It happens with almost everyone; you accidentally hit the wrong button, and suddenly your Firefox browser history is gone. Whether you need it for work or only to remember which websites you visited last week, losing this data can be frustrating. But don’t worry; there are a few ways that you can try to get your lost browsing history back. You can restore Firefox memory via backup copies called index.dat files. Alternatively, you might try restoring lost history from Mozilla Firefox by utilizing the DNS cache. Continue reading to discover how history recovery works in Firefox.
1. Restore Firefox History Using index.dat File
Firefox keeps the backup copies of deleted history are in hidden files with the extensions index.dat. Therefore, if you accidentally delete Firefox history, you can retrieve it by looking for the index.dat file.
- Go to Start → Search →Tools → Folder Options.
- Select “View” → “Show hidden files and folders” → uncheck “Hide extensions for known file types” and “Hide protected operating system files.”
- Proceed to search in “All Files and Folders” in the C: Drive → type index.dat in search bar → then select “Search.”
- If you don’t already have one, you can download and install the index.dat file reader on your PC.
- Now, open the index.dat file from the reader → Select the Firefox browsing history you wish to restore and press “Restore.” You can now open up your Firefox browser and see if all your restored history has been saved.
Generally, Firefox browsing history files are stored in a specific folder on your computer. When you browse the web through Firefox, the browser saves your browsing history locally on your PC. If you clear it on your PC, the historical data saved there will also be removed. You can restore it by importing it from a backup. But it’s only possible if you back up the local history database before deleting Firebox browsing history. You can follow the given directory path to recover Firefox History files on your PC:
C:\Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\
2. Using Data Recovery Software to Locate index.dat on Your PC
Other software you can use, but we’ll use this one for demonstration. On your computer, download and install Wondershare Recoverit. Now:
- Launch the program and select a folder where you need to search the index.dat file. Choose the desktop or any other drive and proceed to select Start to begin the scan.
- Check for lost data on the drive. Remember that file recovery may take varying lengths of time, depending on your file size. To search for a certain file type, you can use one of the filters accessible. For example, to get access to Firefox’s history, look for index.dat files.
- After the scan is completed, select and recover the file to allow Recoverit to find the hidden file in the related folder after pressing the Recover button. You can also preview the file before recovery. To finish the process, click on recover once you are satisfied. The index.dat file will be recovered when you click on recover.
- Use a program to read the index.dat file. You can use it to look at the files and fetch your browser history. For example, you’ll know which various websites you’ve visited and for how long.
3. Recovering Firefox History Via DNS Cache
When you block the computer, it is still possible to access the DNS cache. The computer must not be shut down for this feature to work. However, when you restart your PC after turning it off, you can’t recover Firefox history with the DNS cache.
- To launch Command Prompt, press Windows + R, then type “cmd”.
- Hit the Enter button. (Alternatively, you can also search for “cmd” in Windows).
- Open Command Prompt, type ipconfig /displaydNS, and press Enter. You can now see the websites that you’ve recently visited. In addition, you can also save important sites to Firefox as bookmarks.
