370280 - "Check for Updates" tries to update Firefox despite a restricted user account and fails ungracefully

Status: RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 383518

(Toolkit :: Application Update, defect)

Description

[Ilja Sekler]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8.1.2pre) Gecko/20070206 BonEcho/2.0.0.2pre
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8.1.2pre) Gecko/20070206 BonEcho/2.0.0.2pre

Since the fix for Bug 351949 the feature "Check for Updates" is not more greyed out if Firefox/Bon Echo is being run by a restricted user on Windows XP. If a newer version is available, it downloads the update, tries to install it and fails, showing an error message.

The updater should check (again) first, whether Firefox has a write access to its application directory. Might affect also W2K.

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Install a Firefox branch build > 20070205.
2. Log on as a restricted user, run Firefox.
3. Let it check for updates, click on "Download and install now" and then on "Restart Bon Echo now".
Actual Results:  
Firefox attempts to install the update, shows an error message upon restart.

Expected Results:  
If there are any updates available, Firefox prompts the user to run it with administrative privileges and doesn't download the update itself if it may not install it successfully.

Comment 1

[Adam Vondersaar]

This problem is now also reproducible with Firefox 2.0.0.3. 

Comment 2

[Jim Jeffery not reading bug-mail 1/2/11]

This event is being reported on IRC channel going from 2.0.0.3 to 2.0.0.4 on a restricted user account causing the update to fail. 

Also reported here: http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=553639

See also: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=303595 as being the same issue I think.  

Updater either needs changed to run no matter what user priv's, or set to alert that an "update is available to install you must use an admin account/priv's."

Comment 3

[Jim Jeffery not reading bug-mail 1/2/11]

One more thread here: http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=542895