Firefox Just Started With No Profile! On 2 Different Computers!

[JetsetBkk]

Very strange - was at Central Festival Phuket and tried to connect to their 3 hours free Wi-Fi on my Samsung Netbook, running XP.

Normally I connect the Netbook at several different places, usually by entering a phone number as the password. But at Central it's different - you enter your ID (passport no.) as username and password. But I couldn't get it to work. Last resort was to reboot the PC. But then, when I started Firefox, it was as if there was no profile - it asked if I wanted to import any data, e.g. from IE, so I said no and it started up, but all my tabs and add-ons were gone. It was like a fresh installation.

I checked the Firefox Profile folder and there was a brand new profile folder with b*gger all in it, as well as the original folder. So I renamed the old folder to the same as the new one (after renaming the new one so it wouldn't clash) and Firefox started OK, with my old profile data in the newly named profile folder. All the add-ons were their and tabs, history, etc.

Weird.

Several hours later, I came home to this desktop computer and exactly the same thing happened: Firefox asked if I wanted to import anything, I said no and it started with no tabs or add-ons just like a new profile. So I did the same as on the Samsung - renamed the profile folders so I ended up with my old profile data in the newly named folder.

Both PCs have just about the same add-ons and configuration so whatever happened to one may also happen to the other. They both have auto-updates off - updates to Firefox itself and to the add-ons, etc, as I like to control what gets installed.

Anyone have a clue as to what happened here? The rest of the PC appears to be working as normal.

[JSixpack]

Definitely weird and should not have happened. Just to throw out something: there's just been an update to Firefox. Did you check whether your Firefox got updated anyway despite your autoupdate off?

[JetsetBkk]

Definitely weird and should not have happened. Just to throw out something: there's just been an update to Firefox. Did you check whether your Firefox got updated anyway despite your autoupdate off?

Good idea - I just checked.

On my Desktop:

According to "Help / About Firefox", I am "currently on the beta update channel" and after clicking on "Check for Updates, it says "Firefox is up to date". The version number is 28.0. I have never seen a beta number after this displayed number.

I often get pop-ups about new beta versions available. I never let FF update itself and I always Google for the full beta .exe file and download it. I have "Firefox_Setup_28.0b9.exe" in my "Master Utilities" folder, so that is the version I am running.

I just checked "Options / Advanced / Update", and it is set to "Check for updates, but let me choose whether to install them." That is for Firefox itself, not add-ons.

On my Netbook:

Ditto.

The last add-on that I installed was an update to "Add-on Update Checker" , which was yesterday. However, it is set to show an alert when it detects updates to add-ons, but not to install them.

Also, I checked whether I had "Sync" enabled as I had played with it some time ago, but it looks as if it is off, but not sure. But even if it was on, it shouldn't cause FF to create a new blank profile, or to not use the original one.

It looks to me like something wiped out FF's memory of the profile name I was using so it thought this was a fresh install. Thank God the actual profile folder was still there, although I do have a recent backup of it.

All very odd.

I'll keep Googling.

[JSixpack]

Funny how valuable one's Firefox profile becomes. It represents quite a large investment. I now keep mine backed up in real time besides the usual periodic backups.

[Chicog]

Definitely weird and should not have happened. Just to throw out something: there's just been an update to Firefox. Did you check whether your Firefox got updated anyway despite your autoupdate off?

Good idea - I just checked.

On my Desktop:

According to "Help / About Firefox", I am "currently on the beta update channel" and after clicking on "Check for Updates, it says "Firefox is up to date". The version number is 28.0. I have never seen a beta number after this displayed number.

Do you mean Firefox or Aurora?

Because I'm on Aurora and it's just updated to 29.0a2 (2014-3-17).

[JetsetBkk]

Funny how valuable one's Firefox profile becomes. It represents quite a large investment. I now keep mine backed up in real time besides the usual periodic backups.

Actually, every time I start the PC, I copy my entire profile - C:\Documents and Settings\<name> - to one of several folders. On odd days it is copied to folder #1, on even days to folder #2 unless it is divisible by 4 in which case it is copied to folder #4, unless it is divisible by 8... and so on.

So I'm not too worried about stuff going missing, it's just that when strange things happens you don't know what else is going on.

And you're right about the investment - it would take hours, if not days, to reconfigure my Firefox and it's 93 add-ons exactly how I like.

[JetsetBkk]

Definitely weird and should not have happened. Just to throw out something: there's just been an update to Firefox. Did you check whether your Firefox got updated anyway despite your autoupdate off?

