Firefox lost all my saved passwords, and did so 3 more times after I manually re-enter each one of them! Can anyone help?
About a month ago I've restarted FF, and for my surprise, no password was stored any-more. I use a master password to manage all, and it didn't even prompted me to write it down when accessing any site that was previously "password-saved". I then proceed to access every site I normally go to where login is required, and re-saved every single password I have. That (the erasing? of all passwords) happened to 3 more times (last one just this morning!!!), and I don't know what else to do! Can anyone help please?
All Replies (7)
You can check for problems with preferences.
Delete a possible user.js file and numbered prefs-##.js files and rename (or delete) the prefs.js file to reset all prefs to the default value including prefs set via user.js and prefs that are no longer supported in the current Firefox release.
You can check for problems caused by a corrupted localstore.rdf file.
In the event that the passwords information is lost, you should record all information in a separate text file somewhere else on your hard drive. You can easily copy and paste if you need to do so. If you are concerned about someone else looking at that file, you can compress it using a password.
It is possible that there is a problem with the key3.db and signons.sqlite files that store the encrypted names and passwords in Firefox.
Rename the key3.db and signons.sqlite files in the Firefox profile folder.
You can add .old to the file names (key3.db.old and signons.sqlite.old) or move them to another folder to make it possible to undo the action.
You need to set a new Master Password after renaming or deleting key3.db and all currently saved passwords are lost.
If that has worked then you can remove the renamed files that are no longer needed.
Thanks for the prompt help... but I have to say I'm a bit lost with the technical language... :-( I'm just a common user, with no big skills on computers...
If I understand correctly your answers, this still doesn't prevent the "password-erasing" event from happening in the future.... :-(
cheers
This is not a fix, but can be helpful;
FEBE (Firefox Environment Backup Extension)
FEBE allows you to quickly and easily backup your
Firefox extensions, history, passwords, and more.
In fact, it goes beyond just backing up -- It will actually rebuild your
saved files individually into installable .xpi files.
It will also make backup of files that you choose.
- Rename the key3.db and signons.sqlite
Start Firefox. Then press <ALT> to bring up the menu bar.
Now select Help > Troubleshoot. Now on the left side, you will see
Application Basics. Just under it; Profile Folder. Press the
Show Folder button. A file explorer window will open
to the current Firefox user
profile. (It would be a good idea to save a shortcut link to this folder
in case you should ever need it again.)
Now Close Firefox.
Using the file explorer, look for a file called; key3.db. When you
find it, rename it to; key3.db.OLD. Now do the same, and rename
signons.sqlite. After you are done, restart Firefox. You will need to
visit your web sites to enter their passwords, but the password manager
should work properly.
Let us know how you make out.