Profile Problem

[Jim222]

Hi. I messed up my entire firefox setup really bad.

I went to back up my firefox profile folder from the Mozilla folder in run/%appdata%, i dragged the profile folder to a backup folder on a thumb drive. Then when i restarted firefox it automatically updated from 56 to 57 and all my profiles were gone. When I opened up the Mozila folder again, I saw that the profile folder was gone. I then copied the profile folder back from the thumb drive to the Mozilla folder, but my profiles still aren't there when i open the browser. I opened the profile manger and it shows one default profile instead of my three that i've had setup for years.

I'm desperate to restore the browser back to 56 with my profiles and settings the way they were, so I would really appreciate any help that I can get. Thanks.

[Gingerbread Man]

Hello,

1. Launch File Explorer. In the address bar, enter the following and press Enter:

   Code: Select all

   %AppData%\Mozilla\Firefox\

2. Double-click the profiles.ini file to open it in Notepad.
3. Assuming you backed up the correct folders (i.e. the ones under %AppData%, not %LocalAppData%) and placed them back where they were, you need only create additional sections for them, like so:

   Code: Select all

   [Profile1]
   Name=banking
   IsRelative=1
   Path=Profiles/a4kcput3.banking
   
   [Profile2]
   Name=testing
   IsRelative=1
   Path=Profiles/kozxy8dj.testing

4. [Profile0] is usually the one with Default=1, meaning it's what launches when you normally start Firefox. To start in another profile, launch the profile manager or use the command line.

[Jim222]

Thank you very much. That worked perfectly.

My problem now is that I'm stuck on version 57. Is there any way to go back to 56 to wait a little while to see when/if some of my legacy ext. will be updated, as I was doing until I ran into the profile problem?

I would switch to firefox ESR, but i'm not sure how to, and I don't know how to switch back to the regular version when ESR for legacy ext. runs out next summer.

[allande]

If you have a profile backup you are willing to use that has not been used with Firefox 55 or higher, and you are comfortable copying profiles around, installing ESR is pretty easy.
Information and links to the installer for Firefox ESR are here https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/ Get the 64-bit version unless you need plugins other than Flash.
Install Firefox ESR. Then close Firefox. Backup what is currently in the profiles directory in case you change your mind or have trouble. Then copy your profile backup from version <55 to the profiles directory. When you run Firefox it should use that profile and all should be fine. If you have had multiple profiles with different names you may need to use the profile manager instead.

When you want to switch back to normal Firefox all you have to do is go to getfirefox.com download the installer and run it. Also, make profile backups before you do so. The ESR version will not automatically stop working, either - ESR will upgrade to new versions of ESR, the issues are only that when Firefox 52 ESR upgrades to Firefox 59 ESR legacy extensions will stop. And it will always lag behind normal Firefox features.

You may be saying - but I don't have a backup that was used with Firefox <55 only, I've been updating and it was used with 55 and 56, or I added too many bookmarks in that time that I don't want to lose. There was a tutorial on this forum about how to make a new profile for Firefox ESR and copy things into it that are safe or relatively safe. I'll let someone post the link to that.

You can install Firefox 56 if you like, although it is not secure. The problem you will have is in keeping the updates disabled. There are threads on this forum with various ways to try that - one hint, get the full not stub installer (bigger than 2mb) and disable the internet while installing a version so that you don't get an instant update before you can change settings and only then turn the internet back on. You will also have to tell programs like Avira that update all software not to update.

[Jim222]

My profiles have all been used with 55 through now 57, so I guess I'll just stay using 57. I'm sure (hopefully ) I'll eventually get it to where i like it.

I really appreciate you and G-Man taking the time to help me out. thanks a bunch guys.

[Gingerbread Man]

You're welcome. If you haven't already, you should check the Google Docs spreadsheet for the status of your add-ons. If you can't find alternatives there, you should ask, in case someone knows some. It's better than waiting around with disabled add-ons.

[Jim222]

I haven't seen that spreadsheet before. Thanks.

I did find several of my disabled addons on it, which definitely answered some questions on some. I see one or two on there that are colored in beige with no info at all, so I guess I'll have to wait to see if there's an update on those.

If you can't find alternatives there, you should ask, in case someone knows some. It's better than waiting around with disabled add-ons.

I hear ya, and definitely will.

Thanks again for saving my profiles. For a little while there I felt like I was gonna have a heart attack.