Firefox 0.9.2 and Extensions

How does one manage to install them?

[Stefan]

I've been using Firefox 0.8, updated to 0.9 a couple of weeks ago, could not get extensions to install, so went back to 0.8. I gave it another try yesterday, still can't get any extensions to install, and then when I tried to go back to 0.8, I realized I had cleaned out the download file. I can't get 0.8 back.

Searching on the net mostly finds other plaintive queries such as mine. I miss my Adblock, User Agent, and a bunch of others. How does one install extensions with 0.9?

If you do it though the download page for the extensions, it blips on the status bar quickly, nothing else happens, you close FF, reopen it, nothing there. What's the trick?

Any advice on this would be much appreciated.

Sorry if this isn't the best forum... it was either this one or foo, and I need my Adblock asap.

[GaryK]

It's been my experience with FF that the best way to upgrade to a new version is to start by removing all remnants of the previous version from your hard drive. Don't forget to save anything you want to keep in your profile like bookmarks.html or cookies.txt. Then download the zipped version of FF and unzip it to the folder you want to run it in. Then simply double-click the firefox.exe executable and it will start right up. Then you can install your new extensions making sure to shut down FF each time you install a new extension. I hope that's the sort of information you were looking for.

[jdMorgan]

Tools->Options->Advanced->Software Update->Allow web sites to install software

or browse to the internal URL about:config and set xpinstall.enabled to true

(You can turn it back off after installing your extensions if it makes you nervous)

Jim

[Stefan]

Yes, thanks, that's exactly the information I'm after.

Ok, tomorrow I tear out everything but the bookmark file, (copy that somewhere safe), uninstall and delete all traces of FF, download the .zip, (which I didn't do before), unzip it into an appropriately named folder, and hit the .exe. Then with any luck, after the fresh install, I can get my extensions back.

Many thanks again.

ADDED: jd, excellent, thanks. I'm about to try it.

[GaryK]

Yes, that does need to be checked. Thanks for reminding me.

My main point though, and I didn't express it very well, was that 0.9.x has a new extensions manager and in many cases you need to download new extensions.

There is an extension that lets you see installed extensions from previous versions of FF but you usually won't be able to get those extensions to run because they'll fail the version check test. That's why I feel the best way to upgrade is with a clean install.

[Stefan]

Yeah!

or browse to the internal URL about:config and set xpinstall.enabled to true

That did it, man. It took all of two minutes and Adblock is now installed again.

Thanks, both of you.

(About to start downloading all the others...)