Chrome Fix: Restore Lost Bookmarks due to Chrome Update

Tracy King Updated on Nov 15, 2018 to File Recovery | How-to Articles

"I installed the free upgrade to Windows 10. Now, I see that I've lost all of my files (pictures, videos,..), and more importantly in my case, the content of my bookmarks in Google Chrome. How can I get back the lost bookmarks?"

This a scenario from Super User. According to this scenario, it seems quite common for Chrome users to lose or delete important bookmarks for various kinds of reasons. However, still, quite a number of users may feel puzzled when their newly updated Chrome or the Windows OS update removes or deletes their files and bookmarks.

If you happen to lose bookmarks or favorites in Chrome after updating to the new version, here below, you'll find professional solutions to restore lost bookmarks due to Windows or Chrome update.

PAGE CONTENT:

Recover lost bookmarks from Chrome backups

Directly recover bookmarks from the PC

Use DNS Cache to find lost bookmarks

Use Google History to find bookmarks

Fix 1. Find lost Chrome bookmarks from Chrome backups in PC

Chrome usually creates a local file folder to back up all your browsing histories and bookmarks in your PC. So when you lose important bookmarks or delete favorites in Chrome, you may still have a chance to find them on your PC.

 Warning: Before starting, please remember that don't close and reopen Chrome. If Chrome is already closed, leave it closed. Otherwise, it will overwrite the saved backup each time you launch Chrome.

Step 1: Open Windows Explorer and plug the following location into its address bar, please replace "NAME" with the name of your Windows user account:
C:\Users\NAME\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default
Step 2: Here, you will see two bookmark files – Bookmarks and Bookmarks.bak. The latter is the most recent backup which was taken when you opened your browser the last time.
Step 3: To restore the backup, close all open Chrome browser windows. With Chrome closed, rename the Bookmarks file to Bookmarks.old and rename Bookmarks.bak to Bookmarks.
Step 4: You'll see your deleted bookmarks when you relaunch Chrome. Any bookmarks you've created since the last time you launched Chrome will be lost.

If you don't find the .bak file extension but just see two files named Bookmarks, try to change the settings to uncheck the "Hide extensions for known file types" option.

That's what ended up restoring the bookmarks. For good measure, it is also advised to disable the Google Stars bookmarking tool.

Fix 2. Restore lost bookmarks due to Chrome update from PC

When Chrome update thoroughly deleted all files including bookmark on your PC and you can neither find any tracks in the Chrome browser, then you can try a free recovery software - EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Free Edition. It is a professional tool that can recover deleted, formatted, inaccessible data from different data loss situations from your local devices. Try this software to restore the deleted Chrome histories/favorites from your PC.

Step 1. Select a location to start finding data

Launch EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, please select a location where you lose your data and start to scan, like Desktop, Libraries, hard drive, external storage devices or lost partitions.

Step 2. Scan your partition

Click the "Scan" button and the software begins to scan your partition to find as much lost data as possible.

the software will scan the drive to find all of your data

Tips for finding wanted data

Extra Files: find files that lost names or paths
Filter: a quick way to your wanted files
Search: e.g. file name/file extension

Step 3. Preview and recover lost files

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard allows you to preview specific recoverable files. After the preview or file filtering, you can target the tracked files and press the "Recover" button to get everything you want back.

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When you get lost Chrome bookmarks or histories back, you can copy the bookmarks to the local backup folder in your PC as a backup and then browse each one of them to set as bookmarks again in new Chrome browser.

Fix 3. Use DNS Cache to find lost Chrome favorites after the browser update

Step 1: Press Windows + R, type cmd and click OK. Or you can also type cmd in the Windows search bar.
Step 2: Open Command Prompt, type ipcongif /displaydns and click Enter.

All recent websites that you've visited will be listed and you can browse them and set them as bookmarks in Chrome again.

Fix 4. Restore lost favorites after Chrome update via Google History

This fixing method only works when you didn't clean up your Google History. If you have cleaned up all browsing histories in Google, things may not work at all by following below steps:

Go to Google History > Sign in Google account > Tab History

You'll find all your browsing histories and then you can add them as your Chrome favorites or bookmarks again.

How to prevent losing your Chrome bookmarks again

Do remember to back up your Chrome bookmarks or its local files in PC regularly into another hard drive or storage device. Then, you can copy the backups into your PC Chrome backup folder and restore bookmarks with ease when you happen to lose Chrome bookmarks.

Step 1: In the top-right corner of the browser window, click the Chrome menu enter image description here.
Step 2: Select Bookmarks > Bookmark Manager.
Step 3: Click the Organize menu button in the center pane of Bookmark manager.
Step 4: Select Export bookmarks to HTML file...
Step 5: Chrome will export your bookmarks as an HTML file, which you can then import into Chrome or another web browser.

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Frequently Asked Qusetions

Windows · Mac

1. Why cannot I recover 2GB data for free?

It is recommended to check the version installed is Free or Trial because they are different versions.

Trial has data preview function but cannot save any files, while the Free version enables to recover 2 GB files. The default free space is 500 MB and you may share the product on social media to get another 1.5 GB.

2. Why cannot the recovered files be opened?

A file is saved as 2 parts on the storage device: directory info (which is comprised by file name, time stamp and size info, etc.) and data content.

If the files with original file names and folder structures cannot be opened, one possible reason is the corrupted directory info. There is still a chance to recover the data content with the RAW Recovery method in our software.

3. Why isn't it suggested to recover the files back to the original drive?: The storage structure of the lost files would be altered or damaged by any changes on the drive. If you save the recovered files back to the same drive, the original data structures and data content would be corrupted or overwritten, which causes permanent data loss. So you should prepare another disk to save the files.

4. How can I check whether my data is recoverable or not before purchase?: The Free version helps you save 2GB files to better verify the recovery quality of our product before purchase.

5. How long does it take to scan the drive?: It strongly depends on the capacity of your hard drive and the performance of your computer. As reference,most drive recoveries can be completed in around 10 to 12 hours for a 1-TB healthy hard drive in general conditions.

1. Why cannot I recover 2GB data for free?: It is recommended to check the version installed is Free or Trial because they are different versions. Trial has data preview function but cannot save any files, while the Free version enables to recover 2 GB files.

2. Why cannot the recovered files be opened?: A file is saved as 2 parts on the storage device: directory info (which is comprised by file name, time stamp and size info, etc.) and data content. If the files with original file names and folder structures cannot be opened, one possible reason is the corrupted directory info. There is still a chance to recover the data content with the RAW Recovery method in our software.

3. Why isn't it suggested to recover the files back to the original drive?: The storage structure of the lost files would be altered or damaged by any changes on the drive. If you save the recovered files back to the same drive, the original data structures and data content would be corrupted or overwritten, which causes permanent data loss. So you should prepare another disk to save the files.

4. How can I check whether my data is recoverable or not before purchase?: The Free version helps you save 2GB files to better verify the recovery quality of our product before purchase.

5. How long does it take to scan the drive?: It strongly depends on the capacity of your hard drive and the performance of your computer. As reference,most drive recoveries can be completed in around 10 to 12 hours for a 1-TB healthy hard drive in general conditions.

Put the lost files back into your hands in only 3 steps. Don't wait as your files won't.

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