Update removed my settings and addons because of "Old" profile
Hello! Since the most recent firefox update, my settings and extensions have been inaccessible to me due to my firefox account profile being "old." It has been working perfectly until this update. If I try to change my profile to my old one, it forces me to create a new one which does not include my saved addons and settings. I am able to usually manually move my bookmarks to the new profile via the files stored locally. I really need access to the settings and extensions, so it would be great if someone can help me to recover them. I tried to troubleshoot by finding my extensions local folder from my old profile, and I copied it to a new profile, but it didn't work. I am also wondering, if I do copy the extensions successfully, how can I also copy the settings preferences? Any solution is appreciated, thank you!
I tried this: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/recover-user-data-missing-after-firefox-update And I tried this https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-where-firefox-stores-user-data#w_what-information-is-stored-in-my-profile
Isisombululo esikhethiwe
reimoon said
caspy7 said
Firefox should "upgrade" profiles as it receives updates over time. Had you stayed on one particular version of Firefox for a very long time?Hi! No, I always updated when it told me there was an update, which was fairly frequently. I think there was an update about once a month. I'm really unsure how it happened, when I try to get onto my old profile it says that it isn't compatible anymore with the new version and that I must create a new profile.
Though it's unclear if this is the case, something may have gone wonky and Firefox *thinks* you're "downgrading." Try opening Firefox with the command line using the --allow-downgrade parameter as mentioned here.
Funda le mpendulo ngokuhambisana nalesi sihloko 👍 1All Replies (8)
Hi Reimoon,
I'm not too familiar with Firefox profile troubleshooting. But I called for more help.
Firefox should "upgrade" profiles as it receives updates over time. Had you stayed on one particular version of Firefox for a very long time?
caspy7 said
Firefox should "upgrade" profiles as it receives updates over time. Had you stayed on one particular version of Firefox for a very long time?
Hi! No, I always updated when it told me there was an update, which was fairly frequently. I think there was an update about once a month. I'm really unsure how it happened, when I try to get onto my old profile it says that it isn't compatible anymore with the new version and that I must create a new profile.
Kiki said
Hi Reimoon, I'm not too familiar with Firefox profile troubleshooting. But I called for more help.
Thank you!
Isisombululo Esikhethiwe
reimoon said
caspy7 said
Firefox should "upgrade" profiles as it receives updates over time. Had you stayed on one particular version of Firefox for a very long time?Hi! No, I always updated when it told me there was an update, which was fairly frequently. I think there was an update about once a month. I'm really unsure how it happened, when I try to get onto my old profile it says that it isn't compatible anymore with the new version and that I must create a new profile.
Though it's unclear if this is the case, something may have gone wonky and Firefox *thinks* you're "downgrading." Try opening Firefox with the command line using the --allow-downgrade parameter as mentioned here.
Upgrading a profile to a newer should should normally not cause such an error/warning, only downgrading a profile to an older version will make Firefox ask to create a new profile.
What Firefox version last used this old profile if you check the compatibility.ini file in its profile folder ?
What Firefox version and update channel is displayed in "Help -> About Firefox" ?
You can use the button on the "Help -> More Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page to go to the current Firefox profile folder or use the about:profiles page (Root directory).
- Help -> More Troubleshooting Information -> Profile Folder/Directory:
Windows: Open Folder; Linux: Open Directory; Mac: Show in Finder - https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-where-firefox-stores-user-data
cor-el said
Upgrading a profile to a newer should should normally not cause such an error/warning, only downgrading a profile to an older version will make Firefox ask to create a new profile. What Firefox version last used this old profile if you check the compatibility.ini file in its profile folder ? What Firefox version and update channel is displayed in "Help -> About Firefox" ? You can use the button on the "Help -> More Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page to go to the current Firefox profile folder or use the about:profiles page (Root directory).
- Help -> More Troubleshooting Information -> Profile Folder/Directory:
Windows: Open Folder; Linux: Open Directory; Mac: Show in Finder- https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-where-firefox-stores-user-data
Hello! Thanks for the reply. I will try the troubleshooting soon, and under Help - About Firefox it says that my Firefox is up to date, 99.0.1 64 bit.
caspy7 said
reimoon said
caspy7 said
Firefox should "upgrade" profiles as it receives updates over time. Had you stayed on one particular version of Firefox for a very long time?Hi! No, I always updated when it told me there was an update, which was fairly frequently. I think there was an update about once a month. I'm really unsure how it happened, when I try to get onto my old profile it says that it isn't compatible anymore with the new version and that I must create a new profile.
Though it's unclear if this is the case, something may have gone wonky and Firefox *thinks* you're "downgrading." Try opening Firefox with the command line using the --allow-downgrade parameter as mentioned here.
I was able to open my old profile by launching Firefox through the command line, which is mentioned in the article you linked. I didn't have to set the allow downgrade parameter to do it, I'm really unsure how it worked. Thank you a lot for helping! All of my settings and extension data is back!