Migrate Profile from One PC to Another

[cueball21]

( with apologies if this is a duplicate post )

I got a new(er) laptop and installed FF 89. I have the same version on my old laptop. I would like to move the Profile (I think) from the old PC to the new one so that I will have all my bookmarks and other settings in FF version on the new PC.

I found articles on the www instructing how to do this but I have run into one obstacle after another. I keep getting messages saying that filenames are too long or some such. I'm sure I'm going about it wrong or not following the instructions correctly.

I need to know how to find the correct file - that is to ID it to be sure I have the correct information - on this pc and copy it to a thumb drive. Then I need to know how to locate the appropriate place to copy the file to on the new laptop.

Please and thank you.

[DanRaisch]

Is this one of the articles you found? http://kb.mozillazine.org/Transferring_ ... _-_Firefox

[josegotme]

Try using Hekasoft Backup and restore software-it works well: https://www.hekasoft.com/

[cueball21]

Thanks, Dan!

That is not the article I tried to follow. Unfortunately I find it even more difficult to follow. The instructions seem to me to be convoluted . . . not simple and straightforward.

Is it really necessary or even recommended that a backup tool be used to back up the FF Profile? I'm going out on a limb here, but it seems that the Profile is a folder containing multiple files. Can one not just copy that folder? How does one know he has the correct folder? If I understand it correctly, the Profile resides at %APPDATA%\mozilla\profile. If I navigate to that location, what folder or folders do I copy to make a backup? If it's that simple, why is a backup tool recommended?

I know I'm in the wrong forum for this question, but the KB article you referenced seemed to imply that a single profile facility serves both Firefox and Thunderbird. Did I misread that? From trying to make backups and transfers yesterday, copying the FF Profile did not take as long as copying the TB Profile which I guess is due to the latter containing email. Could you elucidate?

[DanRaisch]

Can one not just copy that folder?

Of course. Keep in mind that some users are not comfortable using that method and a backup utility may be easier for them.

the KB article you referenced seemed to imply that a single profile facility serves both Firefox and Thunderbird. Did I misread that?

Yes, you did. Each of those programs would have their own, separate profile structure.

[cueball21]

Tks

[cueball21]

Again, thank you for the support, Dan!!!!!

I have copied the entire Profile folder to a thumb drive. I inferred that the Profile folder should be copied to the same place on the new laptop; however, there is no Users > owner > AppData folder on the new laptop despite having both FF and TB installed on it. Am I wrong in inferring where it goes? If so, where should I put it?

[TheVisitor]

Again, thank you for the support, Dan!!!!!

I have copied the entire Profile folder to a thumb drive. I inferred that the Profile folder should be copied to the same place on the new laptop; however, there is no Users > owner > AppData folder on the new laptop despite having both FF and TB installed on it. Am I wrong in inferring where it goes? If so, where should I put it?

Open File Explorer, click on 'File'., should be selected on open in most cases.
Click 'View'
3rd column from the right going left checkmark 'Hidden Items'

that will un-hide Appdata, Users etc...

[DanRaisch]

In addition to theVisitor's advise, in Firefox use menu path Help->More troubleshooting information->next to "Profile Folder" click on the "Open Folder" button to be shown the Firefox Profile folder in a Windows Explorer window.
In Thunderbird the path should be very similar.

[cueball21]

OK, thank you both!

I was able to find the hidden files. I copied the folder contained within the Profiles folder to Users > owner > APPDATA > Roaming > Mozilla > Firefox > Profiles. I have verified that it exists there. Before copying it to that locaton, I uninstalled FF then copied then reinstalled FF. I got a message: "Your Firefox profile cannot be loaded. I may be missing or inaccessible." When reinstalling FF, I chose not to delete 'old' add-ins etc.. Should I uninstall FF, reinstall it and accept that it will establish defaults? If I do so, will that not cause the Profile I just moved from the old laptop to be moot?

[DanRaisch]

Normally you should install Firefox first and let it create a profile, then copy the data from the old/source profile to the same location, overwriting the profile created by installation.

[cueball21]

Thanks, Dan, however, that's a bit like saying you can go there if you've been there before but you can only go once.

I'm in the situation where I do not have Firefox installed on my new laptop. When I try to install it I get the aforementioned error message. When I search for a solution in the KB, I find references to modifying the profiles.ini file; but I do not find such a file using File Explorer with viewing hidden files enabled.

I found an article that provided the answer.

After reinstalling FF and getting the message saying it couldn't find a profile, I opened a run command and entered firefox.exe -P. This created a profile so that Firefox could open without the error message. I then pasted the FF Profile from this old laptop into the User > owner > APPDATA > Roaming > Mozilla > Profiles folder alongside the profile created by the foregoing run command. I then restarted FF but it is not showing the bookmarks, etc. from this laptop.

Do I need to delete or move the Profile created by the run command? It seems that FF is not taking its information from the copied Profile but from the new one.

[costark]

----" It seems that FF is not taking its information from the copied Profile but from the new one." ............

Until Dan returns ..... just look again at -- Run: firefox.exe -P - that should open the Profile Mgr.
At bottom is a Box: "Use the selected profile without asking at startup", and which Profile is Hi-lighted is THE ONE that opens via FF shortcut you use.
You want to get your desired Profile Data into the Profile you want to use and make sure IT is selected WHEN you Clk the Use Without Asking box in Profile Mgr.
You might take a look at what you see in Prof Mgr for the Hi-lighted Profile and post back.

[skuddle]

I think that along with the Profile folder, one must also copy/move the profiles.ini file when transferring a profile from one computer to another, but I may be wrong here. Am I?

[DanRaisch]

I think that along with the Profile folder, one must also copy/move the profiles.ini file when transferring a profile from one computer to another, but I may be wrong here. Am I?

I would say, Yes, you are wrong in many/most cases. Profiles.ini identifies the default profile AND it's location. That location, on a Windows system at least, includes the Windows account user name. Unless that that user ID is the same on both the old and the new system, there would be a conflict between the actual location of the profile data and where the copied profiles.ini file tells Firefox to look for it. That's why guidance about transferring profiles on these forums often speaks of creating a profile on the new system and then overwriting the newly created, default profile data, with data from the older.source system. By copying that data from the directory level below C:\Users\USERID\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\xxxxxxxx.default the potential conflict can be avoided.