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Groundhog day... Firefox keeps on reverting to version 29...

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Hi!

Firefox on my Windows 7 pc keeps on reverting to version 29 over and over and over again...

I update it and after a while when I restart it I end up with version 29...

I tried to remove everything by first uninstalling it and then deleting the content of a few appdata directories but nothing seems to work...

This really feels like groundhog day...

I guess some sort of update file for 0.29 stayed stuck somewhere and it tries to apply it over and over again but I can't seem to find where it is...

Any ideas?

Thank you!

Nick

Hi! Firefox on my Windows 7 pc keeps on reverting to version 29 over and over and over again... I update it and after a while when I restart it I end up with version 29... I tried to remove everything by first uninstalling it and then deleting the content of a few appdata directories but nothing seems to work... This really feels like groundhog day... I guess some sort of update file for 0.29 stayed stuck somewhere and it tries to apply it over and over again but I can't seem to find where it is... Any ideas? Thank you! Nick

Chosen solution

Sorry for the much delayed reply..

James said

You sure there is not some method being used to revert the desktop and or software to a restore point?. Not uncommon for this to be done on some work, library or educational computers like when you logout for example.

No, they don't do that to our work PCs...

I am also IT staff (I am analyst-programmer and occasionally also do a little network admin stuff) so I have more accesses than regular users...

That said, we found the culprit...

A network admin that left ages ago had setted up a job to "update" our PC to Firefox 29...

The job was poorly written and kept trying to "update" any Firefox which was not version 29...

I would update my Firefox to the latest and I would see it downgraded to version 29 when their server would try to push the "update"...

I was not the only job which was trying to push older version of applications but it looks like only Firefox was happy with downgrading to version 29 from a later version...???

(the only switch that was used is -ms which I think is for a silent install...)

Would it be worth it to open a ticket to ask that Firefox not be so happy to downgrade to an earlier version?

Thank you and have a nice day!

Nick

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All Replies (14)

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Hello,

Certain Firefox problems can be solved by performing a Clean reinstall. This means you remove Firefox program files and then reinstall Firefox. Please follow these steps:

Note: You might want to print these steps or view them in another browser.

  1. Download the latest Desktop version of Firefox from mozilla.org (or choose the download for your operating system and language from this page) and save the setup file to your computer.
  2. After the download finishes, close all Firefox windows (or open the Firefox menu New Fx Menu and click the close button Close 29).
  3. Delete the Firefox installation folder, which is located in one of these locations, by default:
    • Windows:
      • C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox
      • C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox
    • Mac: Delete Firefox from the Applications folder.
    • Linux: If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it - see Install Firefox on Linux. If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder firefox in your home directory.
  4. Now, go ahead and reinstall Firefox:
    1. Double-click the downloaded installation file and go through the steps of the installation wizard.
    2. Once the wizard is finished, choose to directly open Firefox after clicking the Finish button.

More information about reinstalling Firefox can be found here.

WARNING: Do not use a third party uninstaller as part of this process. Doing so could permanently delete your Firefox profile data, including but not limited to, extensions, cache, cookies, bookmarks, personal settings and saved passwords. These cannot be easily recovered unless they have been backed up to an external device! See Back up and restore information in Firefox profiles.

Please report back to say if this helped you!

Thank you.

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Security Issue: Update your Flash Player Version 17.0.0.169
https://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/distribution3.html

See if there are updates for your graphics drivers https://support.mozilla.org/kb/upgrade-graphics-drivers-use-hardware-acceleration

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Tyler Downer said

Certain Firefox problems can be solved by performing a Clean reinstall. This means you remove Firefox program files and then reinstall Firefox. Please follow these steps:

Hi Tyler!

I did an even cleaner reinstall, I scrapped everything of my profile and just restored my bookmarks and the config of a plugin (ReminderFox).

Everything seemed ok yesterday but it has now reverted to 0.29 again...

Arggggh.... (-;

Thank you for the suggestion though, I had tried it but tried it again just in case I had forgotten something...

By the way, I am in IT (have been for over 20 years now) so if you have other suggestions which would need someone who is more at ease with playing with pc than a casual user you are welcome to suggest them...

