the-edmeister said

Portable Firefox is the same as the official desktop version of Firefox, but with a few tweaks to make it "Portable" and to install in one folder, without any Registry settings. From my read of the licensing and accepted use of the Firefox trade marks years ago, removing features or greatly modifying features could preclude the modified version from using the name "Firefox". So Portable is as "bloated" as the desktop has gotten over the last 3 to 4 years, and as far as the "speed" it has to be very close. I have the Portable version installed on my main PC and another on a troubleshooting / diagnostic tools USB Flash Drive, but only use Portable very infrequently. The only differences affecting speed might be changed default settings for some preferences, which I am not aware of. "Portable" has its' own support forum here. http://portableapps.com/forums/support/firefox_portable

Thank you very much! I appreciate the information! I have to download it

Possible Problem: For printing and needing to switch to the portable program: If the 38.x fails to print a completed transaction page (on a bank Web site).... The bank won't allow access to that page with a different browser. (I assume the portable program would be a different browser to the bank?)

vtanyav said

Possible Problem: For printing and needing to switch to the portable program: If the 38.x fails to print a completed transaction page (on a bank Web site).... The bank won't allow access to that page with a different browser. (I assume the portable program would be a different browser to the bank?)

That's correct: a different browser won't have the current session cookies set by your bank and therefore should not be allowed to access your banking session. Transferring the cookies, if detected, may cause your banking session to be terminated for your protection, so I wouldn't bother trying that.

Perhaps for pages that you want to print but can't afford to have crash and have no record, you could save a full-page screen shot first? There is a built-in way to do this, but it's generally easier to use an add-on. I use FireShot, which adds a right-click menu item: FireShot > Capture entire page and > Save which lets you save an image of the page. (There are a lot of other options on the menu, but many are for a paid upgrade of the add-on and I haven't used those.)

John99 said

vtanyav I am trying to suggest portable ESR as a workaround and troubleshooting step. Not as a replacement for the standard Mozilla Firefox Release.

I will download it for "emergencies" although, I wonder about sites that one cannot access with a different browser (e.g. banks etc.) (asked above)

I will try printing from it.....

One thing that always annoyed me is that we simplified and dumbed down safemode. All we needed to do was make it default to a first step of not making changes, or at least warn before making unwanted changes.

You mean Safemode in Firefox?

I was referring to Windows safe-mode, which is not present when I boot the LT to start-up options - There is only one option: "Windows XP Professional SP 3"

Thank you VERY MUCH again!

I will download it for "emergencies" although, I wonder about sites that one cannot access with a different browser (e.g. banks etc.) (asked above) I will try printing from it.....

I would not expect you to be able to swap to another browser whilst in the middle of a banking session.

There is a good possibility that you could finish all transactions and log out of a banking session, and later login with a different browser or different computer. I do that all the time with my bank when I have multiple computers working.

Firefox probably is not the best choice if you need to print. Do you really need a hard copy on paper ?

You could save images of screenshots. You could use an addon to convert the page to a pdf file and save that. Many banks and companies produce bills and statements etc. in HTML, Word or PDF format etc. These may be kept as images or printed from a suitable program, such as a pdf viewer or word processor.

jscher2000 said

vtanyav said

Perhaps for pages that you want to print but can't afford to have crash and have no record, you could save a full-page screen shot first? There is a built-in way to do this, but it's generally easier to use an add-on. I use FireShot, which adds a right-click menu item: FireShot > Capture entire page and > Save which lets you save an image of the page. (There are a lot of other options on the menu, but many are for a paid upgrade of the add-on and I haven't used those.)

I prefer "save as" because I find screenshots are blurry, and I can edit the pages if they are saved as "save as" (vs. an image).

BTW, the "save as" pages did not print on Firefox 38.x either.

I'm going through the "Fix printing problems in Firefox | Firefox Help" https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/fix-printing-problems-firefox (The 3rd, 4th, and 5th items...and if these fail I have no idea.... (although I do have a new printer which I have to try out anyway.....)

Many thanks for the help and info.....

