Can't uninstall Firefox

Recently updated FF to ver. 1.5.0.3 from ver. 1.0.7, did not do a clean install, went over the top of old version, figured if things didn't work right I'd just uninstall and do a clean install, well guess what - you can't , I'm still using Win. 98SE, and "add/remove" won't work, neither will the uninstaller in the FF program folder - FF does work for me, however pages load slower and some sites won't save logon or password info, checked out Mozilla forums and this seems to be a known problem with this old OS, should have checked before making the switch , their suggestion was to go back and do a Registery backup reinstall, I have a backup but it is too old and would mess up many other things - this isn't a major problem but I would like to be in control of the computer not the other way around - any thoughts on this -

 

Had the same problem with 1.5.0.3; saw 1.5.0.4 was released and went to uninstall instead of overwrite and nothing would remove. Ended up doing it the el-destructo way, manually deleting both folders as neither uninstaller would run. Ran a registry cleaner to remove substantial amounts of junk left behind(make a backup!), did a fresh install of 1.5.0.4, and all is well, except this version of FF is still slow as hell and a resource juicer.

And before someone smacks my knuckles with a ruler, I know that isn't the preferred method of removal, but proper cleaning methods will minimize the potential of any further problems.

 

Thanks for the info Star 17, I'm hoping the folks at FF will put out a patch soon to correct this - BTW, the folders you refer to, are they the Mozilla Firefox folder in ( c:\program files ) and the Mozilla folder in (c:\windows\applications data ) ???

 

Yessir, those are the ones; just make sure to expand the windows/applications folder and delete Firefox only. Thunderbird and the Mozilla Calendar also put bits & pieces in there, and if you delete the entire folder with those in it, you're likely to have problems with those other programs.

 

Hate to tell you this, star17, but Firefox 1.5.0.4 has not been officially released, the current release is 1.5.0.3. What you got is a nightly development build.

That has nothing to do with the uninstaller problem, though. There's been a few of those posted on the Firefox help forum lately, I spent a while tonight detailing how to manually delete and clean out the Registry and Add/Remove list (I just told them to use CCleaner for the latter steps).

There's no need to delete your Firefox profile (the folder in App Data) in such a case, however, it has nothing to do with the install/uninstall process. I've rebuilt my profile several times, and I don't hesitate to do so if it's corrupted, but there's no reason to suspect any profile corruption just because the uninstaller is borked.

I don't know why everybody wants to uninstall anyway, the new updater works quite well. Of course, you wouldn't get 1.5.0.4 that way, unless you got on the Nightly update channel.

 

Well, I beg to differ. I don't get into this "nightly development build" business, I just look for updated version releases. I saw 1.5.0.4 was available for download from numerous software sites, so I downloaded it. Unless I'm missing something, only official releases of some sort would appear on sites for download, not nightly builds. If you Google Firefox and the version number, you'll see numerous links; out of fairness to Major Geeks I won't list any here, as there are already enough folks linking offsite to programs MG has.

Re: the uninstaller issue, speaking of my experiences only of course, the last three versions (1.5.0.1,.0.2, & .0.3.) have all had this removal issue. And my confidence in the updater is low, as I've had it yet to pickup version updates, only updates to extensions and themes.

I'm working with Flock now anyway; I've kind up given up the ship on FF, as I feel it's a bit on the overrated side.

 

I do run Firefox nightly builds, and I know what's available. The code has been frozen for Firefox 1.5.0.4, so there won't be any more major changes, only bugfixes if the need arises, but it's not yet an official release. You can see the schedule for 1.5.0.4 at Firefox:1.5.0.4:Community - MozillaWiki .

The current 1.5.0.4 nightlies are designated release candidates, so one could possibly become the final release. I downloaded what Softpedia was offering as 1.5.0.4 final, it's definitely not that - it's a build from May 4, too early to even be a release candidate. Its update channel has been set to "release" (a simple edit to do),so it would update to 1.5.0.4 final when that comes out. I'm using it now; it's not too bad, but it does have a pretty bad memory leak.

Download sites shouldn't be offering these builds as final releases, but everybody wants to be first. So when a build comes out with a new version number, often somebody will list it on their site as a "new release", even though it's a development build; then others see it and also list it, soon it's all over the web. When you see a new Firefox version listed, you should check Mozilla.com or Firefox Product Page. That's where new releases appear first, if it's not there, it's not an official release. MajorGeeks is also a pretty safe bet - that mistake was made here once, but it's never happened again. MajorGeeks don't like egg on their face. You'll note that the version offered here is 1.5.0.3.