Good idea - I just checked.

On my Desktop:

According to "Help / About Firefox", I am "currently on the beta update channel" and after clicking on "Check for Updates, it says "Firefox is up to date". The version number is 28.0. I have never seen a beta number after this displayed number.

Do you mean Firefox or Aurora?

Because I'm on Aurora and it's just updated to 29.0a2 (2014-3-17).

Definitely Firefox. And today I just got an update pop-up saying that "FF 19.0 beta 1" is available. (I think that was the number - not sure).

So I'll Google it and try to get the full .exe file as I like to keep a copy of everything installed, in case I need to go backwards and un-install.

[astral]

As a reference my FF is 27.01

I am set to be told about updates, but choose whether to install

so you may have updated somewhere along the line.

[Tywais]

As a reference my FF is 27.01

I am set to be told about updates, but choose whether to install

so you may have updated somewhere along the line.

I was on 27.0.1 and just now did the update to 28.0 and no issues with lost profile. I backup using MozBackup standalone backup app and for auto scheduled backups I use FEBE addon

[astral]

I have just updated to FF28.0 with no issues or loss of profile

I also endorse Mozbackup and FEBE as ways of protecting your settings.

[Chicog]

I didn't know until today that Firefox have Release, Beta and Pre-Beta (Aurora) versions!

Talk about covering all the bases.

[IBoldnewguy]

The 29.0 just installed and the bookmarks tab is now on the upper right - just a different set up - nothing missing... easy to adjust to...

[JamesHawkins]

28.0 is current stable release with 28.0 Beta 9 available most easily on filehippo.com

EDIT: add using a beta version is living with the possibility of little "bugs" popping up as per OP. If you want to avoid little surprises then use the stable version.

Edited March 21, 2014 by JamesHawkins

[JamesHawkins]

Chrome has 'stable' release, 'beta' and 'Canary'

CNET Editors' note: "Beta or prerelease software is not intended for inexperienced users, as the software may contain bugs or may potentially damage your system. We strongly recommend that users exercise caution and save all mission-critical data before installing or using this software." (...I'm not implying any ones' "inexperience" just adding the disclaimer used by CNET for casual readers/users.)

Read more: Google Chrome Canary - Free download and software reviews - CNET Download.com http://download.cnet.com/Google-Chrome-Canary/3000-2356_4-75219626.html#ixzz2wcOPQOft

[Chicog]

Chrome has 'stable' release, 'beta' and 'Canary'

CNET Editors' note: "Beta or prerelease software is not intended for inexperienced users, as the software may contain bugs or may potentially damage your system. We strongly recommend that users exercise caution and save all mission-critical data before installing or using this software." (...I'm not implying any ones' "inexperience" just adding the disclaimer used by CNET for casual readers/users.)

Read more: Google Chrome Canary - Free download and software reviews - CNET Download.com http://download.cnet.com/Google-Chrome-Canary/3000-2356_4-75219626.html#ixzz2wcOPQOft

Cheers, I'll give that a shot as well.

[JetsetBkk]

****ing hell! The new FF 29 has no ***ing status bar at the bottom! What the **** is the matter with these ****holes at Mozilla! Leave the ***ing thing alone if there's no ****ing problem!

So now there is no Noscript icon, no IP address, no Textarea Cache icon, no Foxclocks, no ZoomIt indicator, no Back To Top icon. What the **** are these ****ers playing at?

**** them all - I've gone back to 20beta9.

Jesus H Christ, am I going to give them some ****ing stick on their feedback page!

[BB1950]

The status bar was removed in Firefox 4.0. While some of the status bar items did find new homes, some did not, and you might not like where they ended up. There were also some nice innovations during the development of Firefox 4.0, such as progress/links/status in the location bar, which unfortunately didn't make it to the final release.

The Status-4-Evar extension brought back (some of) the old status bar items, give you more control over the built-in Firefox features, and provide new alternatives.

For those who install Firefox 29 beta, it might have been a shock that the status bar is missing again. Fortunately S4E Version 2014.02.18.00b beta release brings it back with no problems!

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/status-4-evar/

It's in the Development Channel drop down at the bottom of the page.

Edited March 22, 2014 by BB1950

[BB1950]

The 29.0 just installed and the bookmarks tab is now on the upper right - just a different set up - nothing missing... easy to adjust to...

