Lost bookmarks when saving as HTM file

Lightning Mike · 23 Apr 2016

I'm new here & have a problem.
I’m using Windows 10 & IE browser & want to save my bookmarks for install on new larger hard drive.
When saving most bookmarks in folders will save, but other folders will be empty or gone totally. I’m using the Windows+R & - iexplore.exe method I found on web. I have a lot of folders filled with bookmarks. Is there a limit to how many folders & bookmarks you can have? If anyone has an answer to my problem please let me know. Thanks

Night Hawk · 23 Apr 2016

Hello Lightning Mike Welcome to the Ten Forums!

Actually for backing everything up for IE the process is simple. Simply open up your main user account folder under "C:\users\user account name" and there you have it the "Favorites" folder which hasn't seen any changes since XP! Inside you will find the Bookmarks bar, Bookmarksbar, Favorites bar, etc. depending if you have seen change of builds as well as having restored IE Favorites from any previous version(s) of Windows.

Once you are set up with the new drive simply copy and paste the most current bookmarks from the Bookmarks bar folder into the new folder by the same name to see them instantly appear on the IE bar itself. You can also see them copied and pasted into another browser's bookmarks bar as well like FF and then export them in a new htlm file to be imported into IE that way.

Edge up until lately now seeing the latest 14328 with the latest revisions wouldn't allow importing anything from other then IE now is able to import from FF and likely most FF variants.

Lightning Mike · 24 Apr 2016

Thanks Night Hawk for reply, I did a replied back to you, but I did something wrong & I don't know where it went, so here it is again. Your way is different from mine, but I still miss the same Bookmarks.
I was using W7 & did the free Windows 10 upgrade, which imported my bookmarks to a folder named (imported from IE) top left of browser. Everything was there, I add new folders since, & all work fine. I switched from Edge to IE, but somewhere along the way I now have google chrome. All my bookmarks still work, but when I try to save them some 5 folders are not there. I tried making a folder inside one of the folders that would save. I named it missing folders & moved the 5 folders that wouldn't save into it. Did your bookmark way to save & the (missing folder) is nowhere to be found. Of these 5 folder some are from 7 & some are new since 10. I haven't looked farther to see if any other bookmarks are missing in the save. I don't want to change hard drives till I can be sure not to loose bookmarks. Any ideas? Hope you get this reply.

Night Hawk · 24 Apr 2016

In the original IE Favorites all the "Unsorted" would be simply loose filling up the main folder while the select bookmark or favorites would be contained in the bookmarks bar or bookmarkbar sub folder depending on how you find it spelled.. Bouncing back and forth between FF, Waterfox, Cyberfox the bookmarks folder for the bookmarks bar sees both since the Cyberfox browser is the Australian variant of FF seen there.

As for Chrome someone else running the latest Insider build just reported seeing Edge recommend Chrome in one of his screens on the news thread about the latest 14328 build. I already had Chrome as well as several other browsers installed on the main and so far haven't seen it come up at all on a fresh VM as well as the other desktop and two 10 VMs also updated to this new build.

For what I do here is back things up constantly as I go along having multiple drives as well as 7 being dual booted with 10 across two drives along with the pair of storage/backkup drives. Before seeing any major change as far as any full clean install goes I will already have everything backed up to the other drives as well as in sub folder for a main storage folder I keep several subs in on C for ready access. Since none are MS created they are left untouched unless a full wipe or drive change is to be seen.

Once you have the drive in and OSed you then manually copy the bookmarks bar bookmarks into the new empty sub folder either the Favorites for IE or the other browser like FF you have on and then once they are all set on IE, FF you can then import them direct into Edge as well as see a planned backup. It's basically copy and paste of bookmark files between a temp folder and the destination folder for IE you are looking at. The temp folder can even be on a flash drive if needed if not a second storage drive.

Lightning Mike · 25 Apr 2016

Night Hawk I want to thank you for working with me on my problem.
When it comes to computers, I consider myself an older advanced novice, but still learning, & I understood most of what you said. You did make me think. When I first updated to 10 is when google chrome was added, (which I hadn’t used before) because the bookmark folder above said imported from IE. Later I read EDGE was no good & change to IE, which I did, but continued to use chrome & save bookmarks to it without thinking. When I look in IE browser bookmarks, I found bookmarks folders there, but none of the new ones since 10 was installed. I’m saving IE bookmarks, when I should be saving Chrome bookmarks. In Google Chrome top right I clicked that menu & found you can import IE bookmarks to Chrome but not export them back to IE. I feel like a fool, not catching this before. Where are Chrome bookmarks saved, & how do I get Chrome bookmarks to IE to save. Will coping Chrome bookmarks & pasting them to IE bookmark folder, will some be doubles since some will be the same in both folders.

Night Hawk · 26 Apr 2016

Depending on just how many there are....??? What I did in the past when not able to back things up was first open up both browsers and you then open each page up on the browser with them and simply copy and paste the URL over to the other and then save it there One At A Time! Can be time consuming! But a faster option may be importing from Chrome into FF or another FF variant first and then import from FF to IE! Edge is also now able to import from FF as well. Then you can make the new IE capable backup in htlm form under the FF bookmarks sub folder.

If IE already had them you would simply manually copy the entire Favorites folder to a safe place on another drive until the replaement is in and running 10 on that. First you have to get from Chrome over to something more IE friendly however being the trick to get through this. You make a backup FF can import and then make one while in FF for IE11.

Once you have FF on and everything imported from Chrome you can also back FF up elsewhere for safe keeping as well. You might even decide to stick with FF along with having IE11 enabled on the fresh install so both can work together until Edge has seen some real progress being the new kid on the block still. One advantage found here was having several browsers onhand in case one or two decides to phase out on you! I can turn right around and work from one of the others until the first and even second get updated which is just how things went for Waterfox and FF for the first few 64bit flavors off FF seen and onto Cyberfox when 42 and 43 versions for WF and FF alike both stuffed up! I had taken IE off the choice for default browse back in 2010-11 when IE 8 then 8 and later 10 kept acting up when having multiple browser windows open. Sharing bookmarks between them can be a life saver you toss in at times!

Lightning Mike · 26 Apr 2016

Thanks Night Hawk, I think this is a plan that might work. With this info I might solve my problem.
That's what I like about forms, someone will always step up to help others out.
Thanks again
Michael

Night Hawk · 27 Apr 2016

Well I hope to see you get it worked out! I know when first trying to backup Waterfox and IE back in 2013 when planning a full drive wiped and then later finding I should have first imported everything into IE first the bookmarks file imported was incomplete. I then had to retrace my steps and open everything up in IE one at a time to copy and paste URLs over to the other browser to resave everything until IE 11was later able to import the bookmarks type file.

Lately MS has been more or less trying to standardize things between Linux and Windows with the addition of the Ubuntu based Bash Console option now seen as well as other things the open source community has to offer in order to be a cross platform type OS.