FFox Portable closes itself immediately after logo

[hmp3]

Hi, I spent a lot of time configuring one of my portable firefoxes (69.0.2), but whenever I move or rename the folder it's in it doesn't work any more. Launching is followed by the portable splash screen, then a small window at top right corner of screen shows for a split-second (sometimes with red writing), then firefox closes immediately. Because it doesn't even load, I can't even start in safe mode.
The only workaround is to delete some important files in profile folder, which breaks the addons and I have to reconfigure all of them again, which isn't practical to do that every time I move the setup (which I often do).

How can I diagnose & resolve this?

[Brummelchen]

which folder or files did you move?

try to rename "prefs.js" (to prefs.old) in profile folder.

How can I diagnose & resolve this?

i assume you are lack of experience to do it yourself, thus you asked here. so you need to answer all questions and do as advised - without discussions this time.

[hmp3]

Not too experienced with Firefox settings, no.
Had a go deleting renaming prefs.js, Firefox launched but I needed to reconfigure everything again including special .json files and chrome folder bookmark settings. Tried removing all extension entries from prefs.js. crashed again. So I'll keep deleting entries from prefs.js until something gives a clue.
Thanks

[kerft]

There is a known problem with Firefox portable where some extensions do not work when the folder is moved, they have been trying to fix it but have not yet. https://portableapps.com/comment/241339#comment-241339 Hopefully they soon will. Note that changes to the launcher to fix problems like this will require re-downloading from the Firefox portable site to get the fix. Updating within the program will only update the firefox.exe, not the launcher. You said yours doesn't start instead of just failed extensions, so posting on their forum could help https://portableapps.com/forums/support ... x_portable

[Brummelchen]

Tried removing all extension entries from prefs.js. crashed again.

why did you do that? no one - NO ONE - told you to do this way, so why?

@kerft, this only concerns "addonStartup.json.lz4" where missing buttons when moving firefox portable. the portable starter deletes this file so firefox need 2 starts.
but in fact when extensions need full path they extension is working buggy. no firefox issue.

renaming/deleting prefs resets firefox ofc, but NEVER delete any extensions nor its settings, it should only need a restart. whatever you did - you did not do clever. i can tell you that moving firefox portable here has no effects (except that special file above).

strong advise: stick with firefox as a regular installation with its profiles. people always get in trouble to screw something they dont know - and dont create beackups.

as kerft wrote some one else - if you got issues with firefox portable you should ask here https://portableapps.com/
they are responsible for the products and folder structure, not us.

[hmp3]

There is a known problem with Firefox portable where some extensions do not work when the folder is moved, they have been trying to fix it but have not yet. https://portableapps.com/comment/241339#comment-241339 Hopefully they soon will. Note that changes to the launcher to fix problems like this will require re-downloading from the Firefox portable site to get the fix. Updating within the program will only update the firefox.exe, not the launcher. You said yours doesn't start instead of just failed extensions, so posting on their forum could help https://portableapps.com/forums/support ... x_portable

Okay will post there, cheers for that!

[hmp3]

why did you do that? no one - NO ONE - told you to do this way, so why?

Don't worry I made backups.

@kerft, this only concerns "addonStartup.json.lz4" where missing buttons when moving firefox portable. the portable starter deletes this file so firefox need 2 starts.

These buttons do disappear on another of my portable FFoxes (version 68.0) when I move it. First load loses theme and buttons. Second load restores them. I discovered that in prefs.js, the migration leads to an entry being made

Code: Select all

user_pref("app.update.migrated.updateDir2.############", true);

I now realise that this bug is posted here https://portableapps.com/node/60955

There's multiple lines of this for everytime I moved the portable firefox folder. I noticed that before moving, if I removed all the migration lines except most recent instance (created after the first load in new location), it runs fine. But I have to keep the 2 most recent lines, or it doesn't work. Extensions are very laggy and delay page load by around 8 seconds after startup.

renaming/deleting prefs resets firefox ofc, but NEVER delete any extensions nor its settings, it should only need a restart. whatever you did - you did not do clever. i can tell you that moving firefox portable here has no effects (except that special file above).

Resetting firefox means re-configuring extension settings, and I did say that I don't want to have to do that every time I move the portable installation. I made backups before I made changes. Clever or not, I did this experiment to narrow down some clues to make it easier for you to help me solve the problem.

