I do not use a Mac myself, but I think it is a known issue with the torbutton, and you need to upgrade it and then restore your bookmarks.

• see Recover lost or missing Bookmarks _problematic-extension

My computer says i need no upgrades. How do you upgrade?

What needs updating is the software that provides the torbutton. You need to ensure that is up to date. the blue text in my answer was a clickable link, and the relevant info I linked to is as follows:

Problematic extension

An old version of the Torbutton extension is known to cause bookmarks to go missing after updating to Firefox 3.6. If the Torbutton extension is installed, you will need to update it to the latest version.

To see if the Torbutton extension is installed and to update the extension:

  1. At the top of the Firefox windowOn the menu bar, click on the Tools menu and select Add-ons. The Add-ons window will appear.
  2. In the Add-ons window, select the Extensions panel.
  3. Look for Torbutton in the list of extensions. (If you don't see it, then Torbutton is not installed.)
  4. Select the Torbutton extension, if found.
  5. Click the Find Updates button. When the updated version is found, the Updates panel of the Add-ons window will be selected.
  6. Click Install Updates. The new version will download.
  7. When prompted, click Restart Firefox to finish updating the extension. 

After Firefox restarts, you should be able to restore your bookmarks. See Restoring bookmark backups below.

That same article has information about restoring bookmarks, which you can try to follow once either torbutton is updated or removed, however please take care and note the advice to backup your bookmarks manually, you need to do that urgently if you have not already done so.

I would go further and look in the folder that contains the firefox profile and look for the auto saved backup bookmarks. The will be in a directory "bookmarksbackups" (I am assuming it is the same as with Windows) and the files will have a date and an extrension to indicate that they are .json files. I would copy those files somewhere safe, you can try re-importing them later, but remember whenever you import bookmarks in that ,manner they overwrite whatever currently exists

Thanks. I probably need a computer book to know the lingo. There is nothing at all in my "extensions" section as i tried to follow those instructions previously listed on the website.

Had found a file firefox. Not really sure where a "safe place " to back them up is.

Sorry. Too layperson-ish to probably own a computer.

All would just seem easier to erase the whole lot and start over but nothing deletes.

Oh, and I forgot to write that actually I am grateful you took the time to respond. If you hear any frustration in my word-voice it is only related to my lack of savvy with this business and i wish, being a generally smart person, that i could occasionally feel capable when it comes to computers -- but, unfortunately, it makes me feel fairly helpless. On the last mac update to mail, i actually lost all my mac email address usages. Just seems like the computer helps then frustrates if one cannot pick up the right language for this new way of the world.

Thank you for trying to help me. I hope you have a very good day.

I will leave this to see if someone familiar with a Mac can help you.

I am thinking along the lines of

__ Sorting out the bookmarks __

• backup bookmarks manually
• play safe by also copying the bookmark backups and places.sqlite file somewhere safe
• deleting original places.sqlite so that firefox regenerates a new one
• restoring whatever is he best set of remaining bookmarks

__ Updating or Removing Torbutton __ It appears to be a known problem - but I do not really know what it is or does other than just glancing at https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/torbutton/?src=api

__ Workaround __ Create a new profile, it will probably solve the problem, torbutton may be removed from the new profile or updated, places.squlite may be removed from it. It should at least get firefox working again.

Thank you again. I looked up add on's and found torbutton with very mixed reviews about adding it to one's system. I am fine losing my bookmarks and starting over as I would like less, but, the thing is, I have tried to add new ones and they just dont show up, and, in the file I can find them and click on them, but, they just dont show up visually at top of screen anymore. I do have a friend who said I could come over and he would help me (probably thanks to seeing the dialogues we have, and, he probably knows how to take your suggestions and use them). So, many thanks.

Joeyboi

Hi joeyboi,

I think someone else may be better placed to help you. I have made some notes in the form of the message above which shows what I am thinking about trying. Not being a Mac user I would struggle to give you good advice on how to go about that, but will have a go if no one else replies.

May I ask as regards this 'torbutton' is it something you have installed, or remember installing, or are you just mentioning it because you came across that name in the help article ?

Sorry if I am not using plain language, I tend to get lazy and use jargon without explaining things fully. If things are said that you find need explaining more clearly always ask, someone will usually try to help, we all need to start somewhere with computers.

That's cool. I did not know that about this culture. Yes, in the instructions online about these problems (the one you listed about checking the extension and mention of the Torbutton which is not in my extension section -- nothing is, in fact). I looked up on the internet what it was and it says you can download it. But, i think I dont want to because of the mixed reviews and me not really knowing how to fix the most basic things. I see that the system itself updated my firefox on the 24th. I tried to download firefox 4 but it said i had zero KB. maybe only part of it got downloaded last week? ONce i bring the computer to the friend he likely can fix this as he is more like you and very familiar with the systems and lingo.

Thanks for all your help.

Hi again Joeyboi,

Anyone reading this who uses a Mac please look at the posts above, are you able to help please?

Something you can try yourself is to create and use a new profile for firefox. Doing that alone may get it working again.

(NOTE for anyone helping you - If creating a new profile does not fix the problem, then deleting the appropriate places.sqlite & possibly the places.sqlite-journal should do the trick,

• but deleting the wrong one would be a disaster, tip rename do not delete,

Also be aware with profiles

• folders/directories name remains fixed, even if a profile renamed ( the info is stored in profiles.ini )
• it is likely profiles being deleted will delete all that folder's profile content, so careful if ever deleting profiles or there could be collateral damage. )

The article managing profiles explains how to create a new profile.

"I tried to download firefox 4 but it said i had zero KB. maybe only part of it got downloaded last week?"

There is a possibility that problems relate to your Mac computer rather than Firefox. maybe the hard disk drive is getting too full. On a Windows machine it may be recommended that they are defragged on a regular basis (if not done automatically) and that perhaps 20-30% should be kept as free space, again I am talking jargon, but you should be able to work out what percentage and what size in GigaBytes is fee on your main hard disk drive.

A quick web search quickly throes up some info about Macs, but it may be harder to find info you would find readable.

This can be a problem with the file places.sqlite that stores the bookmarks and the history.

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Bookmarks_history_and_toolbar_buttons_not_working_-_Firefox

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Bookmarks_not_saved

Thank you very much -- this seems to be exactly what is going on (according to the link). I will have my friend try to use this to fix the problems.

JB