Recover Internet Explorer Favorites

This week I had to add a second hard drive to a Compaq computer. The old machine would not boot. I had to switch around the SATA cables to have the unit load in the correct boot order. Now my c: and d: drives are showing and in their proper order. Between IE 5,6,7, and 8 there are different procedures to import and export to the favorites folder. Lo and behold those same instructions for IE 8 are misleading on Microsoft’s Help & Support center. I won’t belabor you with that - here’s a simple trick. If, as in my example, the favorites are sitting on D: Documents and Setting/Name/Favorites copy the folder to your desktop (CTRL+C) than Right Click and Paste or use CTRL+V to paste. We want to make a copy of the bookmark file first. Again, make a copy first.

If you had the actual bookmark.html file you can import directly in IE. But here’s a simple trick. In Windows XP goto your Start button and than open the “Run” command. Type: %USERPROFILE%\Favorites. You can size your windows if you are a novice side by side.

Open the Favorites folder on your desktop. Highlight and select all the documents. Copy them using the same procedure as above. Now paste the contents into the User Profile. Open IE Explorer. Your favorites should appear in your list.