[texred]

You're right. It's a no-go. Not really that upset about sys res, as I have done it many times trying to fight these problems. It would be worth it to me to get bookmarks back, as they are only half of what I had before my desktop died. Too bad I didn't find you before the guy I gave it to left it out in the rain. Unbelievable, right? A 1T Dell. {sigh}. I will continue to delete stinky files until I hear from you. Thanks again, Nut. Sorry to put so much work on you

BTW, images saved include advertisements, titles (i.e. WebMD), etc. Do I have a setting wrong, perhaps. Just deleted 448 images dated Oct 2013 that I've never seen b4 (???)

Edited by texred, 24 October 2013 - 04:44 PM.

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Sorry to put so much work on you

This is why I'm here, I enjoy it

We will try one more method. This involves deleting files that may be corrupt that causes Bookmarks to disappear.

Firefox Profile Files

• Open Firefox and click the Orange Firefox button, hover the mouse over Help and click Troubleshooting Information OR click Help from the Menu Bar and select Troubleshooting Information
• In the Window shown below click Show Folder
  
  
  
• The profiles folder window will open, close Firefox and this window will remain open.
• Scroll down and locate the places.sqlite file, right click this and select Delete - if places.sqlite-journal file is present then delete this also.
  
  
  
• Scroll up and locate the localstore.rdf file, right click and select Delete
  
  
  
  
• Close this window and open Firefox. Have the Bookmarks returned?

[Nutloaf]

Sorry to put so much work on you

This is why I'm here, I enjoy it

We will try one more method. This involves deleting files that may be corrupt that causes Bookmarks to disappear.

Firefox Profile Files

• Open Firefox and click the Orange Firefox button, hover the mouse over Help and click Troubleshooting Information OR click Help from the Menu Bar and select Troubleshooting Information
• In the Window shown below click Show Folder
  
  
  
• The profiles folder window will open, close Firefox and this window will remain open.
• Scroll down and locate the places.sqlite file, right click this and select Delete - if places.sqlite-journal file is present then delete this also.
  
  
  
• Scroll up and locate the localstore.rdf file, right click and select Delete
  
  
  
  
• Close this window and open Firefox. Have the Bookmarks returned?

[texred]

Nut, I'm sorry. I must be losing it. I thought I already did this. I just deleted the two files and no help. I await you

[Nutloaf]

No problem Tex I have my next post ready, won't be long.

[Nutloaf]

Hi there Texred. Those Bookmarks are a mystery so this time round we will back those up before we fix anything just in case.


The System Restore will probably fetch the infections back as well, just so you are aware.

1. System Restore

• Click Start then All programs Click the Accessories folder then click the System Tools folder.
• Click System Restore On the screen shown below check the Choose a different restore point and click Next
  
  
  
• From the list Choose a date before the 3rd of October. Click Next
• Click Finish then Click Yes to begin System Restore.
• Vista will now log you off the computer and start the System Restore process as shown in the image below.
  
  

Once rebooted check to see if the Bookmarks have returned, if not you may repeat the above and select an earlier date. The date provided above was taken from before the first OTL fix and before you mentioned the disappearence on the 7th.


Hopefully with returned Bookmarks I would like to see a full OTL scan to see what has returned

2. DOWNLOAD OTL

• Using this link Download OTL and save it to your Desktop
• If saved to another location, right click the OTL icon and Select Cut then right click on Desktop and select Paste
• Right click the OTL icon and select Run as Administrator.
• Make sure the following boxes are checked:
• Scan All Users
• Include 64bit Scans
• Use Company-Name WhiteList
• Skip Microsoft Files
• Use No-Company-Name WhiteList
• LOP Check
• Purity Check
• In the Extra Registry box select Use Safe List
• Now Click Run Scan
• OTL will now scan your computer and produce 2 log files. OTL.txt and Extras.txt.
• Post both in your next reply

Things I want to see in your next post.

• OTL.txt
• Extras.txt
• Returned Bookmarks

[texred]

No wonder everything's slightly off for me-you're using Vista and I've got 7 Home Premium. No biggie. The biggie is that restore points only go to 10/16/13 due to all OTL created restore points. I tried increasing space in System Protection, no luck. Looked up Update History, no luck. Read a sevenforums tutorial and now I wonder will running CCleaner help, or their "How to Change the Default Location of a User Profile in Windows 7 or Vista"?
Or, just forget the whole thing?

[Nutloaf]

If the restore points are the only ones present then I'm afraid they are lost. The problem I am having is why they were deleted in the first place. None of our tools are aimed at Bookmarks and Bookmarks can't just disappear. It's almost as if Firefox and all it's information left the machine and returned brand new.

CCcleaner and Firefox - copy and paste the following into Google, this may be something to do with it: ccleaner firefox bookmarks

I don't recommend using any performance boosting or registry cleaning tools. They overclean and cause unforeseen problems.

[texred]

Genius! We're both genies! Go to start, type in "run", then ok, then %APPDATA%. Explorer window will open, then select Mozilla - Firefox - Profiles!! CCleaner can corrupt Firefox. Firefox stores bookmarks (and a lot of other stuff) in unique "profiles". Finding the profile folder, is, of course, different for every system. Of course. I tried restoring these 2 files, copying them, and I don't know what all, but the truth is I do not know what to do with them now. I printed one and it was in code, but came out normally transferring to Libraries, where it put all the bookmarks in my Documents. No good - no more space. It's your turn.

