Hi, jim

https://winaero.com/blog/disable-updates-firefox-63-above/

hope it is helpful to you.

Hii Jim

  •To disable these checks:

 1  Click the menu button
    and select Options.Preferences.
 2 In the General panel, 
    scroll down to the Firefox Updates 
    section.
3 Check Never check for updates
   (not recommended) and uncheck
   Automatically update search engines.
 4  Close the about:preferences page.

Hope it solve your problem...

Thanks. I'll try the registry thing tomorrow. It's been about 20 years (Windows NT and 2000 at work only, at what was then 16th Special Operations Wing Intelligence---last I heard, back to Hurlburt's original 1SOW) since I've even touched an M$ box. This one is my game development (and by definition, also gaming) system, and for various reasons, I'm currently planning on keeping it running on Windows 10....but I don't want to be playing around in the registry editor at this time of night when I'm tired, grumpy because of this (and search engines that think cal and calendar are the same program on Unix---I'm trying to get calendar working in Cygwin...stupid search engines keep telling me about cal ... not even spelled the same!), etc.

Hopefully that fixes it. If not, not being able to disable updates (which, again, always break something that I use regularly) will be the last straw for any Mozilla products, forever. First it's extensions (and only the most extremely popular ones at that). Now it's removing the option to not update Firefox or Thunderbird on MY computer. M$ seems to think the same way: that they have any say over MY computer and can disable software like Godot 3 (game development system), or Cygwin, etc., "just 'cause"....and not let me fix it. Bye bye Windows Defender (aka Windows Offender). Hello Godot 3, nice to see you again.  :-)

If they'd just add a "[ ] Don't show this annoying POS again" option...it'd be ok. But no one seems to know how to do that at Mozilla.

Thanks.

To disable these checks: Click the menu button and select Options. Preferences. In the General panel, scroll down to the Firefox Updates section. Check Never check for updates (not recommended) and uncheck Automatically update search engines. Close the about:preferences page.

For more information visit this link https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1251629

For those suggesting I use the option to never check updates, I wouldn't be here if that option still existed.

As for the registry editor thing, I just did that. We'll see if it worked. I'll know if, by the time I get back from getting blood labs done for my doctor, there aren't any annoying update banners in Firefox and Tbird. If it did, Firefox and Thunderbird get to live. If not.......

Well, Thunderbird gets to die. It just popped up the update bs. (Unless it requires a different approach, and what looks like it should work for all Mozilla stuff doesn't). It's popped up two since restarting.

As for why such interim updates are needed: the population of "beta" testers is pretty small, so when a new version is released to millions of Firefox users across the great diversity of OS versions, add-ons, websites used, and work styles, new problems are always detected.

Well, nothing worked on Firefox or Thunderbird. They are still exhibiting the policy that says, "check for updates but let me decide whether to install them" which translates to "check for updates and we're going to nag you to death until you either update or uninstall." That's what Mozilla calls a choice? Wow. That's evil.

https://winaero.com/blog/disable-updates-firefox-63-above/

I found the ULTIMATE solution. I went into c:/programsandfiles/MozillaFirefox and deleted updater.exe. Same for Thunderbird. I be it's quiet now.  ;-} Nothing else posted here worked. This, I'm 99.99% sure, should work.

I found the ULTIMATE solution. I went into c:/programsandfiles/MozillaFirefox and deleted updater.exe. Same for Thunderbird. I be it's quiet now.  ;-} Nothing else posted here worked. This, I'm 99.99% sure, should work.

IMO and experience that is risky. There something beyond that updater.exe that got one of my old installed versions to update. And over the next 3 launches of that installation to continue in 3 "steps" or stages. I was a huge jump from like Firefox 38 or so ....

By all means, I suggest that you do the Alterivate (sic) Solution further down this page - https://winaero.com/blog/disable-updates-firefox-63-above/ - the Alternative Solution which IMO does work as intended, for the long term vs, using the Windows Registry 'hack'.

That Alternative was created by Mozilla for "institutional use", such as mass installation by corporations. I called it "institutional use", because IMHO that where the person who decided that these automatic updates were necessary belongs in one of those. Ruined my life as a Firefox user from long before this web browser became as "Firefox".

Ahhh, ok, I'd only seen the reference to the registry editor solution, not the alternative. I just did that. We'll see if it worked if, when I get up later this morning, I have another annoying update notice or not. And my solution (removing that file) did not work, btw. If this solution doesn't work, the next solution is to choose another browser. Same goes for Thunderbird. I've already got enough extreme stress to deal with...annoyances like this simply can't be allowed, especially right now. And since it is MY computer, not Mozilla's, I'll update apps if and when I choose to do so. M$ and Mozilla need to learn that. Yes, advise me when there's an update (once is enough unless I ask for a reminder later) and why I should install it. But nagging the hell out of me is completely UNSAT.

Thanks. Going to bed now...update later (i.e., whether this worked or not).

Seems to have worked this time.

Hello...

Firefox occasionally checks to see if any updates are available for itself and for your search engines. The ability to disable Firefox update checking was removed in Firefox 63. Advanced users and IT administrators can use a policy to disable Firefox update checks. See Managing Firefox Updates Firefox also checks to see if any updates are available for your add-ons (extensions, themes). To disable this check:

• Click the menu button , click Add-ons and select Extensions.
• At the top of the tab, click the "Tools for all add-ons" Add-on Tools Icon menu, uncheck Update Add-ons Automatically and then select Reset All Add-ons to Update Automatically.

I have my extensions update automatically---they don't break things when they update, like Firefox and Thunderbird do. Now, if Firefox and Thunderbird were to list everything the next update would break, along with whatever positive changes it would make, I could better evaluate whether or not to do the update. Oh, and some updates, once done, don't let you go back to a previous version, so if the update fscks things up for you, you can't even go backwards to the previous version that worked (that would also need to be in that list of everything that the update would break). But they don't do that. So I stay with the version that works for me.

Or, in this case, almost works. I'm still waiting for the ability to create a bookmark in a bookmark folder on the bookmark toolbar directly (used to be called, "add bookmark here" and was an extension) to come back. That was great---have a bunch of tabs of gamedev stuff that I want to bookmark in my gamedev bookmarks toolbar folder (or a folder under that one, or a folder under a folder under that one, etc.)? Click on the gamedev folder (or whatever sub-folder, sub-sub-folder, etc.) and add the bookmark there in one step. One step (smart) then vs several steps (stupid) now. That's only one example, but it's my #1 example.

Thanks.

jim174

If the Alternative Solution that I brought to your attention did truly answer your original question, please use the "button" for Solves the problem which is to the right of Does this reply solve the problem? to the lower right corner of my posting so that other users who search this forum to try to solve their same problem can be helped thru this thread, as I helped you.

And I can stop watching this thread .... I keep getting it in my "needs attention" listing with my Mod log in.

Cool ... that means I can stop watching it, too.