Switching from Firefox 32- to 64-bit--questions
I believe I'm running Firefox 32-bit on my 64-bit system:
Name Firefox
Version 47.0
Build ID 20160604131506
Update History
Update Channel release
User Agent Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:47.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/47.0
OS Windows_NT 6.1 x86
Profile Folder
Enabled Plugins about:plugins
Build Configuration about:buildconfig
Memory Use about:memory
Registered Service Workers about:serviceworkers
Multiprocess Windows 0/1 (Disabled)
Safe Mode false
Profiles about:profiles
I'd like to try switching to Firefox 64-bit, since I've heard it might help with the continuous problems I've been experiencing with Flash. (Since the last Flash update, I've been totally unable to use it in Firefox, and have had to uninstall it. Though even before the last update, I've been having lots of hangups/problems with it, even on sites where it was disabled. Clearing the cache doesn't fix the problem and most other solutions are too complicated for me to understand.)
1. If/when I switch, will it keep my bookmarks, history, cookies, autofilled forms, saved passwords, profile, and whatnot?
2. If it doesn't work, can I safely switch back to 32-bit, and keep all the above as well?
3. Does it look like my computer will handle Firefox 64-bit okay?:
Windows 7 Home Premium
Service Pack 1
System:
Manufacturer: Samsung Electronics
Rating: 4.5 Windows Experience Index
Processor: AMD A6-4455M APU with Radeon(tm) HD Graphics 2.10 GHz
Installed memory (RAM): 4.00 GB (3.46 GB usable)
System type: 64-bit Operating System
Pen and Touch: No Pen or Touch Input is available for this Display
Modified
All Replies (4)
Firefox comes in two or more folders on all computers. They are;
Maintenance: (Programs Folder) <Windows Only> Firefox itself: (Programs Folder) And one folder in the profile of each user on the computer.
If you remove the Firefox folder, the user folders would not be affected.
Hi
Thank you for your question, hopefully I can help.
Yes, I would certainly recommend that you try the 64-bit version of Firefox. The information you have supplied suggests that it will be a good fit as it mentions that you are using a 64-bit operating system.
You should be able to move everything across by:
- Finding your Firefox profile folder
- Closing Firefox
- Taking a backup of your profile folder
- Downloading the installer for Firefox (64-bit) for your language/operating system.
- Uninstalling your old copy of Firefox
- Deleting your old profile
- Installing Firefox 64-bit using the installer you downloaded.
- Replacing the contents of the new profile folder with the contents of the backup of you took of the old profile.
Further information about finding and backing up your Firefox profile can be found here.
All the languages and operating system versions of the final Release version of Firefox can be found here. You will be looking to use your language under "Windows 64-bit".
In answer to your specific questions:
- Yes. By moving your profile across, you should keep your bookmarks, history, cookies, auto filled forms and saved passwords, as well any add-ons you find useful.
- If it does not work (which I doubt), since you have a backup of your profile, your can uninstall Firefox 64-bit and replace with 32-bit. Please appreciate that problems with Flash may not be problems with Firefox.
- Yes, it looks like you will be able to run the 64-bit version.
If you find that Flash is not installed on the new version, do not worry. This guide will walk you through how to install Flash again.
I hope this helps, but if not, please come back here and we can look into a different solution for you.
Your User Agent shows that you are running 32-bit Firefox on 64-bit Windows. Related article: How do I tell if I have the 32-bit or 64-bit Firefox?
Switching from Firefox 32-bit to 64-bit is just a matter of uninstalling your current Firefox version and then installing the 64-bit version. You can download 64-bit Firefox from the 64-bit Windows link at https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/all/ (see How to install Firefox on Windows for general information). Your Firefox user profile data (passwords, bookmarks, etc.) will not be touched.
If you want to try the 64-bit version of Firefox without removing 32-bit Firefox, you can do that too.
64-bit Firefox will install itself into its own folder and will use your existing profile. If you want to play it safe, though, you can create a test profile and then use that with 64-bit Firefox. See Profile Manager - Create, remove or switch Firefox profiles.
When I installed 64-bit Firefox on my Windows 7 computer, I left the 32-bit version installed. My Windows 7 list of installed programs shows both: Mozilla Firefox 47.0 (x64 en-US) 'Mozilla Firefox 47.0 (x86 en-US)
The 64-bit install created a new Mozilla Firefox desktop shortcut (If I remember right, it replaced the 32-bit Mozilla Firefox shortcut after a reboot, but I had other shortcuts saved elsewhere). I would suggest that you rename your existing Mozilla Firefox desktop shortcut "Firefox 32-bit" before installing 64-bit Firefox, if you want to use both.
In any case, you can always start either version directly, by opening (for 32-bit Firefox) "C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" or (for 64-bit Firefox) "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe"
Note: If you have both 32-bit and 64-bit Firefox and later want to uninstall 64-bit Firefox, just uninstall it from the Windows Programs and Features listing. You may need to reinstall 32-bit Firefox, if only to get the default browser and shortcuts straight, but I'm not sure of that. In any case, uninstalling and reinstalling Firefox does NOT touch your profiles, which is where your bookmarks, passwords and other user data are stored.
Modified
Since your reason for wanting to try 64-bit Firefox was to resolve a Flash problem, you (or others reading) might be interested in this thread on Adobe's forum:
https://forums.adobe.com/thread/2169131 Flash 22.0.0.192 Started Constantly Hanging Up in Mozilla