so obviously weve all been there. you have to reinstall chrome. maybe your computer crashed, maybe it broke, maybe chrome just stopped working right and messed something up on your computer, maybe the dog peed on it or your fat uncle just sat on it. whatever the reason youll want to read this BEFORE reinstalling chrome.
if you had to reset and reinstall your computers os or software then this tactic is quite simple. dont wipe or erase the old windows files, they can easily be found in the main C: drive on your computer under "windows.old" or whatever. basically if you want an easy way to back up your chrome bookmarks [without the annoyance of trying to screw around with chrome sync], you just need to find two files in your computers chrome directory.
this is a straight path it starts at the main drive im doing this for pc users btw
1. start at "windows (C:}"
2. then go to the folder labeled "users"
3. next find the folder named after your username, [whatever you used as your username when you logged in. itll be distinguished from the other folders and easily recognised]. open this folder.
4. now this part is tricky. youre looking for a folder named "AppData", and if you cant see it youre in the right user folder. now the reason why you cannot just type the path directly to this chome folder is BECAUSE the path involved hidden folders. hidden folders are [imo] a dick move for anyone knowing the full path to a file where the path involves a hidden folder. its like an invisible door essentially, and like a door it CAN be unlocked. you will need to go into your "folder view settings" then find the option to display "hidden items" or "hidden folders" or what have you. youll know it worked when you suddenly see an assload of folders in places where they werent before. these "hidden folders" are translucent [or see through like living room drapes over a big manilla enveloppe]. once you see the "AppData" folder in the curent sequence ive given so far open the folder.
5. open the "local" folder
6. open the "google" folder
7. open the "chrome" folder
[im sure you see where were going? nope, wrong.]
8. "user data" most likely the only folder here
9. BOOM! EXPLOSION! KABOOM! OH GOD WHAT DO I OPEN NOW?! oh just click on the damn "default" folder. no its not a "default" folder as in the logical one its a folder LITERALLY named "default".
10. second to last step: find two files/folders. they will be named "bookmarks" and "bookmarks.bak" respectively. depending on your system, os, and type of computer they could be two folders, two files, or one file and one folder. if they are folders DO NOT OPEN THEM. i repeat IF THE "bookmarks" and "bookmarks.bak" FILES ARE FOLDERS DO NOT OPEN THEM. simply highlight the folders with the mouse [hold "ctrl" and click them - also works for highlighting individual items on a long list at random]. once the two "bookmarks" and "bookmarks.bak" are highlighted hold down "ctrl" and press "c" then go to your destop [or other location you can access at a snap] and then hold down "ctrl" and press "v".
[MAKE SURE TO SAVE THE COPY OF YOUR OLD "bookmarks" and "bookmarks.bak" FILES ON AN EXTERNAL DRIVE OR LOCATION IN CASE THE WORST HAPPENS. [dinosaurs with toaster guns?]
11. final step is after you reinstall chrome [again for whatever reason - f**k it, lets say beavers] simply repeat steps 1-9 and once you find the "bookmarks" and "bookmarks.bak" files again take your previously copied "bookmarks" and "bookmarks.bak" files and move them into the "default" folder [again not a primary folder but a folder named "default", though the fact that it IS the file you need technically MAKES it the default folder. haha...wordplay.
then just open chrome and viola! theres your old bookmarks.
alternatively:
if you turn on "show hidden items" or whatever it is you can search the terms ""bookmarks" and "bookmarks.bak". however, you will still need to know the directional path to move the two files to the new "default" folder. just searching could prove dangerous though as the "bookmarks" and "bookmarks.bak" could be folders and/or files. so if you search directly right click with your mouse and click "open file location" just to check that you are both at the right items and in the right end folder.
the path would be written as follows:
windows>users>[name of computer user]>appdata[hidden folder - select box "hidden items" under view settings]>local>google>chrome>user data>default>
an alternate method to transfer bookmarks is open the "bookmark manager" and click on "organize" a menu will drop down. click on "export bookmarks" then save to a location that you can easily remember. be sure to export from the very top of the bookmark list where each main folder starts. if you use mobile devices youll have a second folder labeled "mobile bookmarks" separate from the main "bookmarks bar" folder.
for mobile devices use this method as you cannot safely access the folders in mobile devices.
but there you go. a HUGE issue that chrome users have been dealing with for eons that chrome has STILL not been able to fix with sync. be sure you use this to find the "bookmarks" and "bookmarks.bak" file/folders and back them up before you reset or wipe your free space or old version of windows. otherwise...duuuuuust iiiin the wiiiiiind...all your chrome favorites will be duuust in theewiiiinnnnnd.
****for the record here this was NOT easy to figure out on my own. i bing'd "where are chrome bookmarks stored on the computer" and found a basic idea of what folders i needed to search for. the responses were people listing file paths based off their own computers. like two people explained that you cannot just search the file path and i believe one actually LISTED the two files needed to save the bookmarks.
just searching for the file names alone did not really help, and it wasnt till i took the important tidbits from each response that i finally figured how to find the damn files. then i worked backwards one folder at a time till i found where the hidden folder was and wrote down the path line. before this i was searching blindly for the words "chrome", "google", ".html", and "users".
once i understood what i was looking for and knew the path to get there it was actually quite an easy crapshoot. and i say "crapshoot", cause well if you read the previous post about that wierd tech support jackass scam you know WHY i had to completely reset my pc. so i really had NO FRIGGIN idea whether this was even going to work, but hooray for logic prevailing once more!
never doubt a bing search, the answers are often there, just in pieces like a broken puzzle. and i guess i have to be the puzzlemaster since nobody ever seems to put up a complete answer to these stupid things.
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