Firefox 29 beta has a new UI called "Australis". It also has a new new cloud sync feature which may have caused the problem mentioned by the OP.

http://www.zdnet.com/mozilla-moves-australis-themed-firefox-29-to-beta-7000027569/

http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/firefox-sync-now-available-testing-release-firefox-29-beta/

[JetsetBkk]

The status bar was removed in Firefox 4.0. While some of the status bar items did find new homes, some did not, and you might not like where they ended up. There were also some nice innovations during the development of Firefox 4.0, such as progress/links/status in the location bar, which unfortunately didn't make it to the final release.

The Status-4-Evar extension brought back (some of) the old status bar items, give you more control over the built-in Firefox features, and provide new alternatives.

For those who install Firefox 29 beta, it might have been a shock that the status bar is missing again. Fortunately S4E Version 2014.02.18.00b beta release brings it back with no problems!

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/status-4-evar/

It's in the Development Channel drop down at the bottom of the page.

Thanks for the info - I'll be having a look at that add-on.

The bar at the bottom of the screen may have changed its name from Status Bar to Add-On Bar, but you could still customise it to have icons such as the ones I listed in my rant above.

[JetsetBkk]

The 29.0 just installed and the bookmarks tab is now on the upper right - just a different set up - nothing missing... easy to adjust to...

Firefox 29 beta has a new UI called "Australis". It also has a new new cloud sync feature which may have caused the problem mentioned by the OP.

http://www.zdnet.com/mozilla-moves-australis-themed-firefox-29-to-beta-7000027569/

http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/firefox-sync-now-available-testing-release-firefox-29-beta/

Before I experienced the loss of my profile on both the Netbook and Desktop, both PCs were running Firefox 28 beat 9. They were still running that version after the problem.

I should have looked to see if "profiles.ini" was present in the \Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox folder, but I didn't. If Firefox can't find that file, it'll start as if it is a new installation and show the "Import Wizard" window, which is what happened to me.

Your second link at "digitaltrends.com" talks about "Firefox Sync" being new to Firefox 29. It was already present in Firefox 28 which is what I am running. I have not enabled it.

Edited March 23, 2014 by JetsetBkk

[BB1950]

The status bar was removed in Firefox 4.0. While some of the status bar items did find new homes, some did not, and you might not like where they ended up. There were also some nice innovations during the development of Firefox 4.0, such as progress/links/status in the location bar, which unfortunately didn't make it to the final release.

The Status-4-Evar extension brought back (some of) the old status bar items, give you more control over the built-in Firefox features, and provide new alternatives.

For those who install Firefox 29 beta, it might have been a shock that the status bar is missing again. Fortunately S4E Version 2014.02.18.00b beta release brings it back with no problems!

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/status-4-evar/

It's in the Development Channel drop down at the bottom of the page.

Thanks for the info - I'll be having a look at that add-on.

The bar at the bottom of the screen may have changed its name from Status Bar to Add-On Bar, but you could still customise it to have icons such as the ones I listed in my rant above.

Yes the Add-on Bar at the bottom of the browser was removed with the Australis UI.

If you're one of the individuals who found this the perfect place to tuck toolbar icons out of the way, then you will definitely want to install ‘The Addon Bar (restored)’ extension for Firefox!

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/the-addon-bar/

It only works with Firefox 29.0a1 and later.

BTW, I'm not particularly keen of the Windows 8 theme being adopted by applications.

Edited March 24, 2014 by BB1950

[JetsetBkk]

The status bar was removed in Firefox 4.0. While some of the status bar items did find new homes, some did not, and you might not like where they ended up. There were also some nice innovations during the development of Firefox 4.0, such as progress/links/status in the location bar, which unfortunately didn't make it to the final release.

The Status-4-Evar extension brought back (some of) the old status bar items, give you more control over the built-in Firefox features, and provide new alternatives.

For those who install Firefox 29 beta, it might have been a shock that the status bar is missing again. Fortunately S4E Version 2014.02.18.00b beta release brings it back with no problems!

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/status-4-evar/

It's in the Development Channel drop down at the bottom of the page.

Thanks for the info - I'll be having a look at that add-on.

The bar at the bottom of the screen may have changed its name from Status Bar to Add-On Bar, but you could still customise it to have icons such as the ones I listed in my rant above.

Yes the Add-on Bar at the bottom of the browser was removed with the Australis UI.

If you're one of the individuals who found this the perfect place to tuck toolbar icons out of the way, then you will definitely want to install ‘The Addon Bar (restored)’ extension for Firefox!

