Been using Firefox portable just fine for months, but now my Bookmarks bar is gone and I see this:
"The bookmarks and history system will not be functional because one of Firefox's files is in use by another application. Some security software can cause this problem."
Which links to this:
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/fix-bookmarks-and-history-will-not-...
Which says:
"This error happens when a database file that stores bookmarks and browsing history (places.sqlite) and related site icons (favicons.sqlite) can’t be accessed by Firefox."
So a recent update seems to have broken where Firefox saves and/or accesses this data.
Looking in
Firefox > Data > profile > bookmarkbackups
the last one is dated 11/25/21
Opening that file in Notepad is just gobbledygook to me.I see pieces of the names of some of the bookmarks I had, but lots of other chaff.
====
So has this been reset and I need to make a new bookmark bar with my bookmarks, or is this an update bug, don't do anything, and an update will bring them all back, eventually.
Visit the Community page
Join our forums
Subscribe to our email newsletter
Subscribe with RSS
Follow us on BlueSky
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on LinkedIn
Follow us on Mastodon
Follow us on Twitter
There have been no changes in either the Firefox Portable launcher or Firefox itself (that I'm aware of) that would cause this. I'd check your drive for errors and restore one of the backups after backing up your whole profile.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
It's on a USB stick, that I haven't made any changes to.
I don't know how to check the USB stick for errors.
When I tried to restore the bookmarks, I get an error- it's "unable to process the backup file."
Even if I go back to October, etc. it's unable.
So either all my backups have gone corrupt, or Firefox has gone corrupt.
Should I delete it from my USB stick and then DL it again?
I can copy my backups to a separate folder and then load them back into the newly downloaded Firefox, I guess.
Ok, first check for errors. You can do this in Windows Explorer by right clicking on the drive and selecting properties, then the Tools tab, then Check within the Error checking box. If there are any, let it fix them.
Next, backup Firefox Portable. You can copy the whole FirefoxPortable directory right to your Desktop temporarily.
Last, install Firefox Portable over itself. Download a new copy of Firefox Portable and run the installer. Select the parent directory of your current Firefox Portable install. So, if it's installed to D:\PortableApps\FirefoxPortable, select to install to D:\PortableApps. It'll add on the FirefoxPortable part after you select it from the Browse popup. Then install. This is the same way you'd normally do a full upgrade or the platform would. Hopefully, it will be working at this point.
If it's still not working, install a fresh copy of Firefox Portable to your Desktop directory. Then copy in your Data\profile directory. You may need to experiment with what bits are corrupt and what aren't.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Amazingly, the "repair" brought the bookmarks back.
I closed Firefox because it wouldn't repair while apps were active. And then when I opened Firefox back up to see what the next step was, the bookmarks were back. Very interesting.
Thank you for your assistance!
Do you think I should still go through the whole App replacement or has whatever issue been resolved.