Worst Case

[Martin Edwards]

Is there a way to save my bookmarks on a stick in case my computer
breaks down?

 

[Andy Burns]

Is there a way to save my bookmarks on a stick in case my computer
breaks down?

Yes, or synchronising copies of them to a server somewhere, but it'd
help it you mention which browser you use?

 

[richard]

Is there a way to save my bookmarks on a stick in case my computer
breaks down?

save a copy of the browser .exe on the drive.

 

[Nil]

save a copy of the browser .exe on the drive.

That's a joke, right? It makes absolutely no sense, and it doesn't
address the question.

Please tell me you think you're being funny.

 

[John Williamson]

Is there a way to save my bookmarks on a stick in case my computer
breaks down?

The answer is yes, the method depends on which browser you use.

For Firefox, use the Mozbackup utility, and save the file on the USB
stick, rather then the default, which is "My Documents" or whatever M$
are calling it this week. Mozbackup can also back up your Thunderbird
settings and e-mail.

Or, get a bigger stick, and use it to back up all your documents as well.

 

[Paul]

Is there a way to save my bookmarks on a stick in case my computer
breaks down?

Some browsers have an "Export" function for the bookmarks. The
Export is supposed to put the bookmarks in HTML format, on the
theory you can open the file with a text editor and copy/paste
them to some other browser URL bar.

If you save that .htm file from the Export operation on a stick,
then it's ready for that "computer breakdown".

At one time, the bookmarks themselves were saved natively in an
HTML format. But the developers said "this is too simple - how
can we make this so only rocket scientists understand it?" and
so they changed it. The native format might be .json, but I haven't
a clue what that means. Except it's not very convenient, whereas
the output of Export is convenient. I don't do it very often, but
I have Export'ed the bookmarks a few times, for safe keeping.

Many things in Firefox are stored in databases. We're not sure why,
except when the databases get pretty big, it *really* slows down
the startup of the browser. And those same developers, we couldn't
convince them to fix that. Naw. Think Rocket Science.

Paul

 

[Stan Brown]

save a copy of the browser .exe on the drive.

And without the DLLs, registry entries, and profile, what good will
that do?

Sheesh!

 

[Tim Slattery]

Some browsers have an "Export" function for the bookmarks. The
Export is supposed to put the bookmarks in HTML format, on the
theory you can open the file with a text editor and copy/paste
them to some other browser URL bar.

Not necessarily. It puts them in a format that the browser can import.
IE: File|Import and Export

Firefox: Bookmarks | Show all bookmarks. Click "Import and Backup" at
the top of the resulting window.

I'm sure Opera, Chrome, Safari, etc, have equivalent functions, but I
don't know where.

 

[Evan Platt]

And without the DLLs, registry entries, and profile, what good will
that do?

Sheesh!

And regardless, that won't do squat for what the OP is trying to
accomplish.

 

[Evan Platt]

save a copy of the browser .exe on the drive.

bullis, you need to stick to asking for advice, not giving it. Your
computer 'advice' is 100% wrong, 100% of the time.

 

[Bruce Hagen]

Is there a way to save my bookmarks on a stick in case my computer
breaks down?

Import Or Export Favorites In Internet Explorer
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Import-or-export-favorites-in-Internet-Explorer

Export the favorites to the Desktop and from there, copy to CD or flash.

 

[Wolf K]

Is there a way to save my bookmarks on a stick in case my computer
breaks down?

As others have indicated, yes, several ways. But you might like to hear
my story.

When I installed W7, I had a large bookmarks file in Firefox on the XP
half of the machine. I had well over 500, all nicely organised into
subfolders. I installed Firefox in W7, and did not copy the bookmarks
file right away. Guess what? I found that I didn't miss those bookmarks.
Now, the couple dozen I really need (want?) I have on the toolbar, about
a hundred are in Bookmarks folders. From time to time I purge the ones I
will likely never visit again. And even though I have folders, it's
surprising how long it can take to find a relevant bookmark. Often, it's
quicker to google for what I want.

Thinking sideways: Investigate Portable Apps. You can have a suite of
programs on a stick, and run them on any Windows machine directly from
the stick. Mind you, these programs are not the ones that Microsoft
bundles with Windows, but most of them are as good or better.

 

[Desk Rabbit]

save a copy of the browser .exe on the drive.

Idiot.

 

[Char Jackson]

Some browsers have an "Export" function for the bookmarks. The
Export is supposed to put the bookmarks in HTML format, on the
theory you can open the file with a text editor and copy/paste
them to some other browser URL bar.

Speaking of exporting bookmarks to a single html file, some years ago
I did just that and then made that html file my browser's home page.
When the browser starts, there were all the bookmarks, right in front
of me.

The experiment worked, but I prefer Google to be my home page.

 

[Char Jackson]

As others have indicated, yes, several ways. But you might like to hear
my story.

When I installed W7, I had a large bookmarks file in Firefox on the XP
half of the machine. I had well over 500, all nicely organised into
subfolders. I installed Firefox in W7, and did not copy the bookmarks
file right away. Guess what? I found that I didn't miss those bookmarks.
Now, the couple dozen I really need (want?) I have on the toolbar, about
a hundred are in Bookmarks folders. From time to time I purge the ones I
will likely never visit again. And even though I have folders, it's
surprising how long it can take to find a relevant bookmark. Often, it's
quicker to google for what I want.

I can relate. My current bookmarks include everything I've ever saved,
going back to day one, and I'd bet I never access at least 98% of
them. I don't back them up in the hope that they'll disappear someday
and I can start fresh, sort of like you did.

 

[The Seabat]

Why not just export them directly to the flash stick?

 

[Dave \Crash\ Dummy]

I can relate. My current bookmarks include everything I've ever
saved, going back to day one, and I'd bet I never access at least 98%
of them. I don't back them up in the hope that they'll disappear
someday and I can start fresh, sort of like you did.

I like your thinking. Never do anything that you can avoid. I clean my
bookmarks whenever I do a clean install. That way I avoid having to
decide which ones to keep. It doesn't take long to accumulate new clutter.

 

[Dave \Crash\ Dummy]

Speaking of exporting bookmarks to a single html file, some years ago
I did just that and then made that html file my browser's home page.
When the browser starts, there were all the bookmarks, right in
front of me.

The experiment worked, but I prefer Google to be my home page.

If you are using IE, you can go a step further and put your Favorites
folder on your Start menu and go to bookmarked sites without even
loading your browser first.

 

[Gene Wirchenko]

[snip]

I can relate. My current bookmarks include everything I've ever saved,
going back to day one, and I'd bet I never access at least 98% of
them. I don't back them up in the hope that they'll disappear someday
and I can start fresh, sort of like you did.

As can I. I just looked and found I have 1.3 MB of bookmarks.
Most of them -- 98% might be about right -- I have not referred after
bookmarking. I wish bookmarks could be organised better. I want to
be able to put them in more than one category.

Sincerely,

Gene Wirchenko

 

[Dave \Crash\ Dummy]

If you are using IE, you can go a step further and put your Favorites
folder on your Start menu and go to bookmarked sites without even
loading your browser first.

Disclaimer. I did that using Classic Shell. I don't know if or how it
can be done in the default Windows 7 Start (Orb) menu.