Firefox accidentally deleted

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Sapperdeflap
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Joined: August 29th, 2017, 12:39 am

Firefox accidentally deleted

Post by Sapperdeflap »

Hello everyone,

I received a FF update the day before yesterday. Later that day there was a Mozilla pop-up listing all kinds of files. With my tired head I couldn't figure out what to do, thought they might be old or remnant files after the update and clicked on delete. The next day FF was gone... :shock: After a long day of trying all sorts of things I retrieved a lot of files from my recycle bin but still files were missing, esp. the firefox.exe file. Late last night I tried to do a system restore several times but that didn't work.

Now I've come up with a new plan. I didn't want to just re-install FF because I didn't want to lose my history. I know about the FF profile, I have two files there, a big one of 143 Mb and a small one of 895 Kb. My problem with re-installing and using the profile was that both files are of early 2016, so I thought those contain very old data. Or is that not true and they do contain all data until the deletion? If that is the case then I can re-install instead of trying to make the system restore work.

Another confusing thing was that in Programs and Features FF is still listed, making me feel that the files were still there somewhere.

Can someone tell me what that pop-up was about? I remember seeing it before and not knowing what to do with it.

And how does this work with the profile? Will FF pick up on the profile automatically upon installing?

Hope you can help me. Cannot live without my dear FF anymore. :)
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trolly
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Re: Firefox accidentally deleted

Post by trolly »

See here to check if your profile is still there.
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox

If yes then simply install Firefox. It will find and use the existing profile.
Think for yourself. Otherwise you have to believe what other people tell you.
A society based on individualism is an oxymoron. || Freedom is at first the freedom to starve.
Constitution says: One man, one vote. Supreme court says: One dollar, one vote.
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Sapperdeflap
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Joined: August 29th, 2017, 12:39 am

Re: Firefox accidentally deleted

Post by Sapperdeflap »

Thank you so much, Trolly, for responding!

Like I wrote I have two files in the profile folder. The big one has numbers after the .default: bt2k93e3.default-1454353198019 Is that okay?

Important question: do I need to uninstall first or will a new installation take care of that?
Whoever controls the narrative controls the world.
flaneurb
Posts: 622
Joined: December 10th, 2011, 3:50 am

Re: Firefox accidentally deleted

Post by flaneurb »

Sapperdeflap wrote:...
I received a FF update the day before yesterday. Later that day there was a Mozilla pop-up listing all kinds of files. ...
That is worrisome! I've never had nor heard of "a Mozilla pop-up listing all kinds of files".

I suspect there's something amiss, possibly some malware at play. Have you scanned your system to ensure it's clean?
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Sapperdeflap
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Joined: August 29th, 2017, 12:39 am

Re: Firefox accidentally deleted

Post by Sapperdeflap »

My system is supersuperclean, Flaneurb! For sure! :-D

At first I thought that pop-up came from my AV/firewall program BullGuard. I contacted them yesterday and they searched my pc but found no sign of BG interfering with Mozilla. That's why I think it was from Mozilla. Also because of the update earlier that day. And I do remember seeing it before, but only one or two times in years.

I plan to make a screenshot of it next time I see it and post it here. Thank you for responding, now I know this is not normal. :S
Whoever controls the narrative controls the world.
TheVisitor
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Joined: May 13th, 2012, 10:43 am

Re: Firefox accidentally deleted

Post by TheVisitor »

Sounds like he may have fallen victim to the 'fake firefox update', or CCleaner did what it does best - destroy's Firefox.
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Sapperdeflap
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Joined: August 29th, 2017, 12:39 am

Re: Firefox accidentally deleted

Post by Sapperdeflap »

It's a she. :)

"Fake firefox update"? Is there such a thing? Didn't look like it to me when I saw the FF window stating the update. And CCleaner is my best buddy.
Whoever controls the narrative controls the world.
TheVisitor
Posts: 5469
Joined: May 13th, 2012, 10:43 am

Re: Firefox accidentally deleted

Post by TheVisitor »

Sapperdeflap wrote:It's a she. :)

