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Corrupt localstore.rdf

From MozillaZine Knowledge Base

This article will help you fix Firefox problems caused by a corrupt localstore.rdf file, which include:

  • Changes to the toolbar reset themselves after you close Firefox and start it up again
  • Window size or position not remembered at startup
  • Bookmarks appear in the Bookmarks Manager but not in the main menu and can't be edited [1]
  • "Add Bookmark" dialog not working [2]
  • Back/forward toolbar buttons missing after Firefox 3 upgrade and unable to restore using "View -> Toolbars -> Customize" [3]

Contents

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Solution

If you have a backup copy of the localstore.rdf file from a working Firefox profile, a quick remedy is closing Firefox and overwriting the localstore.rdf file in the Firefox profile folder with your backup copy. [4]

If you have no backup, you need to remove the localstore.rdf file and let Firefox generate a new copy. Your toolbar customizations will be gone when you next restart Firefox but future changes will be retained.

Note: Before continuing you may wish to save a screenshot of your Firefox toolbar customizations, to help you restore them later.

Use either one of these methods to remove and regenerate the localstore.rdf file:

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Safe Mode method

Exit Firefox completely and then restart Firefox in Safe Mode. A window called Firefox Safe Mode with some troubleshooting options will appear:

Image:Safemoderesettoolbars.png

Select the option "Reset toolbars and controls" and click "Make Changes and Restart".

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Manual method

Exit Firefox completely, open the Firefox profile folder (Windows users, read this for help finding it) and delete the file localstore.rdf.

Caution: Do not delete the localstore.rdf file in the Firefox program installation folder by mistake [5].

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See also

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Related bug reports

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