Thank you and have a nice day!

Nick

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Perhaps either you have both 29.0 and 37.0.2 installed or you have something that is reverting you to say a earlier point when you had Fx 29.0 at time.

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Download Firefox Full Installer For All languages And Systems {web link} Save the file. Then;

Using your file browser, open the Programs folder on your computer.

Windows: C:\Program Files C:\Program Files (x86) Mac: Open the "Applications" folder. Linux: Check your user manual.

• Linux: If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it - see Install Firefox on Linux. If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder firefox in your home directory.


Look for, and rename any Mozilla and Firefox folders by adding .old to them.

Now run the full installer. If all goes well, remove the OLD folders when you are done.

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FredMcD said

Look for, and rename any Mozilla and Firefox folders by adding .old to them. Now run the full installer. If all goes well, remove the OLD folders when you are done.

Should mention some of those Mozilla folders may be the Profiles where the settings like Bookmarks, Passwords and such things that users will very likely want to keep are located. So people reading this advice do back these Profiles up versus just deleting.

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I only instructed to open the Programs Folder.

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Well kind of. You have to realize that some people will read it as ALL Mozilla related folders they find.

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You guys do realize that I cleaned up even more than any of you are suggesting, right?

I already described what I did above but...

- I uninstalled Firefox and the Mozilla maintenance stuff... - I deleted what was left of in in Program Files - I deleted anything that mentioned Firefox in my AppData directory (both in Local and Roaming).

The only things that were important to me, my bookmarks and the config of the ReminderFox plugin I backed up...

This is my work PC (but I am an admin on it) so I asked the guys responsible for this if they push any update of Firefox and I was told no, they never do...

My gut feeling is that it must be something related to updating the browser from one version to another which is playing tricks on me but *I deleted everything related to Firefox I could find...*

I only have one Firefox browser by the way and I am one of the guys people turn to when they have this kind of problem but this time, honestly, I am baffled...

Thank you and have a nice day,

Nick

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By the way, Firefox is the only Mozilla product on that PC, there is no danger of deleting anything beside something Firefox related on it...

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You sure there is not some method being used to revert the desktop and or software to a restore point?. Not uncommon for this to be done on some work, library or educational computers like when you logout for example.


Marbled said

You guys do realize that I cleaned up even more than any of you are suggesting, right?

I know, just that I have seen over the past twelve years wording like that I quoted be misread by users who proceeded to unknowingly delete their Bookmarks and Passwords and such and then wondered where they were. Better safe than sorry for any newer user who may come across this thread. He has also given similar instructions for Profiles instead of using the Profilemanager to create a new Profile which is the proper method.

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Chosen Solution

Sorry for the much delayed reply..

James said

You sure there is not some method being used to revert the desktop and or software to a restore point?. Not uncommon for this to be done on some work, library or educational computers like when you logout for example.

No, they don't do that to our work PCs...

I am also IT staff (I am analyst-programmer and occasionally also do a little network admin stuff) so I have more accesses than regular users...

That said, we found the culprit...

A network admin that left ages ago had setted up a job to "update" our PC to Firefox 29...

The job was poorly written and kept trying to "update" any Firefox which was not version 29...

I would update my Firefox to the latest and I would see it downgraded to version 29 when their server would try to push the "update"...

I was not the only job which was trying to push older version of applications but it looks like only Firefox was happy with downgrading to version 29 from a later version...???

(the only switch that was used is -ms which I think is for a silent install...)

Would it be worth it to open a ticket to ask that Firefox not be so happy to downgrade to an earlier version?

Thank you and have a nice day!

Nick

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Marbled said

A network admin that left ages ago had setted up a job . . . . The job was poorly written and kept trying to "update" any Firefox which was not version 29 . . .

I suggest you 'pull' all of the update programs for inspection.

Also, many programs can do their own updates, so having an updater may not be needed.

My Windows computer has a Task Scheduler built in it. I set up a task that runs the Norton Updater three times a day, and when the computer is turned on.

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locking this thread - user created issue - not a Firefox support issue