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Firefox can't open profile or profile manager

  • 2 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 12 views
  • Last reply by jporten

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Crashing bug on Mac 10.11 on two laptops, and on 10.6.8 running in a VM in Parallels. When I try to launch Firefox, I get the "Profile Missing" dialog box. When I try to launch the profile manager at the command line with firefox-bin -f, I get the same dialog. When I try to launch in safe mode, I get the same dialog.

Both of the 10.11 systems were created by pointing Migration Assistant at a 10.6.8 archive where Firefox launches perfectly. The 10.6.8 VM was created by brute-forcing the ~/Library in place. I have tried selectively and then wholesale deleting all Application Support and Preference files, with no luck. Have tried deleting and reinstalling the application several times. Have tried replacing the Profile folder with known-good profiles from the 10.6.8 original machine and from an unrelated 10.11 laptop. All have failed.

What should I try next?

Crashing bug on Mac 10.11 on two laptops, and on 10.6.8 running in a VM in Parallels. When I try to launch Firefox, I get the "Profile Missing" dialog box. When I try to launch the profile manager at the command line with firefox-bin -f, I get the same dialog. When I try to launch in safe mode, I get the same dialog. Both of the 10.11 systems were created by pointing Migration Assistant at a 10.6.8 archive where Firefox launches perfectly. The 10.6.8 VM was created by brute-forcing the ~/Library in place. I have tried selectively and then wholesale deleting all Application Support and Preference files, with no luck. Have tried deleting and reinstalling the application several times. Have tried replacing the Profile folder with known-good profiles from the 10.6.8 original machine and from an unrelated 10.11 laptop. All have failed. What should I try next?

All Replies (2)

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Sorry I don't know anything about parallels or use a Mac but no one else has answered.

See

It is probably worth noting that deleting profiles.ini normally causes Firefox to generate a new default profile. Also note you may use absolute or relative addresses in profiles.ini and Firefox needs permissions to use the profile location.

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Yes, I've tried both. I continue to see the message that the profile may have been moved or deleted when I'm supposed to see the Profile Manager.

Current line of inquiry is figuring out if the permissions on the folder have been changed. It appears there may be an ACL in place over and above the standard permissions.