Back to the portable firefox I started this topic about. Version 69.0.2/3.
Whilst this isn't practical for migrations to usb and other devices, I found a temporary workaround.
I find that after launching firefox portable after moving it, launching a line:

Code: Select all

 user_pref("extensions.lastAppBuildId", "20191001234643"); 

updates. After deleting that replacing line from the prefs.js firefox portable is able to start again with buttons and themes as expected.

Again, I made backups to do this experiment. If anybody is interested how I compared the prefs.js differences between migrations, maybe for your own troubleshooting processes, I used the portable examdiff app https://www.techworld.com/download/syst ... 2-3328717/ to compare the old and new versions.

[Brummelchen]

and again you got it wrong.

Resetting firefox means re-configuring extension settings

resetting the profile is complete different from

renaming/deleting prefs resets firefox ofc, but NEVER delete any extensions nor its settings

extensions dont save settings into prefs.js no longer (with some exceptions eg uBlock for its sync settings - not its basic settings)
i wrote about prefs which means prefs.js. you are totally wrong again. the portable work like charm here and it works as expected - otherwise the word "portable" is false.

[therube]

Tried removing all extension entries from prefs.js

Extensions no longer store their prefs in prefs.js, no?

whenever I move or rename the folder it's in it doesn't work any more

Explain?

The only workaround is to delete some important files in profile folder

Just what files are these that you delete so things work again?

Code: Select all

extensions.lastAppBuildId
extensions.lastAppVersion

Wonder what they do? (SeaMonkey also has them.) And why it is affecting Portable?

[Brummelchen]

firefox has same, but its only for firefox itself, system extensions (formfill, pocket, screenshot,...) - management only.
maybe you get an answer what he did exactly. pointless.

[therube]

Oh, so if only "built-in" extensions rely on those prefs, then yes, you're right.

[kerft]

Stated above in the links, from the author of Firefox portable, is that the workaround established for 67 is working for 69. After a restart or closing and reopening portable Firefox after moving, extensions should be reactivated and buttons should appear.

[hmp3]

For 69.0.2, I noticed that in profiles folder, after deleting all files from prefs.js onwards (when sorting all files in alphabetical order), Firefoxportable started launching again. But, all addons loaded their install tabs and had lost the configurations I made. Then I narrowed it down to just prefs.js, restored all other files, but only deleted prefs.js and experienced the same addon new install pages, without the configurations I made.
Then I restored the prefs.js file, and launched firefoxportable.exe, allowed it to close itself. and compared the differences between the updated prefs.js and original prefs.js file and tried deleting every changed/updated line from the new one file until firefoxportable.exe successfully loaded with all addons and configurations intact. I noticed that deleting only one line: i.e. (extensions.lastAppBuildId) solved the problem. But then I moved the portable installation again and realised that my solution was temporary, but solves the problem every time I move the portable installation, if I remove that line from the prefs.js after loading firefoxportable.exe in its new location.

[morat]

Firefox Portable 69.0.2 starts correctly for me.

I tested the issue with these folders.

• C:\AlphaAAA\FirefoxPortable
  C:\BetaBBB\FirefoxPortable
  C:\GammaCCC\FirefoxPortable

I tested for path changes in the Command Prompt window like so:

• findstr /s /m "AlphaAAA" *
  findstr /s /m "BetaBBB" *
  findstr /s /m "GammaCCC" *

I noticed that the only file that didn't change the path info was the pkcs11.txt file. That file keeps the initial path.

[hmp3]

Okay, thanks to firefox updating 69.0.2 to .03, I've now found that both my 68(which I configured before this thread to block updates through the distribution folder) and my update-able 69.0.3 now have the same problem and solution.
On 69.0.3, removing the "extensions.lastAppBuildId" line from prefs.js doesn't restore buttons & theme.

New Workaround: Every time I move the portable folder to a different directory/drive and then rename it, I must then first open firefox launcher (which loads with theme & buttons missing), then manually remove the "addonStartup.json.lz4" file mentioned above from profile folder and then reload firefox launcher twice, and then buttons and theme are restored. For me, simply loading 69.0.3 twice after relocating the installation doesn't restore the buttons & theme!
And 69.0.3.