Update 61.0.1 "BROKE" my Master Password, so HOW do I get FF to work again?
Hello & thank God for Mozilla!
~45 days ago I easily installed FF 60.0.2 as my browser for my Win7 32bit laptop. That was my first use of FF in Win7, since I prefer Win-XP.
FF worked FINE in Win7 from day one UNTIL yesterday when I saw that I had not set up a Master Password yet.
I was about to add a 'MPW' when FF said "Update 61.0.1 available!" So I clicked on "YES" and it started downloading.
Then my doorbell rang and I left for some time. I came back to see the same 'Privacy & Security' options displayed with the 'MPW' field still empty.
So I typed out my 'MPW' using 'Notepad' to SEE it and temporarily SAVED it before copy+pasting it to FF. ALL went well in my opinion.
Then I closed down the "Options" tab, and clicked 'X' to shut down FF so I could re-start it to VERIFY that the 'MPW' worked correctly.
As FF was closing, up popped a window saying, "Installing FF Update." So I realized the update had not finished while I was away.
The update finished and FF rebooted FINE. So then I tested to see the 'MPW' worked okay.
The 'MPW' does NOT work.
FF demands I enter the 'MPW' when I try logging into any website with a saved ID+PWord.
Worse yet, when I type or copy-paste the CORRECT 'MPW' it says "INCORRECT."
I DO KNOW the 'MPW' is correct because I still have it SAVED in a Notepad file.
FF will also NOT let me manually enter the correct password+UserID for any website by manually, repeatedly closing FF's demand for the 'MPW'.
When I manually enter the correct ID+PW, then hit ENTER, FF deletes my entries and re-displays "INCORRECT-- Enter MPW"
Rebooting does nothing. Maybe Restoring a SAVED Back-UP will work, but I JUST want to RESTORE FF --NOT ALL of Win7!
ALL my other programs still work fine. FF works fine except when I try to log into a secure website.
The Update History says, "The Update could not be installed (patch apply failed)" I never saw a warning when I did the June 19 install or the Aug 2 Update.
THANK you for any helpful advice!
All Replies (3)
Is it possible the Master Password is just an empty string (blank)? I don't suppose submitting a blank master password works?
Assuming not:
Please read this entire reply to get an overview of what I'm suggesting. before deleting or changing anything.
Could you copy out a couple files for possible recovery? Here how:
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 Windows Explorer.
Find the logins.json file, then:
- right-click > Copy it, then right-click > Paste -- Windows should create a file with a name similar to logins - Copy.json
- right-click > Properties, then click the Previous Versions tab -- Windows should query restore points for older copies of logins.json, and you can use Copy... to back up the previous one to a safe location such as your Documents folder or Desktop
Find the key4.db file, then repeat the above steps.
If you have a key3.db file, most likely it's not necessary, but just in case, repeat the above steps.
So far, we haven't deleted anything!
Now, if you extracted the old files and they are recent enough to try rolling back to, you can try removing the master password, which usually will clear all the saved logins. We will try to restore the various files you found after that.
Reset your Primary Password if you've forgotten it
If your logins were erased, let's try the backup files from your Documents/Desktop.
Exit Firefox, either:
- "3-bar" menu button > Exit
- (menu bar) File > Exit
Pause while Firefox finishes its cleanup, then replace the logins.json file, the key4.db file and the key3.db file in your live profile folder with the older ones you recovered from the previous restore point.
Start Firefox back up again and I would expect that you are at the "pre Master Password" point again.
Any luck?
If you make frequent backups, your logins.json / key4.db / key3.db might be more recent than the last restore point (which may be from the last Windows "Patch Tuesday" release).
THANK YOU SO MUCH, jscher2000, for your instant, excellent suggestions! Wow! I will now carefully test each of your ideas to see if one works!
I WILL reply as soon as there is any "real NEWS" about my FF issue.
You have given me real hope... thank you again.
Stief