Moving Profile-Just does not work!

ambaer52 · Post by **ambaer52** » October 10th, 2006, 5:44 pm

Here is the .ini file, original:

[General]
StartWithLastProfile=1

[Profile0]
Name=default
IsRelative=1
Path=Profiles/qioxtndq.default

I changed IsRelative to 0 and my new path to
D:/Mozilla/Firefox/Profiles/qioxtndq.default and saved it where it was, in the Firefox folder along with the quioxtndq.default folder

Just does not work. I wind up with a new default folder! Driving me nuts!

dickvl · Post by **dickvl** » October 10th, 2006, 6:32 pm

Use the Profile Manager to 'register' the new profile:
click "Choose Folder" to specify a location and point to the new location.

Alice · Post by **Alice** » October 10th, 2006, 8:14 pm

Did you actually copy or move the qioxtndq.default profile folder from the original location to the new location, here? D:\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\qioxtndq.default
That's a necessary step.

If so, editing the ...\...\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\profiles.ini as follows should work:
[Profile0]
Name=default
IsRelative=0
Path=D:\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\qioxtndq.default

(check to make sure the slash is going the right way!)

Instead of editing the "profiles.ini" file by hand, you could use dickvl's suggestion and use the Profile Manager to create a new profile, name it anything you like, and select the D:\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\qioxtndq.default folder that you placed there earlier, then use the Profile Manager to delete the original "default" profile (always use the "Don't Delete Files" option as a safety precaution when deleting profiles).

ambaer52 · Post by **ambaer52** » October 11th, 2006, 12:29 pm

I don't know where the profile manager is. I also used the appropriate backslash. I was just tired. I did save the folder in its original path as a precaution.

dickvl · Post by **dickvl** » October 11th, 2006, 12:37 pm

Received from PM: "I looked in Firefox and there is no profile manager"

You have to start Firefox with the -profilemanager or -P switch to get the
Profile Manager.
Start > Run: firefox.exe -P <enter> (put a space before -P)
Use the full path if you get a file not found error: "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" -P (use the quotes)

If you do not see the Profile Manager then open the Task Manager (Ctrl+Alt+Del) and check the processes tab.
If you see any firefox.exe processes then select them and click "End Process".

the-edmeister · Post by **the-edmeister** » October 11th, 2006, 9:40 pm

I changed IsRelative to 0 ...

Specifying 0 causes Firefox to ignore that Profile.

IMO, you are better off leaving that [Profile0] alone and creating a [Profile1].

Code: Select all

[Profile1]
Name=anything
IsRelative=1
Path=D:\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\12345678.anything

Make a copy of that default Profile folder and rename it to anything you like, similar to my example in the Code box. Firefox should work correctly with the example I provided.

Ed

Alice · Post by **Alice** » October 12th, 2006, 1:32 pm

the-edmeister wrote:
I changed IsRelative to 0 ...

Specifying 0 causes Firefox to ignore that Profile.

Nahh, that's wrong, Ed

IsRelative=0 is telling Firefox that a custom path is being specified as mentioned here.

I should have included the entire code when I posted my example. The entire profiles.ini should read:

Code: Select all

[General]
StartWithLastProfile=1

[Profile0]
Name=default
IsRelative=0
Path=D:\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\qioxtndq.default 
Default=1

As a test, since I have multiple profiles I deleted my profiles.ini to start fresh, so that a brand new default profile would be created. When only a single profile exists, profiles.ini will be, in my case:

[General]
StartWithLastProfile=1

[Profile0]
Name=default
IsRelative=1
Path=Profiles/2er464rk.default
Default=1

and moving the folder under D:\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ then making IsRelative=0 and Path=D:\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\2er464rk.default does work (I tested it).

When multiple profiles exist, the "Default=1" will indicate which profile will start, when "don't ask at startup" is selected in the Profile Manager, for example, here is my profiles.ini set to automatically start my alicew profile.

[General]
StartWithLastProfile=1

[Profile0]
Name=default
IsRelative=1
Path=Profiles/default.cta

[Profile1]
Name=alicew
IsRelative=0
Path=D:\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\alicew
Default=1

[Profile2]
Name=sheldon
IsRelative=0
Path=D:\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\sheldon

dickvl · Post by **dickvl** » October 12th, 2006, 2:08 pm

Maybe the OP edited the file with the wrong editor or didn't use a plain text format when saving the file.
That was why I recomended to use the profile manager to 'register' that profile.

Alice · Post by **Alice** » October 12th, 2006, 2:14 pm

I don't know, I guess if the "profiles.ini" file became unreadable, a new one might be generated in it's place, resulting in a new default profile, just as though the profiles.ini was deleted?

P.S. In case it helps, I found this newsgroup thread with a groups.google search, in which another person reported having problems moving a Firefox 1.0.x profile using the instructions at http://www.mozilla.org/support/firefox/profile

I also found the following related forum thread, regarding problems moving Thunderbird 1.0.x profiles which include extensions or themes:
http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=252317
moving a TB profile, acc. to the official Help documentation

Ed has a page heredescribing the problem and "chrome.rdf edit" solution (Firefox 1.0.x). I assume that the problem no longer exists in Firefox 1.5 but, in any case, a solution would be to remove any added extensions or themes before moving the profile.