[Nutloaf]

I'm not fully understanding what files you have. The profiles folder is what we have been working on. We tried the backups that store the bookmarks, they should have been there.

The 2 files that I asked you to delete can sometimes be corrupt and cause a loss of Bookmarks. Deleting the files fixes this issue.

What files are you trying to restore?

Where are you restoring them from? CCcleaner?

[Nutloaf]

See above post as well.

Or have you managed to locate a JSON file with a correct date match? If this is the case then we are in business

[texred]

Yes, we are in business. I did not touch CCleaner, as you said. I just googled what you said and went exploring from there. And yes, JSON w/old dates. Will send you file names. I can't really figure out how to restore them. (I had used CCleaner once b4 I met you)

[texred]

Can't get these to copy and paste, or attach. Primary folder is "sa3frivy.default-1380226944373" opens to (among others) folder "bookmarksbackups" opens to file "bookmarks-2013-9-16.json". This is the oldest file, so I assume it has the majority of bookmarks, were I to open it. I found in Google a site called "file-extensions.org" w/ program "free file association scan", but I didn't want to do anything until you advised. I hope you understand what I am saying, as I have no idea what the protocol is!

[Nutloaf]

I will post this evening the JSON files need to be imported to Firefox. I will show you how to do this. Now I am excited.

[Nutloaf]

Hi Texred

The only way to open a JSON file is through Firefox. We need to make the AppData folder visable to you so follow in the order below.


Any Problems then stop and let me know

1. Folder Options

• Click Start and in the search box type Folder Options and press Enter
• Click the View tab and check the Show hidden files, folders and drives box. (See image)
  
  
  
• Click Apply then O.K
• All done, now Firefox

2. Firefox Bookmarks

• 2 ways to do this step depending on your display - 1. Click the Display Your Bookmarks button and select Show All Bookmarks OR 2. Click Bookmarks then Show All Bookmarks see images below
  
  
  
  
• In the window that opens click the Import and Backup button and then select Restore.
• This time instead of a date select Choose file
  
  
  
• We now need to locate the JSON file in the sa3frivy.default-1380226944373 profiles folder.
• In the left hand pane click Local Disk (C:)
• In the right hand window scroll down and double click the Users folder.
  
  
  
• Double click your users folder (Tania)
• Double click AppData Double click Roaming Double click Mozilla Double click Firefox
• Double click Profiles Double click sa3frivy.default-1380226944373 Double click Bookmarkbackups
• Double click the JSON file you need to restore bookmarks and click O.K at the prompt.
• All done!

[Nutloaf]

I am so happy that the Bookmarks are returned

O.K Tania I have 2 more posts for you. In this post we will create a clean restore point and delete the old infected points. Then we will clear away the tools we used.

The post after this I will answer all the questions you have asked and give some advice to help stay safe in the future



There are 9 steps for you to do, don't worry they are very simple but as always if you're stuck then STOP and call for Nutty


1. Folder Options

We need to hide the files from our last post

• Click Start and in the search box type Folder Options and press Enter
• Click the View tab and check the Don't show hidden files, folders and drives box. (See image)
  
  
  
• Click Apply then O.K
• All done.

2. Create Restore Point and Remove OTL

Copy the entire text in the Quote box below, do not include the word QUOTE and Paste into the Custom Scans/Fixes box in OTL.

:COMMANDS
[CREATERESTOREPOINT]

• Then click Run Fix
• When complete a log file will tell you if sucessfull. I do not need to see this.
• Now click the CleanUp button on OTL. This will delete the log files, and OTL itself.
• Click O.K to Reboot.

3. Flush Old System Restore Points

• Click on Start - All Programs - Accessories - System Tools - click on Disk Cleanup[/b] and select Run as Administrator.
• If prompted Select the system drive, C then OK.
• Ensure the boxes for Recycle Bin, Temporary Files and Temporary Internet Files are checked.
• Now click on the More Options tab. If not shown - Click on Clean up system files - Select the system drive, C then OK. now click More Options Tab.
• Under:- System Restore and Shadow Copies Click on Clean up... select Delete - OK then Delete Files.

4. Register Avast

• Open Avast either by clicking the Taskbar shield or the Desktop icon.
• Top of the screen should be a link to Register now. If not Click Maintenance and the link is there.
• Choose Free Protection if asked and fill in your Name and Email info.
• You will then recieve an email with a confirmation link. Click the link and your all set for free updates.

Dustpan and Brush


5. Delete Security Check Icon

• Right click the Security Check Icon and select Delete

6. Delete Shortcut Cleaner Icon

• Right click the Shortcut Cleaner Icon and select Delete

7. Delete JRT icons

• Right click the Junkware Removal Tool Icon and select Delete

8. Uninstall ADWcleaner

• Open ADWcleaner and click Cancel if asked to update.
• Click Uninstall

9. Uninstall ESET

• Click Start then select Control Panel
• In control panel click Uninstall a Program or Programs and Features and uninstall ESET online scanner

Let me know when you have completed the above and I shall give my next post