John99 said

Next steps: Reset Firefox printer setting ~ pending results ~ Reset all Firefox printer settings ~ pending results ~ Change the default font (as per article "Fix printing problems in Firefox | Firefox Help") https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/fix-printing-problems-firefox

Do you really need a hard copy on paper ?

Yes and No but IMO printing should be an available option....

You could save images of screenshots.

Now I use the "save as" if printing issues. IMO the resolution of <my> screenshots are poor. Also IMO. "Save as" allows more options

. You could use an addon to convert the page to a pdf file and save that.

Can an addon allow one to edit .pdf files?

Thanks for all of your help and information....

I'll post back results

Okay: 1. Nothing will make Firefox print. 2. I have NOT tried the pref.js because none of the lines start with print_.

"Remove all lines in prefs.js that START WITH print_ and save the file." There are 100's that all start with: "user_pref" user_pref("print.printer_Canon_MP240_series_Printer.print_edge_bottom", 0); (This is from the E520 - The canon no longer exists)

Which lines do I remove? Where in the line is the print_ ?

Can I comment them out? Is ; a comment in JS or is //?

3. I installed another printer: An EPSON XPS-410 and IT does not print output. Same thing: the paper shoots out (with the correct number of pages) but no image / text; no page #, no dates etc.

4. I tried hooking the DELL LT to the network (i.e. wired - LAN) Still the same result.

PLEASE ADVISE!

Thank you!

Hi vtanyav, another way to reset print preferences is to use about:config. If you have a regular two-button mouse, it doesn't take much longer than manually editing prefs.js. Here are the steps:

(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter. Click the button promising to be careful.

(2) In the search box above the list, type or paste print and pause while the list is filtered

(3) For each setting for the problem printer, right-click and Reset it. The fastest way is to right-click with the mouse and then press the r key on the keyboard with your other hand.

But it's odd that you get the correct number of pages, all blank. Firefox has some problems with various styles in web pages, but even then you would normally get a header/footer on the page. Very strange.

• Does Print Preview look normal or is it also blank? (To use preview, you can use either the Print button on the "3-bar" button menu or toolbar, or use Print Preview on the classic File menu.)

• Do you get this problem on every page, or only some pages? If particular pages cause the problem it would be useful to post a few addresses. Also, if they are pages that embed a PDF, try using the toolbar of the PDF itself to print.

Real quick: I wanted to try page #'s again and got a browser crash....

Print preview shows things.

I'll try the steps you outlined and post back. Thank you

QUESTION: Hi, The about:config list has "printer_workforce(Network).print_bgimage" (Boolean T or F....) Would this also be reset (printER instead of print)

Thanks

vtanyav said

The about:config list has "printer_workforce(Network).print_bgimage" (Boolean T or F....) Would this also be reset (printER instead of print)

Yes, please reset all of the various settings Firefox has stored for your currently available printers (old printers you don't care about aren't a priority).

jscher2000 said

vtanyav said

The about:config list has "printer_workforce(Network).print_bgimage" (Boolean T or F....) Would this also be reset (printER instead of print)

Yes, please reset all of the various settings Firefox has stored for your currently available printers (old printers you don't care about aren't a priority).

Hello, I did everything last night but no changes. Still no image / text on page(s) and a few times the browser crashed.

I do not see this problem online - i.e. others having same problem. I have not done the clean instal yet - maybe I should do that..... Do you have any suggestions? Print Preview shows what it should (not a blank). .pdf print normally.

Thank you again for the help!

The Clean Reinstall from this post: https://support.mozilla.org/questions/1064404?page=1#answer-735770 ? That only take a few minutes, so worth a try.

When you say a PDF prints normally, do you mean a PDF you're viewing in Firefox, or using Firefox to print to a PDF "printer" instead of a normal printer?

Hi and Thank you I will do the "Clean Reinstall" in a minute but to answer it was the .pdf printing icon not the Firefox print button. (and Thunderbird prints normally.)