 

Sorry star, there is no official 1.5.0.4 build:

http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/

1.5.0.4 is currently at RC2:
http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/nightly/1.5.0.4-candidates/

 

Okay, I'll go stand in the corner.

Like I said, I don't go to the publisher's site for the nightly builds; if I see something offered on a download site, I'm assuming it's an official release, especially if I don't see the title followed by a big red "BETA". Obviously, I am incorrect in this assumption and stand corrected. But I won't lose any sleep over places offering something for download if it's not "official"; I'm just the end-user, I'd hope the offering party would take more responsibility for their postings.

Anyway, to me it's a bit of a moot point anyway, as I also mentioned I'm kind of off the FF bandwagon anyway. If things like the Muppet Chef extension, the Abe Vagoda Status extension, and the Turn-All-The-Text-You-See-Into-Rap-Verbage extension were such the deal, MS would steal them and incorporate them into IE7.

Off topic a bit, nice to see you around again da chicken. Always a plus to see your excellent advice being offered around these parts.

 

Can't blame ya for getting fooled, there are some supposedly reputable sites offering these downloads. It's too bad, they're reflecting badly on Firefox. I replaced the one I got for a test with 1.5.0.4 RC2, it's much better, mem usage way lower.

 

Some memory leaks are caused by plugins or extensions, and there are a few tweaks you can apply to lower mem usage in any case. You should check out this page - Memory leaks: list of known issues
http://plugindoc.mozdev.org/faqs/memusage.html

 

Memory leaks caused by plugins is not the fault of Firefox, but by the developers of said plugins/extensions.

I'm also a nightly tester for a few years (since .4), current build: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9a1) Gecko/20060512 Minefield/3.0a1 ID:2006051208 [cairo]
(though, I've probably said this way to often).

Most sites will hover over the build locations within mozilla. As soon as they see a "newer" version, they immediately post that a new version is out. Digg is well known to do this.

The official site for the latest version of firefox will always be located here: http://www.mozilla.com/



On topic: JoeN, is everything working out?

 

Don't know if you resolved your prob JoeN but I have been using Your Uninstaller! 2006 (free 21 day trial) and I love it. It will remove every prog I have tried to date, then scan and clean the registry and remove any associtaed orphaned files, search for this app and give it a go. It got rid of Norton of a friends laptop and not a trace was left!!!! Sadly I can't find it on this site.

Just to give an example I have been using Windows Defender and are finding it to be one of the most buggiest apps ever, constanly having issues. If I uninstall the normal way I can remove it but when using "Your Uninstaller! 2006" it removes it like normal but then goes and finds and removes another 96 Registry Entries which are left behind via the MS (cough, cough) Add/Remove method.

 

http://majorgeeks.com/Your_Uninstaller_2006_d2439.html

 

Not necessarily; my last install of FF had a memory loss problem with no plugins or extentions installed. IMO, the issue begins with the browser and the problem is well-documented, although it may well be compounded by the installation of pointless extensions.

 

Wonder if JoeN ever got this sorted, hmmmmmm.

 

I was waiting for someone to use the term 'BETA'.

I would feel safe if i was you, Star, AND, I would do daily searches for FF v. x.04 bugs.

JMO...

 

See, it happens even here at MG...the "official" site is offering 1.5.0.3, and MG is offering 1.5.0.4.

http://majorgeeks.com/Mozilla_Firefox_d2248.html

Since it's not on the "official" site, I won't bother to download it.

 

Yes, and it's that same crummy memory-leaking nightly build that Softpedia is offering. I'm really disappointed in MG!

 

I have 9 tabs open to MG threads, 72 Megs for FF (Peak 96).

I have heard from many people with memory loss. I personally have never experienced it.

But, yes, if using vanilla FF, and still have a memory loss, then YES I agree it is a core developer issue.

 

I also frequent the mozilla forums (mostly in the firefox build section), and they also noted a few websites posting that 1.5.0.4 was released, MG included.

As of today, the 1.5.0.4 release is scheduled for the end of may (perhaps 31 of may).

http://wiki.mozilla.org/Firefox:1.5.0.4:Schedule

Other info:

http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=416761

 

I just saw, on another forum, somebody said they downloaded it from MajorGeeks, what they got was 1.5.0.4rc2. If so, that's an improvement - but it would be better still if it was labeled as such, instead of letting people think it's a final release.