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beta updates generally fail when automatically prompted to do so

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I'm on the beta update channel. I periodically get pop-ups letting me know that a new version is available, for instance the latest one is "33.0 Beta 9". It seems that whether clicking in that window to do the update, or if I go to the about Firefox window to check, it pretends to install, but then says that another instance of Firefox is running, and won't finish. Sometimes, I can go the the page with the beta downloads and get the latest, but that seems to point to the version I am updating from for a couple of days before it gets a pointer to the latest version.

I almost always have to get the update from the webpage, then do the install, rather then the auto-update process.

There isn't really a question, just an observation. Could have something to do with my installation. If there are any suggestions, I'd like to give them a try.

I'm on the beta update channel. I periodically get pop-ups letting me know that a new version is available, for instance the latest one is "33.0 Beta 9". It seems that whether clicking in that window to do the update, or if I go to the about Firefox window to check, it pretends to install, but then says that another instance of Firefox is running, and won't finish. Sometimes, I can go the the page with the beta downloads and get the latest, but that seems to point to the version I am updating from for a couple of days before it gets a pointer to the latest version. I almost always have to get the update from the webpage, then do the install, rather then the auto-update process. There isn't really a question, just an observation. Could have something to do with my installation. If there are any suggestions, I'd like to give them a try.

All Replies (2)

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You are on the Beta update channel and thus get an update about twice a week. See Help > About

If updating doesn't work then it is possible that you have other (security) software on your computer that keeps a lock on files.

Also make sure that the Mozilla Maintenance service is installed properly and has the needed permissions. You can try to disable this service to see if that works better for you and handle the UAC prompt yourself.

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Thanks, the "use a background service ... " checkbox is enabled, also the "check for updates, ..." radio button. I like to manually have control of all UAC stuff, however, I'll try disabling it and see what happens.

Help > About tells me I'm on 33.0, and up to date (I've manually updated to beta 9), though I do think it would be nice if it showed which beta version is running.