The 57.0 Update Broke My Firefox!

[Zorro Jim]

WHOOOPIEEE!!!! I'm up and running again! Thanks so much to allande for helping!

I did download the Firefox Portable and in there I made the about:config change. It worked for me, even after going to my Netflix queue. So I then got out of there, started my regular Firefox and created a new profile. After making the about:config change again first, everything is fine.
After that I just copied the old profile's "places.sqlite" folder into the new profile and got all my bookmarks back. Then, taking BuddhaNature's advice (by the way, I love your user name, for I've been involved in Zen and meditate each day), I also copied the "favicons.sqlite" file over into this new profile and kept my bookmark icons.

So, again, everything works fine. I won't try to mess with the new profiles much and wait til my old add ons become updated for 57 and just do a little redoing what I can. I'll report back if I run into any more troubles.

My deepest thanks for all those who tried to help, with special thanks to allande, for he probably gave me the most help, and also to BuddhaNature for the nice nuance which allowed me to keep my bookmark icons.

[pdrummond]

One of the reasons I backup my Firefox profile frequently is what you have just described - and I've used it quite a few times. When things go wrong, just exit Fx, copy the "good" profile files into the Firefox profile folder it was copied from and restart Fx and away you go.

To backup the profile, I run a batch file daily using Task Scheduler (Windows program). The batch file uses Robocopy, a Windows tool.

If you want to create a new profile in a location that's easier to copy, create a shortcut
Firefox Profile Manager - "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" -ProfileManager

[toolong]

One of the reasons I backup my Firefox profile frequently is what you have just described - and I've used it quite a few times.

May I ask just what is it that you are doing to your Profile that destroys it so badly that you have to replace it with a backup so often?

I have never needed to do that, not once, but I would like to know what you are doing to cause these problem(s) so that I might avoid doing this in the future.

[L.A.R. Grizzly]

May I ask just what is it that you are doing to your Profile that destroys it so badly that you have to replace it with a backup so often?

pdrummond's method is a handy one. I do that often myself. One thing it's handy for is trying out extensions. Install an extension, and if you don't like it, don't bother uninstalling it (many leave scraps behind in the prefs.js file), just close FX and copy over your profile backup. Easy peazy.

[pdrummond]

May I ask just what is it that you are doing to your Profile that destroys it so badly that you have to replace it with a backup so often?

FIrefox updates break things I depend on. I didn't go back this time because I have another laptop with version 56 that can still use addons like FIreFTP, mouse gestures, classic theme, Tab mix plus, etc. "Quite a few times" is over all the years fx has existed - probably over 20. I loved fx because of addons, and now there are few choices to replace the functionality. I'm considering switching - there are now other great browsers.

[toolong]

pdrummond's method is a handy one.

I see. So "he" is wrecking his profile and then having to replace it.

[L.A.R. Grizzly]

I see. So "he" is wrecking his profile and then having to replace it.

More likely, he is experimenting and using his profile copy as a backup.

[toolong]

FIrefox updates break things I depend on.

True. It is common knowledge that some Firefox updates in the past have disabled extension whose authors were slow to react to the changes.

The update to 57.0 has been coming for many months and all of your 'broken' extension should have been marked that way. It should not have surprised you.

Good luck.

[Zorro Jim]

The update to 57.0 has been coming for many months and all of your 'broken' extension should have been marked that way. It should not have surprised you.

Good luck.

I'm wasn't surprised that extensions got broken in the new 57.0 version, for I've encountered this in the past. But what surprised me was that all my extensions besides 'Personas Plus' ended up broken.

Tab Mix Plus is sorely missed. Let's hope that developer gets it going soon for 57.0. You would think that Firefox, itself, would have incorporated some of the features by now. So far Firefox alone offers you little tools of what to do in the use of tabs.

[toolong]

I'm wasn't surprised that extensions got broken in the new 57.0 version,

Hmm... I think that you still might not understand just why your extensions broke this time.

This was a major change over many months. The complete system that allowed your Legacy extensions was replaced and removed so those extensions will never work, in Firefox 57+, again. Ever. Now you have to look for WebExtenions replacements. Also many of the 'things' that extensions used to do are not allowed by the new system.

Also there was a major file change in the update from Firefox 55.0 to 56.0. It is supposed to be very difficult to impossible to 'go back to a profile that has ever been touched by a Firefox after 55.0. It it? I don't know. I have never tried.

This process started around Firefox 49.0 and, IMHO, has been talked to death here and many other places.

All this information is 'out there' and It might be nice if someone here posted this with links to the details.

Sadly it somewhat looks like something similar to this is going to repeat itself with Thunderbird eventually.

[Zorro Jim]

Thanks, Tinsmith, for that clarification.

For those of you who are waiting to Tab Mix Plus to get fixed, the developer posted a page on that here:

http://tabmixplus.org/support/troublesh ... abmix.html