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How to remove older of two versions installed at same time?

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  • 1 leis an bhfadhb seo
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  • Freagra is déanaí ó John99

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Hi,

In my Windows 10 Control Panel I see two installs of Firefox: 47.0.1 and 48.0. My application updater tells me that my version of Firefox 47.0.1 is a security risk and needs to be updated to 48.0, but when I run Firefox the version is 48.0. I'd like to get rid of the 47.0.1 stuff so my application updater doesn't get confused.

The obvious solution is to Uninstall the 47.0.1 version, but when I look at my Mozilla folders it's clear that only one version is installed. I expect that if I uninstall 47.0.1 I'll wreck 48.0 and I'd like to avoid reinstalling & configuring Firefox and all my add-ons. Maybe I'd be OK if I could remove the registry entries for 47.0.1 that the uninstaller is seeing, but I don't know how to do that. Any ideas on how to fix this?

Thanks, Mike

Hi, In my Windows 10 Control Panel I see two installs of Firefox: 47.0.1 and 48.0. My application updater tells me that my version of Firefox 47.0.1 is a security risk and needs to be updated to 48.0, but when I run Firefox the version is 48.0. I'd like to get rid of the 47.0.1 stuff so my application updater doesn't get confused. The obvious solution is to Uninstall the 47.0.1 version, but when I look at my Mozilla folders it's clear that only one version is installed. I expect that if I uninstall 47.0.1 I'll wreck 48.0 and I'd like to avoid reinstalling & configuring Firefox and all my add-ons. Maybe I'd be OK if I could remove the registry entries for 47.0.1 that the uninstaller is seeing, but I don't know how to do that. Any ideas on how to fix this? Thanks, Mike

Réiteach roghnaithe

Fx48.0.2 x64 update succeeded, and is shown in Fx update history and in the control panel.

Windows 7 was not on Fx48 for the 32 bit version. That only updated as far as Fx47.0.1 so will now manually update that also.

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All Replies (13)

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What application updater is it? I assume something legit and not one of the bundlers that keeps stuffing garbage onto your system.

What sometimes happens is that the registry settings under Windows Installer are not cleaned up after a version update. I don't know of a simple/safe way to clean that up, but there might be suggestions in past threads or another volunteer may know a way.

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Jscher2000,

I'm using Secunia Personal Software Inspector free version. I spent some time selecting it to avoid the ones that have a lot in common with malware. This one seems to be professional and well-behaved, but I'm not sure I'll stay with it yet. If you have any suggestions let me know.

I think this is more than the normal left-over cruft from an install. I've upgraded Firefox probably dozen's of times and never had two installs present at the same time.

There used to be applications to remove install data without uninstalling. MS used to have one but I tried it and it doesn't see either Firefox install, and I haven't found anything else that might help.

Thanks, Mike

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Hi Mike, Just a thought, but as long as you have Firefox 48 installed not Fx47 then why is there a security risk ? Isn't it just a false positive, and a slight inconvenience of having an inaccurate listing.

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All,

Ccleaner can remove install data without uninstalling, so I ran it and removed the Firefox 47.0.1 install entry. That gets rid of the extra install entry in the Control Panel, but Secuna still thinks that the current version is 47.

Any other ideas?

Mike

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John99,

I agree it's probably not a security risk. I just find it aggravating and would like to fix it so I don't have false warnings floating around.

Maybe if I just wait until the next Firefox update it will go away by itself.

Mike

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Do you possibly have multiple program folders? Please check both of these locations:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox -- where the traditional 32-bit version of Firefox installs on 64-bit systems

C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox -- where a 64-bit build might install, but I haven't tested it myself

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Jscher2000,

Good catch! Yes, there are two folders. The Program Files/Mozilla Firefox folder is dated 7/12/2016 and the Program Files(x86)/Mozilla Firefox folder is dated 6/13/2016. It turns out that there are duplicate folders for several applications. Why are there two Program Files folders?

Now I wish I hadn't deleted that Firefox 47.0.1 install entry. As far as I can tell there's no undo in ccleaner.

I notice there's an uninstall folder under each Mozilla Firefox folder. Is there something in there or somewhere else that will let me uninstall?

Thanks, Mike

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The newer one looks to be your 64-bit install, and the older one your 32-bit install.

I think you should just delete the older folder (send it to the Recycle Bin). While the helper.exe file in the uninstall folder there is the uninstaller that the control panel would have run, there might be confusion during the uninstall process since the newer install may have made registry changes.

Edit: On 64-bit Windows, it's normal for 32-bit programs to install in the Program Files (x86) folder, and 64-bit program to install under the traditional Program Files folder. It's hard to speak to other programs, but some may install BOTH 32-bit and 64-bit versions simultaneously and therefore create folders under each. This is meant to be transparent to you and I wouldn't try to clean up too much without checking with the publishers.

Athraithe ag jscher2000 - Support Volunteer ar

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Jscher2000,

I just discovered what the difference is. Do I want the 64-bit version or the 32-bit version? I'm guessing that the later 64-bit folder is for ver. 48.0, which I still have an uninstall entry for.

Can I install the Firefox version for the uninstall entry that I deleted so I have good installs of both (32-bit & 64-bit), and then uninstall whichever one I don't want? If so then how do I specify which version I want to install?

Thanks, Mike

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The main functional differences between 32-bit and 64-bit are:

  • 32-bit runs more plugins (64-bit only runs Flash and Silverlight)
  • 64-bit can use more memory (if your Firefox often runs into memory limitations, that could be useful)

I'm not sure it would simplify things to install and uninstall an older version, but if you decide to return to the traditional 32-bit release, you could uninstall the 64-bit version through the Control Panel and then install the latest 32-bit version after that.

Your Firefox data like bookmarks and saved passwords is stored under your Windows User folder, so it should be safe. However, you could make a backup just in case the installers/uninstallers get extremely confused.

Back up and restore information in Firefox profiles

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Jscher2000,

I'm all set. I'll go with the 64-bit for better performance. Thanks for your help.

Regards, Mike

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I just noticed on Windows 7 my 64bit Firefox is showingup as Fx47.0.1 and is reporting it is up to date.

menu Button -> Help -> about Firefox = 47.0.1 Firefox is up to date

However I would expect it to be on Fx48 now like the 32bit version. When I vist the download site mozilla.org/firefox/new/ -> https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/all/ I see Windows 64bit Fx 48.0.2 offered https://download.mozilla.org/?product=firefox-48.0.2-SSL&os=win64&lang=en-GB

I wonder if there is some glitch in the updating possily with updates getting throttled. I do see multiple versions of Firefox listed in the control panel with x86 indicating 32 bit versions and x64 64bit versions. Both my Releases are on 47.0.1 despite update attempts today. I will attempt to install 48.0.2 x64 directly.

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Réiteach Roghnaithe

Fx48.0.2 x64 update succeeded, and is shown in Fx update history and in the control panel.

Windows 7 was not on Fx48 for the 32 bit version. That only updated as far as Fx47.0.1 so will now manually update that also.