"Fake firefox update"? Is there such a thing? Didn't look like it to me when I saw the FF window stating the update. And CCleaner is my best buddy.
Sorry Ms. Did you see something like this perhaps -

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/i- ... fox-update
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Sapperdeflap
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Joined: August 29th, 2017, 12:39 am

Re: Firefox accidentally deleted

Post by Sapperdeflap »

No, I didn't. But being prompted to download an update patch would have rung all my alarm bells. The update was automatic, as usual.
Whoever controls the narrative controls the world.
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trolly
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Re: Firefox accidentally deleted

Post by trolly »

Sapperdeflap wrote:Thank you so much, Trolly, for responding!

Like I wrote I have two files in the profile folder. The big one has numbers after the .default: bt2k93e3.default-1454353198019 Is that okay?

Important question: do I need to uninstall first or will a new installation take care of that?
Probably not.
There are several files and folders in the profile folder itself.
The name indicates a profile which is a folder not a file.
Did you see something on your desktop something like "Old firefox files" or similar?

If the profile is fine the the installation will take care of that. No uninstall required.
Think for yourself. Otherwise you have to believe what other people tell you.
A society based on individualism is an oxymoron. || Freedom is at first the freedom to starve.
Constitution says: One man, one vote. Supreme court says: One dollar, one vote.
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Sapperdeflap
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Joined: August 29th, 2017, 12:39 am

Re: Firefox accidentally deleted

Post by Sapperdeflap »

Yes, you're quite right, that should have been "folder" not "file". So I have two .default folders in the profiles folder. :)

And yes, I have a "reset firefox - old firefox data" folder in my Word folder. A .default folder, dated from February 2016. I vaguely remember having done a reset once because of some problem. Is this folder of any importance with my issue? As it is located in Word I don't suppose it has been storing all my FF data since then like the other .default folders?
Whoever controls the narrative controls the world.
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LIMPET235
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Re: Firefox accidentally deleted

Post by LIMPET235 »

Sapperdeflap...
CCleaner may be your "best buddy", BUT, if you allow it to touch either Firefox or Thunderbird, you may possibly strike trouble.
Best to open CCleaner > Applications Tab & remove any/all refs; to both programs.
They are very capable of taking care of themselves.

(I don't know how many times this has been suggested here.)

&, that Reset feature is not being recommended either.
T'is much easier & less painful to just create a new Profile & transfer your "stuff" over. (Transfer link in this article.)
ref; > http://kb.mozillazine.org/Creating_a_ne ... on_Windows
[Ancient Amateur Astronomer.]
Win-10-H/64 bit/500G SSD/16 Gig Ram/450Watt PSU/350WattUPS/Firefox-115.0.2/T-bird-115.3.2./SnagIt-v10.0.1/MWP-7.12.125.

(Always choose the "Custom" Install.)
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trolly
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Re: Firefox accidentally deleted

Post by trolly »

Check the dates of the files in the profile folders (including the one on your desktop). The date of the folder may not match the last access.
Think for yourself. Otherwise you have to believe what other people tell you.
A society based on individualism is an oxymoron. || Freedom is at first the freedom to starve.
Constitution says: One man, one vote. Supreme court says: One dollar, one vote.
DN123ABC
Posts: 695
Joined: January 9th, 2017, 10:10 am

Re: Firefox accidentally deleted

Post by DN123ABC »

TheVisitor wrote:Sounds like he may have fallen victim to the 'fake firefox update', or CCleaner did what it does best - destroy's Firefox.

I've NEVER had a problem with CCleaner.





(fingers crossed)
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Sapperdeflap
Posts: 48
Joined: August 29th, 2017, 12:39 am

Re: Firefox accidentally deleted

Post by Sapperdeflap »

LIMPET235 wrote:
They are very capable of taking care of themselves.

(I don't know how many times this has been suggested here.)
Just cleaning cookies and cache with CCleaner. FF and TB cannot take care of that themselves.

And please don't forget that some people are here for the first time.
Whoever controls the narrative controls the world.
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