You have updated Firefox, BS I did...

It is not working. I can enter C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe and FF comes up but when I enter C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe -p Windows comes back with a small window that says it cannot find the program.

And I know it is there as I have seen it and it wouldn't run FF when the -p is absent if the path was wrong. That is what I meant when I said it was avoiding me. I have tried an uppercase P, lower case p, with no spaces and with two spaces. I am assuming the - part is a hyphen (between the zero and the = sign).

 

Hi Doug,

Sounds as though you might have a Registry problem, but try this first. Download and install PathCopyEx, which will place an entry on any context menu when you right-click on a file or folder.

Now, navigate to the FF executable, right-click and select "Copy Path to Clipboard ". Paste the path in Start > Run, followed by "- p " (no quotes, the dash is a hyphen, and case doesn't matter).

Let us know what happens.

 

Did you include a keyboard space after the .exe, and the -p?
firefox.exe -p. Jim had a keyboard space.
You did too, but I don't understand why you are having problems. And, yes you could call - a hyphen. I call it a minus.

 

OK, I got it to work by removing the path, just: firefox.exe -p

I now have a new profile. I renamed the new bookmarks.html file and copied over the one from the default profile. No add-ons as yet.

I would also like to copy over my passwords from the old profile but virtually everything else I will recreate. The password file is not so obvious as the bookmarks. And I noticed there a lot fewer files in the new profile. Hope this is good!

So how do I get the old passwords into the new profile.

 

You have fewer files because the profile has not been used.
You passwords are, probably in signon.txt or signon2.txt. so copy that file from the old profile, to the new one. There is no need of renaming the bookmarks.html file. You want to overwrite the dinky file which comes with the program.
You should have an extention folder, but I would start from scratch there, because some extentions create other files and folders.
Once you have the situation under control, you will want your program to open with the new profile. Right click your desktop shortcut|properties, and append
the target line -p "profilename"
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe -p "profilename "
leave one keyboard space between .exe and -p, and another one between the p and "profilename "(which is the name of the new profile). After you enter this, you will be able to open Firefox with the new profile.

 

What I think Westside means is that you should copy the bookmarks.html file from your old profile to your new one.

The FF program folder and profile folder(s) can be located anywhere you like ... they don't have to be in their default locations, and you can name them anything you like. For example, the paths to my firefox executable and to my profile are, respectively:

E:\MOZILLA\FIREFOX\PROGRAM\FF2.0\firefox.exe​

and

E:\MOZILLA\FIREFOX\PROFILES\JSS2.0​

(FWIW, I type folder names in UPPER case to differentiate them from file names, which I type in lower case).

If you do move them somewhere other than their default locations, it's important to run the Profile Manager to edit the profiles.ini file located in C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\ to reflect the path to the profile folder (this file location never changes). Manually editing the file doesn't always work.

Note that the "profilename" Westside mentions is case-sensitive.

 

Thanks very much, guys, for your help!!

I have copied over the signon.txt file and I was able to select the new profile through the Profile Manager. I did not have to change the properties of the shortcut.

Now we will wait and see what happens. I have yet to install any add-ons so I'm going to be conservative in my browsing. I feel somewhat naked with scripts being executed without control over them. Nothing makes you more paranoid than having already been "infected" and your bank account having been under attack too!!!

 

Hi Doug,

Glad to hear that you're making progress.

Adding -p profilename to the target line of your shortcut icon is necessary only if you have more than one profile (e.g. you and your wife both use FF but want to use different extensions or themes), or if you're using different versions of FF.

Perhaps I have enough other safeguards in place, or I've just been lucky, but I've never felt the need to use the NoScripts extension. If you really feel exposed, though, install it in 2.0.x and set it up again, rather than trying to import any settings from your 1.5.x profile. Again, I suggest installing MR Tech Local Install first.

 

I have noticed already that my passwords do not display:
Tools>Options>Security>Show Passwords, nothing shows up.

However, I know the file is being read as the exceptions do show up. Any ideas?

