When reinstalling the operating system or deleting the browser, you can save the settings you have made so that you can later apply them in a new program, thereby reducing the time spent on subsequent settings changes. Saving Firefox settings is done through the Sync plugin.
Instruction
Each user configures browsers for himself. Sometimes it becomes necessary to reinstall the program or the system itself, as well as change the device for work. Obviously, you don't want to do this setup every time. In this case, you need to save the Firefox settings.
Data synchronization
Synchronization usually occurs by creating an account. It collects all information about the work in the profile. It is stored on the servers of the manufacturer. If you log into your account from a browser on another device, then all the data accumulated by the user within the account will appear in the browser. What data is it: passwords, history, cache, settings and more.
Create a profile and turn on the sync feature. Then the settings will be saved automatically.
Backing up settings with a third-party program
You can back up your profile using a third-party utility such as MozBackup. It is then used to restore all profile information.
1.Download the program on the official store: http://mozbackup.jasnapaka.com/. Install following the instructions of the simple installer.
2. Completely close the Mozilla Firefox browser.
3.Open the utility. Click on the Next button. We mark the item Backup a profile. This means backing up the profile. We mark Mozilla and click again on Next.
4.Select the profile you want to backup. Click on Browse and specify the path to the folder where the file will be saved. If you have multiple profiles and want to save each one, you will need to make separate files for them.
5.Create a password and write it in two fields. The combinations must match, so enter carefully.
6.Check the boxes to the left of the items to be placed in the backup file. If the goal is settings, be sure to check the General settings element.
7. Save the file later in a separate location, preferably on an external memory card. You will need it later when you reinstall the system.
To restore previously saved settings, open the same program. Select Restore a profile. Specify the path to the folder with the data backup file.
Save problems
What to do if changes are not saved?
The settings file might be corrupted. In this regard, writing new data to it is simply impossible. In this case, you need to get rid of this file. Do not worry: after that, the system will automatically create a new file of the same kind, but already usable.
- Launch the profile folder via the Firefox menu. Exit the browser.
- Find prefs.js and get rid of it.
- Also remove Invalidprefs.js if it exists in the folder.
- Turn Firefox off and on again.
What else can be done? Check the system with an antivirus installed on your PC, as the problem may be due to malware.
There are several ways to save changed browser settings. Also, if there is any failure, you can always restore them.
Sometimes, your Firefox preference settings may not be saved after you change them. For example, you may change a setting in your Firefox Options Preferences , only to have it set back to its previous value the next time you open the Options Preferences panel.
The possible causes and solutions vary depending on whether you are unable to save a few specific preferences or if no preferences are saved at all. This article may also apply if, after updating Firefox, a Firefox Updated tab opens to a page stating You've been updated to the latest version of Firefox every time you start Firefox.
Table of Contents
Refresh Firefox to fix the problem
The easiest way to solve this problem is to restore Firefox to its default state while saving your essential information. Besides resetting all preferences to default values, a Firefox refresh will also fix many other issues, including problems caused by extensions or with data and settings that are stored in other files in your Firefox . If you"d like to try a more precise fix, skip this section and try the solutions below.
note: When using the refresh feature, your bookmarks, browsing history, open tabs, windows, passwords, cookies and web form auto-fill information will be saved. However, your extensions and themes will be removed and your preferences will be reset. learn more.
Specific preferences are not saving
If a specific setting in Firefox keeps resetting or you are unable to change a single setting but other settings save correctly, you may have one of the following issues.
Third-party programs changing Firefox settings
Some programs force Firefox to use certain settings. Below is a list of programs known to do this and actions you can take to make them stop forcing Firefox settings:
- Creative ZenCast changes Firefox's user agent, interfering with Java.
- Uninstall the program.
- McAfee Privacy Service turns Firefox's pop-up blocker off.
- Norton 360 includes a "Firefox Privacy Cleanup" feature that, if enabled, overrides your Firefox Privacy settings and prevents you from keeping your Browsing History, Cookies or other private data between sessions.
Some third-party toolbars and add-ons change Firefox's home page and search settings. You can quickly reset these with the SearchReset add-onTo reset these, see Change your default search settings in Firefox and How to set the home page.
- See Remove a toolbar that has been taken over your Firefox search or home page for more information.
User.js file overriding Firefox settings
If you don't have any of the above programs installed, or if If you followed the suggestions and certain settings change back each time you start Firefox, you may have to edit Firefox's configuration files yourself. Don't panic, it's pretty easy. Here's how to do it.
You should now be able to change your Firefox settings.
Firefox program file locks or prevents changes to certain settings
Your installation of Firefox may have been customized to add a program configuration file that locks certain settings or prevents certain changes from being saved. Follow the Reinstall Firefox step in the Troubleshoot and diagnose Firefox problems article to remove the Firefox program from your computer and then reinstall a new copy of Firefox. (Reinstalling Firefox this way will not remove your , since those are saved in a separate location from the program files.)
