Hi Firedak, it was originally called Reset; I don't remember why it changed.

Refresh copies your entire old profile folder to your desktop inside a new folder named Old Firefox Data. If you have that folder, you may be able to recover some lost settings, but the steps are bit involved, so it would be helpful if you mention what you want to recover.

I have the old-data folder and copied everything to the new profile but yet my bookmarks in the speeddial2 addon could not be recovered so I lost them all. Even if I had saved them, I didn't ask for this trouble!! It makes no sense at all this damn "refresh" out of the blue!

Hi Firedak, I'm not sure what caused your Firefox to Refresh, and support forum volunteers are not the developers, so I can't change the name.

Add-on data is saved in extension-specific folders here:

[profile folder]/storage/default/moz-extension+++blahblahblah...

Most likely the current extension's unique local ID -- which is used to name that folder -- differs from the old one. This presents a somewhat difficult research project.

If you wanted to restore the old profile folder, there is another way. You know where the currently live profile is, in the Profiles folder. Copy/paste the entire old profile folder there too, so the two folders (not their contents) are both in the Profiles folder.

Make a note of the intelligible part of the profile name (e.g., default, or default-release or whatever).

Next, in Firefox, open the Profile Manager page by typing or pasting about:profiles in the address bar and pressing Return to load it.

Click the "Create a New Profile" button, then click Next. Assign the name of the profile you want to resurrect. Then click "Choose folder..." and a file browser should open listing the contents of the Profiles folder. Highlight the old folder and select Select. Then click the Finish button.

After creating the "new" profile, it becomes the default. To test it, you can scroll down to it and click the Launch profile in new browser button.

Does that have your missing extension data?

IMPORTANT: If you don't want the resurrected profile to be your default, return to the about:profiles page and click the Set as Default Profile button for your other profile.

Hi thanx, but no. It didn't restore my bookmarks. I had already found this solution on google.

I have the old-data folder and copied everything to the new profile but yet my bookmarks in the speeddial2 addon could not be recovered so I lost them all. Even if I had saved them, I didn't ask for this trouble!! It makes no sense at all this damn "refresh" out of the blue!

Saved user data with most add-ons usually involves unique file names added to Firefox, that Firefox doesn't specifically recognize or use with the Old Firefox Data folder and Refresh / Reset feature. It is incumbent when developers create an Add-on for Firefox that they take responsible for their own data storage and how it works within the base Firefox installation.

Some do handle that efficiently, while others seem to have no concerns of their users. And some provide "hidden options" in about:config to control their add-on, but don't document those features too well, or at all with a few that I have used over the years.

IMO, the biggest problem overall, has been with users who don't learn how their Add-on works as far as the data that is saved and where / how it is saved; and then went this Reset / Refresh feature is used, they are caught off-guard and "unaware of their surroundings".

Sorry, can't help you with the speeddial2 addon; never used it myself, I used a similar add-on until Quantum Firefox 57 came out.

Hi thanx, but no. It didn't restore my bookmarks. I had already found this solution on google.

Just to be clear: you used the "Create new profile" method I listed with an exact copy of the old folder to revert the Refresh to exactly the old profile folder name, and it restored everything perfectly except your data for your Speed dial extension? In that case, I guess this method doesn't work for extension data.

@jscher2000: YES.

@the-edmeister: Sure it's the users' fault. It's their job to know how all their add-ons work. It's like there is an explosion button in a car with the label "start" on it and it's the driver's fault they didn't learn beforehand how to assemble the pieces again.