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/the-addon-bar/

It only works with Firefox 29.0a1 and later.

BTW, I'm not particularly keen of the Windows 8 theme being adopted by applications.

Thanks for the info. My Firefox only has the Menu Bar, Bookmarks Toolbar and Add-On Bar. I move everything off the Navigation Bar onto the others to save vertical space. I have tabs on the left side to save vertical space, which also means I can have dozens of tabs.

I also have the All-In-On Sidebar Toolbar on the left which gives access to loads of Add-On functions.

[BB1950]

That's the beauty of Firefox! It's customizable!

Be aware, the Australis UI in Firefox 29 which comes out on April 29 is the first major change to the Firefox UI since Firefox 4 in 2011! Mozilla claims it's necessary in order to standardize the UI on all platforms, including some upcoming platforms on which Firefox will be installed.

Upgrading to Firefox 29 may disable or break some of some user's extensions. For example, the 'TotalToolbar' extension will not support Australis. As has been discussed above, the Add-on Bar will be removed.

Extension developers are hard at work coming up with various solutions. As mentioned above, the 'Status-4-Evar' extension has been upgraded to provide an Add-on Bar and there's an extension called ‘The Addon Bar (restored)’which provides the Add-on Bar. For people (like me) there's an extension called 'Classic Theme Restorer (Customize Australis)' AKA CTR which will offer the ability to restore the classic Firefox theme. It also provides the Add-on Bar. It may not be compatible with other installed themes and could make Firefox unstable because of the possibility of extension conflict. The Add-on Bar is no longer a part of Firefox and is being provided by developers other than Mozilla.

Therefore it's recommended to backup your profile prior upgrading to Firefox 29! Here are some Third party profile backup software and services for Firefox and Thunderbird. There's a possibility you may end up with a new profile because of compatibility problems!

Edited March 24, 2014 by BB1950

[cooked]

I use the FF extension 'XMarks' to back up my bookmarks and very usefull it was too when I destroyed my computer back home and later when I moved to Thailand. I also wiped my profile one time when it misbehaved after an update, no problem . I don't keep passwords using the FF function either so I don't really care about losing my profile.

Sent from my GT-S7500 using Tapatalk 2

[JetsetBkk]

That's the beauty of Firefox! It's customizable!

Be aware, the Australis UI in Firefox 29 which comes out on April 29 is the first major change to the Firefox UI since Firefox 4 in 2011! Mozilla claims it's necessary in order to standardize the UI on all platforms, including some upcoming platforms on which Firefox will be installed.

Upgrading to Firefox 29 may disable or break some of some user's extensions. For example, the 'TotalToolbar' extension will not support Australis. As has been discussed above, the Add-on Bar will be removed.

Extension developers are hard at work coming up with various solutions. As mentioned above, the 'Status-4-Evar' extension has been upgraded to provide an Add-on Bar and there's an extension called ‘The Addon Bar (restored)’which provides the Add-on Bar. For people (like me) there's an extension called 'Classic Theme Restorer (Customize Australis)' AKA CTR which will offer the ability to restore the classic Firefox theme. It also provides the Add-on Bar. It may not be compatible with other installed themes and could make Firefox unstable because of the possibility of extension conflict. The Add-on Bar is no longer a part of Firefox and is being provided by developers other than Mozilla.

Therefore it's recommended to backup your profile prior upgrading to Firefox 29! Here are some Third party profile backup software and services for Firefox and Thunderbird. There's a possibility you may end up with a new profile because of compatibility problems!

re. "customisable": the whole point of Firefox is the extensions - "add-ons" as they call them now. Some people I know don't use any, to which I say that if you're not using any add-ons you may as well run Chrome or IE.

I currently have 93 installed. They all add extra functionality to Firefox. They allow me to do stuff that other browsers can't. I find it quite incredible that people don't investigate what add-ons can do to improve their browsing.

When Firefox 4 came out, I was running v3.5.19 and had about 90+ add-ons installed. I couldn't even upgrade to 3.6 because so many (75%) of my add-ons weren't compatible.

I eventually upgraded Firefox about 2 years later when only about 10% of my add-ons were incompatible and without alternatives. By that time, Firefox had reached version 19.

So I'm going to be very careful before I upgrade to FF29. If it is as big a change as it was from 3.6 to 4, then I will be very wary of it.

[NamKAheng]

I use Mozbackup to make backup and restore everything and it's free: http://mozbackup.jasnapaka.com/