Unable to save any preferences or settings
If none of your settings will save, if you get the Firefox Updated tab every time you start Firefox, or if you have tried the steps above with no effect, the file which Firefox uses to save your preferences may be locked or corrupted.
Locked preferences file
Firefox may be unable to save your settings if the prefs.js file (or the prefs.js.moztmp file, if it exists) is write-protected or there are other prefs backup files.
Corrupt preferences file
The preferences file may be corrupt, preventing Firefox from writing to it. If you delete this file, Firefox will automatically create another one when it needs to. Here"s how to delete the prefs.js file.
This will remove all your custom settings and settings for many extensions.
Good day to all. Today, as you understand from the title, let's talk about.
Many probably lost more than once (due to forgetfulness, or inexperience, or something else) along with the system all the settings and bookmarks of their favorite mozilla, or wondered how to quickly transfer all this to another computer.
Today I will tell you just about how to save everything you need from the mozilka.
Let's get started.
Download the MozBackup program
The program from the title and subtitle will help in this matter.
This is a program designed to backup all profiles (bookmarks, extensions, passwords, cookies, browsing history, etc.) Firefox,Mozilla Suite Sea Monkey and Netscape.
It is absolutely free, it is easy to find it in Russian, but in English everything is extremely simple and clear, and therefore I will provide you with instructions for the English version, that is, just the one that you downloaded if you clicked on the link above.
How to use MozBackup to back up Firefox
Working with her is extremely simple and infinitely convenient. Go:
Installation is not required at all, just unpack the downloaded archive to the right place and run it from the folder;
In the program window, click " Next" and we see something like this in front of us:
Here we need to choose, in fact, the program whose settings \ extensions \ bookmarks and other joys we want to save (in this example, I choose Mozilla Firefox 3.0) and put a circle " Backup profile" or " Restore a profile"(the first means to save everything, the second to restore if it has already been saved in this way);
Next, we, in fact, again press the button " Next" and select from the list which profile we want to save (by default it is default) and where the file with the saved data will be located (to select the location, click the " Browse"):
Again pressing " Next" we answer the question in the affirmative or negative (and they ask us if we want to protect the file with settings \ extensions \ other happiness with a password) and in the new window that appears, choose what exactly we want to save:
Just in case, translation:
- "General settings- settings;
- Bookmarks- bookmarks;
- History- story;
- Extensions- extensions\plugins;
- Saved Passwords- passwords;
- Cookies- these are cookies, they are cookies;
- Saved Form Details- saved form data;
- Downloaded file list- list of downloaded files;
- Certificates- certificates.
button "unknown files" opens a list of files that, as a rule, are auxiliary for plugins, i.e. if you checked the extensions", then it is better to select all files in this list.
By ticking all that you need by clicking " Next" and, perhaps, poking also " yes" to a question like: Are you sure la la la", You just have to wait until the end of saving, then press the button" Next".
During saving, the program may freeze (most often this happens if you chose to save plugins, i.e. ticked " Extensions"), and therefore do not kill her, but simply endure, because having saved everything, she will droop and cheerfully report to you about the completion of the task.
Everything on the sim. Let's move on to the afterword.
Afterword
That, perhaps, is all.
Such a procedure is worth doing at least sometimes, because no one knows what can happen to a computer or where your bookmarks may come in handy.
Enjoy your health ;)
The free Mozbackup (Mozilla Backup) program allows you to save and restore your Mozilla Firefox browser profile. Mozbackup can create and restore profiles for the following programs: Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Thunderbird, Netscape, MozSuite/SeaMonkey, Flock, Sunbird, Spicebird, PostBox, and Wyzo.
With Mozbackup, you can back up your Firefox browser profile and then restore your Firefox profile from the backup when needed.
What is a browser profile, and why should I back up my browser profile from time to time?
The Mozilla Firefox browser profile saves all your browser settings: passwords, bookmarks, contacts, installed extensions, browsing history, cookies, browser cache, etc.
As you know, nothing lasts forever in our world, and therefore, just in case, you should play it safe to avoid unpleasant surprises. There may be, for various reasons, sudden failures of hardware and software. For example, a hard drive has failed, there has been a serious problem with the operating system, and it needs to be urgently and suddenly reinstalled.
After reinstalling the operating system, or installing it again on a computer, one or more browsers are usually installed, unless, of course, you use only one browser - Internet Explorer, which is preinstalled with the Windows operating system.
The newly installed Mozilla Firefox browser will have default settings, and will not contain any add-ons (extensions), there will not be your passwords, bookmarks and your other settings. Therefore, it is necessary to create backup copies of the browser profile from time to time, so that later it will be easy to restore your settings for the Mozilla Firefox browser.
