Recovering important information from old profile in Firefox
In case you are facing any problem with Firefox then an easy way to resolve it is to create a new Firebox profile and then copy your important data from the old profile to it. A Firefox profile contains all important data like your history, bookmarks and passwords. It is best way to retain your personal data. You will be required to reinstall all your extensions.
Keep a backup of your current profile: Before you start creating a new profile, it is advised to keep a backup of your current Firefox profile. When you have created a new Firefox profile, you should not forget to copy all your important data to it.
Copying files between the profile folders: You must close Firefox whenever you are copying files between two profiles folder. Perform the following steps to copy the files:
1] From the menu, that is at the top of Firefox window, you should select File option and then choose Quit menu item.
2] Find the location of your profile folder.
3] The file that you want to copy, just right click and then choose “Copy” option
.4] Now locate your new profile folder.
5] Right click on that area and then choose the paste option.
When you are copying all your personal information to a new profile, you should not copy the files that are causing the problem. That it is why, it is recommended that the amount of copied files must be kept minimal. If you have copied a large number of profiles, then you will likely face the problem that you had with your old profile. The other way is to copy few files and immediately check whether the problem has returned.
Your important data is as follows:
Bookmarks:bookmarks.html: This file has all your bookmarks.
Passwords: Your passwords are always contained in 2 different files key3.db: This file stores key database for all your passwords. For transferring saved passwords, you need to copy the file signons2.txt. This file contains saved passwords that are in Firefox 2.0.0.2. In Firefox 2.0.0.1, this file is often referred as signons.txt.
Site specific preferences: hostperm.1: This file contains a number of Firefox permissions for different sites. For instance, it stores websites that are allowed tor display popups, blocked from setting the cookies. Firefox also does not allow some websites to set cookies.
Search engines: In case, you have installed an extra search engine then you will find it in ‘searchplugins’ folder.
Personal dictionary: If you have added any custom words to Firefox's dictionary then they are stored in the file “persdict.dat”. Of course, if you have never added any custom word to Firefox dictionary then you won't be able to see this file
Autocomplete history: There is a file called formhistory.dat that keeps a track of all that you have searched in Firefox search bar and the information that you have entered on websites.
Cookies: Cookies are websites that are used for a number of reasons including keeping you logged into the website, remembering any preference any site has allowed.
Browsing history: History.dat is a very important file. It stores all websites that you have visited previously.
Security certificate settings: The file cert8.db stores all security certificate settings and SSL certificates that have been imported into Firefox
Download actions: The mimeTypes.rdf file stores all your preferences as well as your bookmarks.html
User styles:UserChrome.css and userContent.css, these are the 2 files that contain user defined changes to how certain html elements or websites look or how Firefox looks. Most people will be having these files. These files will be in chrome folder.
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