 

I would go ahead and use NoScript, especially in view of the fact you have had problems. My personal opinion, and will no doubt be challenged...

When I had dialup, I found that the fewer tabs open, the better Firefox will run.

Your aggressive update problem was puzzling, or at least I've never had that happen once that the following is enabled:

Tools | Options | Advanced

Under the Update tab, enable:
- Automatically check for updates to: Firefox
- When updates for Firefox are found: Ask me what to do

Did your original problem happen after a Firefox freeze or crash? It sounds to me that what happened, is that your preferences changed due to Firefox starting in a new Profile, rather than being updated. Or did you check your Version #, and you previously ran 5.0.8, and Firefox updated to 5.0.9?

How many Profiles show up in the ~Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles folder other than the current Profile? Just curious...

If you ever have to create another new Profile and migrate settings, this is an excellent guideline on which files to copy from the corrupt profile to the new Profile: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Migrating_settings_to_a_new_profile

In the Knowledge Base Article, also pertinent to copying over the password file:
- signons.txt (Firefox) - Saved passwords. Important: You also need to copy key3.db

Another excellent diagnostic tool:
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Standard_diagnostic_-_Firefox

Jim and Westside have given you most of the information, but a good article to keep around...

 

Doug ...

Did you click on the second "Show Passwords" button? What you want is Tools > Options > Security > Show Passwords (button) > Show Passwords (button).

 

Doug,

If you are reading my reply, note:

- signons.txt (Firefox) - Saved passwords. Important: You also need to copy key3.db

 

Hi Romana,

Thanks for weighing in on this!!

IIRC it happened after a real updated. I did have 5.0.8 and it updated to 5.8.9 The Show Update History button reveals: FF 1.5.0.9 (2006120612) on 12-24-06, update successful. That is around the time these "ghost" updates started.

There are only two profiles, the default and the new one I created yesterday.

Any idea why my (old) passwords do not show from the copied (old) signons.txt file but the (old) exceptions do show?

 

That fixed the passwords!! Thanks very much!!!

 

Our Ramona comes through again!

 

Doug,

If you have a backup of the old Profile, then open Windows Explorer, and delete the signons.txt and key3.db files from the new Profile, or rename to Xsignons.txt, and Xkey3.db.

Open Firefox, remove all passwords, and remove all exceptions.

Close Firefox

Again, copy the signons.txt, and key3.db files from your backup, and paste both into the new Firefox Profile\Profile Name folder:
~\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\profile_name

Open Firefox, and see if this fixed your problem.

 

Whoops! Great, I couldn't imagine why the passwords weren't showing up. So disregard my above fix...

Hope all goes well!

 

#@%$^! (the air here is blue)

As soon as I rebooted and brought FF up it happened again. I think I'll just turn off the PC for a couple of days until I calm down. Later

 

What a bummer, Doug! At the risk of being repetitive, do try doing this:

Delete the signons.txt and key3.db files from the new Profile, or rename them to Xsignons.txt, and Xkey3.db.

Open Firefox, remove all passwords, but don't remove all exceptions.

Close Firefox

Again, copy the signons.txt, and key3.db files from your backup, and paste both into the new Firefox Profile\Profile Name folder:
~\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\profile_name

Open Firefox, and the passwords should be intact.

I just tried this myself, using an old backup of the Firefox Profile. It worked exactly as I described above.

 

Romona,

Hummm! I am guilty of not being very specific in my last post. The "it" that occurred was the pseudo update where many, if not all, of the FF settings were reset along with many "allowed" web sites being removed from NoScripts. That problem was not the passwords. I am thinking that the settings in FF are changed back to system defaults although I have not proven that.

Should I still follow your last post directions on the signons.txt and key3.db files?

Edit: I, of all people (having been a programmer), should know better! I just discovered something about NoScript that probably means that many of the web site I had "added" as allowed were not really added so maybe they weren't removed after all.

So I probably have tomorrows breakfast on my face. I'll confirm (about the NoScript thing) and get back to ya.