > Exit
  • (menu bar) File > Exit

Pause while Firefox finishes its cleanup, then if these files have not been removed after 15-30 seconds, try renaming the following files, or moving them out of this folder, or deleting them:

  • favicons.sqlite-shm
  • favicons.sqlite-wal
  • places.sqlite-shm
  • places.sqlite-wal

Start Firefox back up again. Any improvement with adding new bookmarks or restoring a bookmark backup?