03 July 2009

Backup FIREFOX Preferences and Bookmarks

Most of you Firefox users must be knowing this but still.... for those who don't... here's how you back up your Firefox preferences..

SAVING PREFERENCES :

Go to your Firefox profile folder in Windows Explorer. The default location is Documents and Settings > USERNAME > Application Data > Mozilla > Firefox > Profiles > cxhmjww8.default (this name is random)

The file you're looking for is prefs.js. Copy it to a USB stick or burn it to CD.

If you need to reinstall Firefox, drag your backup copy of prefs.js into this folder. You'll get a message asking if you want to replace the existing prefs.js file with your copied file -say yes, and you'll have restored your Firefox preferences the way you wanted them.

Of course there's no point backing up if you don't do it regularly - so be sure to update your saved prefs.js file when you tweak your Firefox settings.

SAVING BOOKMARKS :

To back up your Bookmarks,
  1. Open Firefox
  2. Go in Bookmarks -> Organize Bookmarks
  3. Go to Import and Backup -> Export HTML...
  4. Save it somewhere as a .html file and you're done.
When you want your bookmarks back after a reinstall, simply import this file in the same way...

SAVING PASSWORDS :
  1. Go to Documents and Settings > USERNAME > Application Data > Mozilla > Firefox > Profiles > cxhmjww8.default (this name is random)
  2. Backup the following files : key3.db, signons2.txt (if you're using FF 2.0+) OR signons3.txt (if you're using FF 3.0+). These files contain data regarding your saved passwords. After a reinstall, overwrite these files back to this folder.