Apple Event: May 7th at 7 am PT
I have just upgraded my OS to Sierra. In the process my browser history was wiped out. I tried going into User/Library/Safari and restoring all the items marked history . . . but it had no effect. Where is the OS really storing history these days? Is it possible to restore?
Mac Pro, macOS Sierra (10.12.6)
Okay, I have solved it . . . mostly. It was a version compatibility problem. When I upgraded it installed an older version of Safari. History is now working and it is not erasing new history. Only remaining problem is some very old history I was keeping around for a project I haven't gotten back to. I'll deal with that in a different manner. Thanks for the help.
Okay, I have solved it . . . mostly. It was a version compatibility problem. When I upgraded it installed an older version of Safari. History is now working and it is not erasing new history. Only remaining problem is some very old history I was keeping around for a project I haven't gotten back to. I'll deal with that in a different manner. Thanks for the help.
You might want to consider starting a new discussion. Since this one is marked solved, less people are likely to look at it. A new post would be much more visible. You can link to this one.
Safari won't open at all or is your problem with history, which this post is about. What happens when you try to open Safari?
Try setting up another admin user account to see if the same problem continues. Also try the Safe Mode.
Safe Mode - About El Capitan
also Sierra
Safe Mode Startup – El Capitan. also Sierra
If it works in the Safe Mode, try running this program when booted normally and then copy and paste the output in a reply. The program was created by Etresoft, a frequent contributor. Please use copy and paste as screen shots can be hard to read. Click “Share Report” button in the toolbar, select “Copy to Clipboard” and then paste into a reply. This will show what is running on your computer. No personal information is shown. I would post it in a new post.
Yes. Furthermore history is completely blank, as in it is erasing the history when it is shutdown. It is set for manual in the preferences and I'm not using a private window so something else is wrong.
Might be a corrupt .plist.
Do a backup, preferably 2 backups on 2 separate drives.
Quit the application.
Go to Finder and select your user/home folder. With that Finder window as the front window, either select Finder/View/Show View options or go command - J. When the View options opens, check ’Show Library Folder’. That should make your user library folder visible in your user/home folder. Select Library. Then go to Preferences/com.apple.Safari.plist. Move the .plist to your desktop.
Restart the computer, open the application, and test. If it works okay, delete the plist from the desktop.
If the application is the same, return the .plist to where you got it from, overwriting the newer one.
This may require a reset of some other Preferences.
Thanks to leonie for some information contained in this.
After restoring, did you restart the computer, and then open Safari?
There is no com.apple.Safari.plist in that location. I even did a search with system files included - nada.
Oops, no I found it. Didn't make any difference though. Still not restoring history, still not keeping new history.
My Safari will not launch as well? Anyway you can tell me how you’ve restored yours? I’ve searched in Library says, “not found”. Not sure how else to get it to work? Any ideas?
How to restore Safari History on a Mac
