7.1 woes continue (will not launch now)

Windows XP Home Edition, E-Machines laptop. Netscape 7.1
First problem was Netscape loses mail settings, bookmarks, preferences.
NOW that has stopped but..........................................
Netscape will not launch when clicking on the desktop icon. A list of what I have done.
Un-installed Netscape, deleted mozilla.org folder, and anything with Netscape or GRE.
Re-intstalled yesterday evening, and Netscape worked as if I had done nothing at all (home page was correct, all preferences were correct, netscape mail settings correct). Asked to choose a profile folder, Huh? Whats this? Never have seen this screen before. Clicked on the "default user" , informed it was in use. Ceated a profile name, informed it keeps settings, bookmarks etc. Deleted the default user.
This morning, quick launch icon was gone, Netscape would not launch when clicking on the desktop icon.
Un-installed again, deleted mozilla.org folder, and anything with Netscape or GRE.
Re-installed, "custom version ", mail, and classic skin only. No quick launch icon.
Netscape launched normally, home page was correct, preferences were correct. And mail acted normally (netscape default mail application).
When and if this occurs again, are there any other suggestions?
I have read some postings about cleaning the registery, and deleting other folders, but am unsure how to go about this.
Thank you for any suggestions. Alan

 

Alan,

Try these instructions for a clean install of Netscape 7.1. This is probably what you need to do. Sounds like you may have missed a couple things when uninstalling last time.

Mike

 

Thank you for the help. I printed out the instructions found on the link, and will keep them in a safe place. They explain in plain, blue-collar English how to go about repairing what appears to be a common problem.

 

Welcome to the Forum, BenzHead!

Hi Alan,

When you deleted everything associated with GRE, did you uninstall the mozilla.org folder in this location: C:\Program Files\Common Files\mozilla.org

If Netscape won't start, and clicking on the Desktop icon or the Netscp.exe file gives no results, The problem most likely is caused by a missing entry for the C:\Program Files\Common Files\mozilla.org\GRE folder location in the user's registry. This is known as the "Installer Bug ".

You may experience this bug if you have reinstalled Netscape/Mozilla, experienced Registry problems, or have reinstalled Windows. This is especially evident with Windows XP users*.

As this issue has been addressed in Mozilla 1.7.1, and the new release of Netscape 7.2, which is based on Mozilla 1.7 code, you may want to consider installing one of these stable browsers instead. The Netscape 7.1 Resource Leak has also been addressed in the Mozilla 1.7.1, and Netscape 7.2 Releases. Netscape 7.2 is expected to be released within the next 10 days to two weeks.

Ramona

 

Again, Netscape would not launch today. I followed the instructions from the link Ramona provided. home.att.net/~cherokee67/ns71startupnot.html
Made a backup copy of the profiles folder
Could not find the plugins folder, it may not matter, I only use a few components anyway
Uninstalled Netscape 7.1
There were no Netscape, mozilla.org/GRE files to delete, I assume they were wiped out during the uninstall
Cleared the temp folder. Cleared ALL temp folders
Restarted
Re-installed Netscape from the full offline installer I have saved on the HD
Start
Run
C:\windows\regedit.exe
HKEY_LOCAL _MACHINE\Software\Mozilla.org
Right clicked on this
Select permissions
Added Everyone to the list
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Mozilla
Right clicked on this
Select permissions
Added Everyone to the list

In both cases, the list was comprised of Admistrators, Creator Owner, System, Users, my name. What Everyone does I do not know, at this point I am willing to try anything!!!!!!
Hopefully the Netscape 7.2 CD will be out soon.

 

I want to summarize what you should find and where, before I get completely confused.
1. Netscape7.1 should be installed in Program Files|Netscape. I prefer to select a Netscape7.1 folder, since I still have Communicator, and all its stuff in the Netscape folder. If you uninstall, from the add/remove you should have three file and folders left. One of them would be the Plugins folder.
2. The GRE folder is in Program Files|Common Files|mozilla.org|GRE| specific folder 1.4.... All you need to do is to delete the specific folder.
If you have a Program Files|mozilla.org you are dealing with the location of installed Mozilla.
3. I have never had to deal with the Registry.
4. You will get a selection of the Profile only if you create a new one.
5. The default location of the Profile vary with the operating system. http://home.att.net/~cherokee67/ns7profloc.html
6. You can start directly with the new profile if you make a slight change on the path of your shortcut. http://home.att.net/~cherokee67/ns7bypassprofilemgr.html
7. There should not be any more problem, if all the steps were followed.

I have cable. I can download a file, and a couple of minutes later, I am ready to go. It is tough with dial-up, and two things I stay away from are the installer files and a CD. Many things could go wrong.

 

benzehead,

The Netscape 7.2 CD can be ordered, as of yesterday: http://www.netscapestore.com/products/software/cdguidebook

However, in view of the fact that Mozilla has been updated to 1.7.2, due to four security vulnerabilities, I wonder if this might delay the distribution of the Netscape 7.2 CD's.

Ramona

 

Thank you Ramona for the information regarding ordering a CD. And yes, what I described is exactly what happened, and the steps to re-install Netscape 7.1
Hopefully the upgrade will cure all this nonsense.

 

Keep in mind that, most likely there is nothing wrong wrong with the program, but most likely with the profile. If you want to compare 7.1 to 7.2 whenever it comes to you, the new program should be installed in a different folder (you can make changes when you first start the installation). And, you cannot use the same profile for two installed program, without paying the consequences.