Is there a driver compatibility test IN Firefox? Thanks

It Printed!! BUT ... I did not import anything (The options to import info were only for chrome and I.E. or not to import anything...) (Did not have an "other" option.... )

Problem: I renamed the new profile and moved the old profile (ONLY) from the flash drive to the Current Firefox folder When I tried to open the current Firefox again, it stated "missing profile".

There are 3 items in the old Firefox folder. 1. the profile folder (string.default 2. crash reports folder and 3. a "profile" (text) document).

It's only the profile (string.default) that goes into the profile folder?

It does print but will not accept my old profile folder. Please advise Thank you! P.S. Unless I should rename the old profile folder to the new string.default (which is different)

I don't want to use the new Firefox too much yet because I want the old info from the old profile...

P.S. Maybe I should not have launched Firefox.... I think I need to redo this.... And not launch firefox right away..... If I redo this, what do I click to bring old profile info in?

STOP!! What procedure is this you're doing?

To answer your question: Firefox has a file named profiles.ini that lists the semi-random profile folder names. Unless you update it manually, it does not list the profile folder you copied in, it lists the one you removed. Accordingly, Firefox is deeply confused.

As a quick workaround, rename the folder you copied in with the name of the folder you moved out. In other words, give your old profile folder the name of the new profile folder. (As long as they are not in the same place, this should work.) Then when you start Firefox, it should be none the wiser and treat your copied in folder as though it was the one you were just using.

Hi, I am not doing anything right now.

It is not confused because I renamed the current Firefox folder back to what it was.

I am holding off on the above...

The current Firefox is new: No bookmarks, etc. But I can print from it.

I have the OLD profile in the Mozilla\OLDFirefox\profiles" folder.

I wanted to move my personal info to the current Firefox. However I had already opened the current firefox to try printing.

WHAT I PLAN TO DO IS: Redo the clean install but will NOT open the browser until I have moved the OLD profile to folder. (STRING.DEFAULT") to the newly installed (3rd copy) of Firefox. ("mozilla\firefox\profiles") Then close all Firefox and instal 38.0.5 (from what I downloaded) again.

Summary: 1. Rename current Firefox to "current Firefox" 2. Instal 38.0.5 again (from the instal I just used) 3. Move the old profile from "Mozilla\OLDFirefox\profiles" to the not_yet_created "Mozilla\Firefox\profiles" folder. (I.e replace any profile folder profile with the old profile) Then open the browser. (which has not been installed yet).

At the end, I will have 3 copies of Firefox

I'll wait for an answer - Thanks

Okay, that explains my confusion: the Clean Reinstall I posted did not involve making any changes to profiles at all. It is only about rooting out contamination in the program folders.

I think your test with a new profile demonstrates that whatever the issue is, it is in the settings and not in the program files. So forget about my Clean Reinstall for now.

There is a support article on migrating individual settings files from an old profile to a new one. Please only copy over files when Firefox is closed as otherwise, the copied file might get trashed or cause Firefox to crash when it changes unexpectedly.

Recovering important data from an old profile

Hi, Thanks - I am just holding off for a minute....

When I was installing 38.0.5 it stated "upgrade".

The only thing I had done prior was rename the Firefox folder to mozilla\OLDfirefox from (Mozilla\Firefox)

During the instal there was no option to import information from Mozilla-based software: 1. I.E. 2.Chrome Or 3. Don't import.

Why can't I reverse it.... Rename the "new" firefox to "newfirefox" And rename the oldFirefox to Firefox.

I really don't feel comfortable copying things over to something - else

If I can retrieve the old profile then I should do an actual reinstall or also download chrome.

In the old Firefox folder the other 2 items are crash reports and the notepad file. Doesn't Firefox need these (It crashed a number of times last night.) Maybe "string.default" refers to crash report (there is a pending forler within crash report).

I am not using the laptop right now. Thank you

Okay, there are three different folders:

(1) Program folder under

C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\

(2) Main profile folder under

C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\semi-random-name

(3) Cache/temp folder under

C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\semi-random-name

The Clean Reinstall procedure only involves changing #1. The other two should remain unchanged with their original names and locations.

At this point, can you undo your changes to those or is it too complicated now?