How To Find Firefox Password File | Bookmarks File for Backup

In case you ever find yourself in a situation where your computer crashes or the hard drive is corrupted you can restore your Firefox password file and your Firefox bookmarks file in a few simple steps if you go ahead and back them up now. Even if your hard drive fails you may still be able to retrieve some information by adding the hard drive as a slave drive if you're comfortable enough messing with computers. I found myself in the unfortunate situation of a hard drive failure and was able to retrieve most of my files from my old hard drive, including my Firefox bookmarks and passwords files. There's honestly no need to lay down a Benjamin Franklin for the Geek Squad to retrieve your files for you. I now have a Windows Vista, so this information is really intended only for Vista users. Below you'll find the steps to find your Firefox password and bookmarks files for backing up now, before something inevitably happens to your computer.

• Open "Control Panel"



• Double Click "Folder Options"



• Click on the "View" Tab



• Select "Show Hidden Files and Folders"



• Click "Apply"



• Double Click "Computer" or "My Computer?"



• Double "Click OS (C:)"



• Double Click "Users" File



• Double Click the user that you want to retrieve the Firefox password file for



• Double Click the "AppData" folder



• Double Click the "Roaming" folder



• Double Click the "Mozilla" folder



• Double Click the "Firefox" folder



• Double Click the "Profiles" folder



• Double Click the "XXXXXXXX.default" folder

You'll find your current bookmarks.html file here, which you can copy and paste for transfer onto a cd for backup in case of computer or OS crash.

For backing up your password file, you'll actually want to copy the key3.txt file, and the signons3.db file (note these files may end with a 2 (ex. signons2.txt) if you are using an earlier version of Firefox that hasn't been updated. Save these on a crash CD so if you ever have to factory restore your computer or have to resort to buying a new computer you can just replace the files (through this same procedure) when you reinstall Firefox. Be sure to return to the folder options once you're done to "Do not show hidden files and folders" and "Apply". If I've omitted any steps, please feel free to let me know.