This guide is aimed at making sure that you can keep your valuable Firefox profile data files safe, in the event of a crash or a something becoming corrupted you can then easily restore the data.

Note: If you have Firefox running then you will need to close it before you will be able to copy some of the files.


Step 1: Finding your Firefox profiles

Firefox profiles are stored in different places depending on what Operating System you use. Here are where the profile folders are located on various systems:

Windows 95, 98, and ME:

* C:\Windows\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\
* C:\Windows\Profiles\<USERNAME>\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\


Windows 2000 and XP:

* C:\Documents and Settings\<USERNAME>\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\


Windows piece of shit OS:

* C:\Users\<USERNAME>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefo x\Profiles\/li]

Linux and Unix:

* ~/.mozilla/firefox/


Mac

* ~/Library/Mozilla/Firefox/Profiles/
* ~/Library/Application Support/Firefox/Profiles/


You will need to replace <USERNAME> with your Windows username in order to find the directory and on most systems the folder is hidden. To show it you will need to show hidden folders in order to view the files. When you browse to that folder you will probably see only a single folder with a strange name ending in .default. Double click it to open it. This is your profile folder.

Now that you've found it we can move onto finding the files you wish to keep.


Step 2: Backing up the files you want to keep

Depending on which version of Firefox you are using, there are different files you may need or want to backup. Have a look at the appropriate section below.


Step 2.1: Finding the important files for Firefox 2.x

Here is a list of the important files and their uses under Firefox 2.x:

* bookmarks.html - this file contains all of your bookmarks.
* cert8.db - this file contains all of your security certificates
* cookies.txt - this file contains all of your currently stored cookies
* downloads.rdf - this file contains your download history
* formhistory.dat - this file contains all of your saved form data
* history.dat - this file contains your browsing history
* hostperm.1 - this file contains your per-site settings for allowing popups, cookies etc.
* key3.db - this file is your password key database. You MUST back this up too if you want to backup your password!
* persdict.dat - this file contains your personal spelling dictionary
* prefs.js - this file contains all of your Firefox settings
* secmod.db - this file contains the security module database
* sessionstore.js - this file contains your Firefox session store history
* signons2.txt - this file contains all of your stored passwords. You will also need key3.db in order to use this!


Step 2.2: Finding the important files for Firefox 3.x

Here is a list of the important files and their uses under Firefox 2.x:

* cert8.db - this file contains all of your security certificates
* content-prefs.sqlite - per-site preferences (such as zoom)
* cookies.sqlite - this file contains your currently stored cookies
* downloads.sqlite - this file contains your download history
* formhistory.sqlite - this file contains all of your saved form data
* key3.db - this file is your password key database. You MUST back this up too if you want to backup your password!
* persdict.dat - this file contains your personal spelling dictionary
* permissions.sqlite - this file contains a permission database for passwords, cookies, pop-up blocking, image loading and add-ons installation
* places.sqlite - this file contains the browsers bookmarks and history
* prefs.js - this file contains all of your Firefox settings
* secmod.db - this file contains the security module database
* sessionstore.js - this file contains your Firefox session store history
* signons3.txt - this file contains all of your stored passwords. You will also need key3.db in order to use this!


Any files not listed here are likely to be unimportant and not worth backing up.

Step 2.3: Backing the chosen files up

This by far the simplest part. You can just select the files using the information above and copy them some place safe ( preferably a disc wink.gif )


Section 3: Restoring your backed up files

If you need to restore the file(s) that you have backed up for any reason, just copy them back into your profile folder and replace the existing ones. Make sure Firefox is closed before you try this

Not Windows 7 or 8 unfortunately