Unable to access Firefox from Thunderbird message links

This one has me completely baffled. I have identical Firefox and Thunderbird configurations on my desktop and laptop computers. Both programs are v1.5.0.7, and FF is set as the default browser on both computers.

I have no difficulty opening websites/pages in FF from links in Tbird messages on the desktop computer. On the laptop, however, I cannot access FF from Tbird message links, even if FF is already open. Instead, it is necessary to copy URLs in Tbird messages and paste them into FF's address bar.

I have looked at every setting I can think of, but can find nothing that seems relevant.

I've placed this same post in Mozilla's FF and Tbird forums, but thought I might as well try here, as well.

Any thoughts?

 

Jim,

Have you checked your Registry to ensure that Firefox is, indeed, the default browser? I seem to recall you had a similar problem on your laptop, and you cured it by adding a Registry entry:

http://www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?t=29212

 

Hi Ramona,

Thanks for responding so quickly. I must say that you certainly have a better memory than I do!

Tranquilo's suggestion solved the problem last time, but it was only part of the answer this time. It took a combination of suggestions by several people in several different forums to completely resolve things.

First, even though Firefox thought it was the default browser, it was not so registered. When I went into the Registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\http\shell\open\command there was no default string, so I had to create one: (path to)\firefox.exe -url "%1 " (tranquilo's suggestion).

Then, following instructions on Mozilla's Setting Your Default Browser page, I went to Start > Run and entered firefox.exe -silent -nosplash -setDefaultBrowser which, for some reason, opened FF's Profile Manager. That didn't make any sense to me, so I closed it. FF still wouldn't open from message links.

Realizing that there had to be a reason why the Profile Manager had opened, I reopened it, deleted the profile, and created a new one using the same profile folder. Voilà! Problem solved.

Just why that resolved the problem, I can't say, as I had already checked the profile path information at C:\Documents and Settings\<Username>\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\profiles.ini (which is what the Profile Manager writes to) and found it to be correct.

I only wish that all problems could be resolved as quickly.

 

I would have not known enough to get a problem like yours to go away.
I have four different firefox versions (1.0.8, 1.5.0.7, 2.0RC1, and 3.0a1). Each one has its own profile, and the shortcut target includes the profilename. They all mind their business, and I can open anyone from the shortcut, but only 1.5.0.7 is selected as default from the Options. If I open Thunderbird, clicking on a link will open 1.5.0.7, even if any of the other browsers were already opened.
I did not check if a similar behavior occurs if I have one of my other three TBs (2.0bpre1, 3.0a1 and 1.0.7). amazingly, all my duckes stay in their rows. Not that they are not trying to escape, occasionally, but they do behave, at least on my one and only computer.