Firefox 2.0.0.15 Upgrade Has Serious Problems

My system just automatically upgraded Firefox to version 2.0.0.15. Now, everything is back to default - Bookmarks, screen settings - everything. I've even lost all of my add-ons.

I tried to do a system restore through Windows XP, but it didn't work. A quick check on the Mozilla website shows that a lot of people are experiencing this - and getting no replies from the forum support people.

Is there an easy way to roll back Firefox to the previous install or settings?

 

I have had no problem, but, unlike many people I do not allow the program update automatically. The settings are in Advanced, and you can select to be told if there is an update.
All the information which is missing is located in the profile, which in the latest Windows version are hidden, but viewable. The path to your Firefox profile is:C:\Documents and Settings\user_namei\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles.
As per Ramona's website: NOTE: These files are hidden by default.
To see hidden files:
1. Click: Start | Control Panel | Appearance and Personalization | Folder Options
2. Click the View tab
3. Under Advanced settings, click Show Hidden files and folders, then click OK
4. To also see System Files, Disable "Hide protected operating system files "
5. Click OK.

If you knew this go straight to find what is there. I have yet to see a new version creating a new profile. So, there should be two folders, at least.
The old profile should be there. And, of course a system restore would cause nothing but trouble, if the folder is there. The link to the folder was lost.
Before continuing, I would like to know what you find. Can you get a link to the problems which you list. I am not even aware that there is a Mozilla website for issues like yours (there is a mozillazine.org site).
If you find only one profile folder, it is a new a scary one.
But, I can tell you with certainty that rolling back to an earlier version would not help, as the profile information is located in a different folder (if the program had overwritten the info, a system restore would have helped).
I don't know if using the original profile, which is called xxxxxx.default, would be a problem. My FF2.0.0.15 has a different name, so it would not play a fast one.
I am very interested in this odd happening. One reason why there were no replies, must be because when compared to the millions of installation, what you see as a lot, is a minor percentage. But, not to be dismissed.

 

I checked the profile directory and there's only one profile in it. It seems to be only a recent one and the bookmarks are wiped clean as well.

I'm at a bit of a loss here. I guess I'll have to rebuild everything manually and not trust Mozilla again.

BTW, the support site is support.mozilla.com

If you have any other ideas, please let me know. Thanks for the advice.

 

Welcome to the Forum, jjudson!

jjudson,

There is no way to roll back to the original profile unless you either:
1. have a backup copy of the Profiles folder
2. find the original profile on your HD

Did you change the setting for auto update, as suggested by Westside? If not, the setting is located here:
Tools | Options | Advanced | Update Tab

Enable this setting:
When updates to Firefox are found
Ask me what I want to do

This will completely disable any automatic update in the future, and give you control.

The best thing to do, IMHO, is to download the full setup, which can be found here:
Firefox 3.0: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/
Firefox 2.0.0.15: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all-older.html

In the future, always make a backup copy of your Profiles folder before upgrading, or editing any file in the Profiles folder. Simply create a backup folder on your HD, e.g. C:\Backup, and paste the copy of the Profiles in the Backup folder.

Just for grins, do a Search for files/folder
Start | Search | For files/folders
Search for prefs.js, or key3.db. Any files that you know to be in the Profile. Hopefully you might find the original Profile.

I did a search on MozillaZine and as you said, came up with lots of problems with Version 2.0.0.15

 

Ramona, I have an even bigger problem now. I opened up Thunderbird, and it's asking me to build a new account. Is Thunderbird and Mozilla connected? It seems odd that when Mozilla updated to 2.0.0.15 that Thunderbird freaked out like this. What I'm mostly worried about is my store of emails. What file or directory are they kept in? I have some very important emails that I don't want to lose. Will they still be there when I set up my Thunderbird accounts?

This is a much bigger problem than just repairing Mozilla. Any thoughts?

Thanks for your help.

 

The Thunderbird files are found in C:/Documents and Settings/Owner/Application Data/Thunderbird/Profiles. Hopefully, you will find your emails. I've been through the loss of emails before and it is not fun. I did learn the value of backups though. Good luck.

Mike

 

jjudson,

Firefox and Thunderbird of two separate applications. One has absolutely no effect on the other. Your Thunderbird issue is not connected to the Firefox issue.

Let us know what you see when you find your Thunderbird Profile. There will no doubt be two profiles (xxxxxxxx.profilename).

 

Sorry for the delay getting back to you. I was on vacation this past week and just got back.

I checked the directory and there is only one profile. None of the files in the profile match my old tree data, and the files are way too small to have any of my email.

Is there somewhere else this data could be hiding? I'm really rather shocked that an entire email directory can just vanish without notice. My system is secure, and my business Outlook data is still intact. What could possibly have happened here. And how can it be such a coincidence that both Mozilla and Thunderbird wiped out profile data when Mozilla upgraded? I'm really perplexed here - and a bit angry.

I'll definitely be going back to Outlook Express for my personal email. I can't risk this happening again. In 10 years of using Outlook Express, I've never experienced anything like this. I've only been using Thunderbird for six months and my data gets wiped out.

Any further advice you can give would be greatly appreciated. Is there any way to recover lost profile data?

Thanks for the help so far. Sorry to be so jumpy, but I'm really disappointed.

 

jjudson,

Have you tried searching for any files within your original Mail? Search for, Inbox, Drafts, etc.

The location of the default Mail Account folder is here:
C:\Documents and Settings\user_name\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\profile_name\Mail\pop.isp_name.net

As long as you have not moved your Profile to another partition or HDD, then that is where you should find your Mail files.

When you discovered your Thunderbird problem, did you by chance have a power failure, or Windows crash?

 

As a matter of fact, prior to my noticing the problem, I was copying a DVD of family photos onto my hard drive when my laptop battery was critically low. The laptop stopped the copy function and went into hibernation.

As to the profile directory, the only things that are in there are the current setup and an inbox of 0 kbits. None of my personal tree folders are there either.

Thanks for the help so far Ramona.

 

If the laptop went into hibernation due to a low battery, and you were in the middle of a task which shut down, it could very well be that Thunderbird didn't have time to write to the prefs.js file on shutdown, and therefore the lost mail. Without a backup you may well be out of luck...

 

Wow, doesn't that seem like a HUGE hole? I don't think I've ever seen that happen with Outlook or Outlook Express in all these years. I'm not a big fan of Microsoft, but I'll switch back to Outlook Express for my personal email. Granted, backing up makes sense for everything (unfortunately most of us nod and agree - but never do it), but I'd like to think a program is stable enough to recover from a power loss - especially something as important as an email program.

Thanks for the help Ramona. Chalk this one up to live and learn.

 

jjudson,

Take a look at this KB Article, and try some of the workarounds suggested:
Recovering a profile that suddenly disappeared

Check out this section:
Corrupt or empty prefs.js