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The bookmarks under Win XP Firefox did not transfer to Win 7 FireFox with Easy Transfer
I followed the MS instructions for migrating my PC to Win 7 from WIN XP. I used Easy Transfer to save my settings to an external HD. After installing Win 7 as a custom install I used Easy Transfer per the instructions to transfer user accounts and settings back to my PC. I then began to reinstall my programs. When I reinstalled FireFox 28 the bookmarks were not complete. Many folders were in the bookmark list but the all of the urls that I saved in these folders were not there. I went to the external HD that I used for Easy Transfer but there is only one program listed that when I click on wants to do Easy Transfer again. I don't think I want to do that. How can I restore my bookmarks?
Gekozen oplossing
You may have found it by now but, if not, you should find it under:
C:\Windows.old\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles
If this folder is not visible, please see my earlier link to Microsoft's support article for showing hidden files and folders.
I recommend leaving all the contents of that folder there and making copies of what you need (don't move the files); this will allow you to make future recoveries if needed. This article lists the most interesting files: Recovering important data from an old profile.
To restore an old backup of your bookmarks, it is easiest to copy the latest file from the old bookmarkbackups subfolder to a convenient location such as Documents or Desktop. Then use the "Choose File" option when selecting the backup to restore. Restore bookmarks from backup or move them to another computer
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I haven't used Easy Transfer myself. I'll need you to do a little manual exploration on your new setup.
First, check whether you have extra profile folders. If the data was copied over before you installed Firefox, it should have found and loaded your earlier settings, but in case it missed them, let's see whether they are there.
From within Firefox, open your current Firefox settings (AKA Firefox profile) folder using
Help > Troubleshooting Information > (in the first table) "Show Folder" button
Windows Explorer should open and display the files. In the address bar, click the word Profiles to move up to the Profiles folder. Can you see multiple folders there?
If so, your bookmarks might be in one of the other folders. More on how to check if you do find one.
If not, could your old settings have been copied in under a different user name? I'm not sure how Easy Transfer handles this. If you click Users in the address bar, Windows Explorer should display your user folder and any other user folders on the PC. If any of those match your old user name, your data could be in there.
To explore user folders, you generally need to turn off Windows' default feature of hiding certain folders from you. This article has the steps: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/wi.../show-hidden-files.
For each candidate user folder, drill down to AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles and check for possible transferred user data. Anything?
You might also want to back up whatever appears in your current profile folder in a subfolder named bookmarkbackups. Here you should find several files with dates embedded in the names. I suggest making a copy of all of these in a safe location such as your Documents folder, because Firefox deletes the older ones over time and you don't want to lose those if you need them.
To restore bookmark backups that might have more data, you can use the Library dialog. Please note that the restore feature completely replaces your current set of bookmarks with the contents of the backup. It sounds as though that is okay in this case.
You can transfer files from a previously used profile to the new profile.
- https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Recovering+important+data+from+an+old+profile
- http://kb.mozillazine.org/Transferring_data_to_a_new_profile_-_Firefox
For the bookmarks (and history) you need the places.sqlite file.
On Widows XP the profile folder can be found here:
- C:\Documents and Settings\<user>\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<profile>\
You can use this button to go to the currently used Firefox profile folder:
- Help > Troubleshooting Information > Profile Director: Show Folder (Linux: Open Director; Mac: Show in Finder)
Note that the "AppData" folder in Windows Vista and later Window 7+ versions and the "Application Data" folder in XP/Win2K are hidden folders.
I found one profile in the profiles folder. I think the old profile got transferred into the Easy Transfer file that was written to the external HD. My problem is that I don't know how to get into that large 8 gig file which also includes the easy transfer program and somehow locate my V28 FoxFire profile when I was running Win XP last week. I thought that I could go to that saved file and selectively look for setup or profiles and restore them but don't know how. The profile that I am using with Win 7 FireFox V28 is the one created when I reinstalled FireFox after installing Win 7.
At any point, did Easy Transfer give you any options about how or where to restore files? I'm just concerned that using that again without having such a screen could overwrite any files you've already updated.
That is my concern also. I thought that I could look at the directory on the external HD and find folders and files that I couldrestore back to the PC. Now that would be too easy. So MS will leave you guessing as to where this stuff is. I put a post on the microsoft support site asking if anyone had tried to use the Easy Transfewr file. MS infers that it is usable because they mention to keep the file handy in case you need it and you could delete it after you run w/o problems for a week or so. Ms also mentions a Windows.old folder where XP settings may be found but I can't find a Windows.old folder on my PC's C: drive. Thank for trying to help me. I appreciate it.
When you reinstall Windows 7 over itself without formatting, you have the option to save your old data and it ends up in C:\Windows.old\. I don't know whether that applies to upgrades from XP; I've never seen one in person.
I found the file you referenced. It was on the C:\ drive. I will try to find the FireFox profile in that file that was used with FireFox V28 under Win XP.. Thanks.
How do I find the Old FF profiles that were used with Win XP?
Gekozen oplossing
You may have found it by now but, if not, you should find it under:
C:\Windows.old\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles
If this folder is not visible, please see my earlier link to Microsoft's support article for showing hidden files and folders.
I recommend leaving all the contents of that folder there and making copies of what you need (don't move the files); this will allow you to make future recoveries if needed. This article lists the most interesting files: Recovering important data from an old profile.
To restore an old backup of your bookmarks, it is easiest to copy the latest file from the old bookmarkbackups subfolder to a convenient location such as Documents or Desktop. Then use the "Choose File" option when selecting the backup to restore. Restore bookmarks from backup or move them to another computer
The folder was hidden and by following your excellent instructions I was able to find and restore my bookmarks to the one I was using with Win XP. I am now currant. Thank you.