How, when reinstalling the operating system or reinstalling the browser, save bookmarks and all other settings of your browser?
On the pages of my site, I have repeatedly described various ways to save the Mozilla Firefox browser profile. Perhaps there is no other browser with so many different ways to save backup settings.
Now it's time to talk about another way to save a profile backup: using the free Mozilla Backup program. This program has a Russian version, and therefore, you will not have any difficulties using it.
You will learn how to save Firefox settings, as well as how to transfer Firefox settings to a freshly installed browser, after installing or reinstalling the operating system, or how to transfer a Firefox profile to another computer.
mozbackup download
From the official Russian site of the program, you can download the program installer or an archive with a portable version of the program.
You will need to install the program or run the portable version of Mozilla Backup from a folder.
Now let's move on to an overview of the Mozbackup program, and learn how to use this program.
How to save Firefox settings in Mozbackup
After installing the Mozbackup program on your computer, you should run it. The program welcome window opens, in which you need to click on the "Next" button.
In the next "Operation Type" window, you must select the action you want to perform - "Save" or "Restore". The program selects the Mozilla Firefox browser installed on the computer with the build number of the browser version.
To save the browser settings, you must activate the "Save" radio button, and then click on the "Next" button.
In the Select Profile window, select the profile you want to save. You will then need to select a location to save the profile backup.
To do this, click on the "Browse" button, and then in the Explorer window select a location to save a backup copy of the Mozilla Firefox browser profile. You can create a folder in advance to store browser profile backups.
It would be better to create such a folder not on the system drive, but on another drive. Because in the event of a sudden reinstallation of the operating system, the backup stored on the system drive will be lost along with all other data.
After selecting the location to save the "backup-copy", you need to click on the "Next" button.
In the "Question" window, it is better to click on the "No" button. If you protect the “backup file” with a password, then if you forget the password, then you will no longer be able to restore the browser profile.
In the "Select Components" window, click on the "Next" button.
In the next "Progress" window, a backup copy of the Firefox browser is created.
The "Report" window opens, in which the program informs that the "backup file" has been created, and shows the contents of the backup. After creating a backup copy of the profile, you need to click on the "Exit" button.
You can now open the folder and verify that the Mozilla Firefox browser profile has been backed up. On my computer, on the "D:" drive, I created a "Firefox Backup" folder, in which I saved a backup copy of the browser profile.
The name of the backup file contains the version of the browser and the date the backup was created. The file has a ".pcv" extension, and can be opened with an archiver program such as WinRAR or 7-Zip.
For greater reliability, you can copy this backup file to a USB flash drive or portable hard drive, and also save a copy of the file in some cloud storage: Yandex.Disk, Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, etc.
How to restore Firefox settings in Mozbackup
If you restore your Firefox profile after reinstalling or reinstalling the operating system, you will need to reinstall the Mozilla Firefox browser on your computer. After installation, the browser will not contain your settings, and will have default settings.
Attention! Mozbackup will only restore the version of the browser that was backed up. If at the time of restoration there is a newer version of the browser, then you should install exactly the version of the browser with which the profile was backed up.
After restoring the profile, the browser itself will automatically update to the new version.
Where can I find the old version of the browser?
You can find the required version of the browser on the official website mozilla-russia.org. From the main page of the site you can download the latest version of the browser.
In order to download an old version of Mozilla Firefox to your computer, on the main page of this site you need to click on the "Products" button, then in the next window under the description of the latest version of the browser, you need to click on the link "Other versions ...".
In the next window, in the right column, you need to find the item "Version History", and click on the link "All versions and Russifications of Firefox". In the new window, select the desired version of the browser and download it to your computer. You can see this process visually in the video below this article.
After installing the browser on your computer, you will need to install the Mozilla Backup program if the operating system has been reinstalled.
To restore the browser profile, run the Mozbackup program. In the Operation Type window, select the action - "Restore", select the application, and click on the "Next" button.
In the "Select Profile" window, select the profile you want to restore. Then you need to select a file to restore the browser profile. To do this, click on the "Browse" button and find the saved "backup file".
If you have not reinstalled the operating system, then the program itself finds the path to the saved backup copy of the browser profile. After that, click on the "Next" button.
The Mozilla Firefox browser profile is being restored. After restoring the profile, you can launch the browser.
After opening the main window of your browser, you will see that the browser is already working with all your settings. All your add-ons (extensions), passwords, bookmarks and all other settings of your browser will be restored to you.
In this way, you can transfer the Firefox profile to a new computer if you have several of them and want to use the Mozilla Firefox browser with your settings on another computer.
In the video below this article, I back up my Mozilla Firefox browser profile, then delete the browser from my computer, and then restore the backup browser profile with all my settings.
Article Conclusions
Using the Mozbackup program will allow you to save and restore your Mozilla Firefox browser profile on your computer.
