756801 - No way to stop automatic Firefox Update checks, Yahoo Toolbar, and connection to Firefox Welcome (I am a veteran user of Firefox!!).

Status: RESOLVED INCOMPLETE

(Firefox :: Untriaged, defect)

Description

[yyja]

User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:12.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/12.0
Build ID: 20120420145725

Steps to reproduce:

I've tried disabling all Add-ons, Extensions, unchecked Yahoo toolbar from View in Menu Bar, as well as uninstalled and reinstalled Firefox 12 twice. I've also changed options in Advanced, Tools to "Never Update". 


Actual results:

Firefox 12 STILL opens with 3 tabs: my default homepage (last to load), the unwanted "Firefox Welcome" page (for which I've submitted umpteenth time the brief survey question on whether I know Mozilla/Firefox is non-profit, etc.), the automatic Firefox Update checking Add-On compatibility (first to load), plus the Yahoo Toolbar page opening with additional windows. Extremely annoying, after I've been such a long time, loyal, exclusive user of Firefox (I detest Microsoft). But I am on the verge of not using Firefox on my desktop (Windows 7 Professional 64x). Strangely, these problems DO NOT occur on my laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium 64x).



Expected results:

Well, I should have expected just my default Homepage to load on Firefox startup, of course!

Comment 1

[Bill Gianopoulos [:WG9s]]

I have seen issues like this before (but only under Linux) usually resulting form running Firefox while sudo'd so you end up with files in your profile that you do not have write access to.

Is it possible you did the windows equivalent (run as administrator) using your profile so that there are now files in your profile that can only be written if you run as administrator.?

Comment 2

[Matthias Versen [:Matti]]

Please follow this support document:
http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/Preferences%20are%20not%20saved

Comment 3

[yyja]

(In reply to Bill Gianopoulos [:WG9s] from comment #1)
> I have seen issues like this before (but only under Linux) usually resulting
> form running Firefox while sudo'd so you end up with files in your profile
> that you do not have write access to.
> 
> Is it possible you did the windows equivalent (run as administrator) using
> your profile so that there are now files in your profile that can only be
> written if you run as administrator.?

thanks so much for your prompt response, Bill!

I did some research online on this sort of problems, which happens to plenty of other people using Firefox. I spent some time checking Windows' user accounts and managed to remove UpdatusUser Account, which was found to be created in the user's computer without the user being aware, when recent NVIDIA display driver updates were installed. I managed to delete the account after a couple of tries. At one point when I failed repeatedly to do so, I even contemplated re-installing Windows 7 Pro 64x from scratch because the computer was refusing to load my desktop and just hung there without doing anything. I avoided doing that by finally removing my graphics card (NVIDIA Ge Force GT-430) and driver, going back to the integrated graphics on my MB, and used my Windows 7 Repair disk.

I've just re-installed Firefox 12, and uninstalled Yahoo Toolbar. Starting Firefox still brings up the automatic Add-On Compatibility Checking and the Welcome to Firefox screens, followed by my Homepage. It certainly looks like I will have to follow Matti's suggestions to at least try resetting the Firefox preferences and if that fails, to delete the pref.js and related files.

Comment 4

[yyja]

(In reply to Matthias Versen (Matti) from comment #2)
> Please follow this support document:
> http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/Preferences%20are%20not%20saved

Hi, Matti. Thanks too for your prompt response to my post yesterday. Please see what has transpired since in the above reply I just posted to Bill's comments.

I am going to try your suggestions regarding resetting Firefox preferences (not much hope based on past history), then by locating the Firefox Preferences and related files and deleting them as you advised. Will keep you posted.

Comment 5

[Matthias Versen [:Matti]]

The update check and the welcome screen are triggered by a non writeable or corrupt  prefs.js in your profile.
You can find the Firefox profile with the profile link in about:support.

Comment 6

[yyja]

Hi, Matti:

This is a follow up of my earlier reply above:
I've tried resetting preferences, editing both user.js and prefs.js to delete the line relevant to Add on updating (deleting the old, much smaller .bk files for these also), plus going to about:config to attempt resetting, modifying the relevant Update Entry for Add Ons.

Results: 
The Yahoo Toolbar popup window no longer shows, because I've uninstalled Yahoo Toolbar.
The Firefox Welcome page also does not come up now
Unfortunately, all attempts to change the Update Entry for Add on compatibility checking failed. The changes get overwritten back in when the files exit. So the Add on compatibility check window still pops up first and goes through with the compatibility checking, and will end quickly or continues for sometime depending on whether I have none, few, or more Add Ons enabled. I can of course click Close or Cancel to get rid of it quick. I guess if I want to continue with Firefox as my preferred browser, I will have to live with this until a solution is found.

Here is what transpired with the attempts to edit about:config.
 
I located the entry 'app.updateTime.addon-background-update-timer' and tried changing the string to 0, false. Tried to change other attributes as well. No changes gets written and saved. No reset or modifications take hold.

There are many other unknown, unidentified app.update ..... entries in about:config. I didn't dare fool around with them, not knowing what they represent. Is there something else I could try?

Comment 7

[Matthias Versen [:Matti]]

You can try the new profile folder reset feature in our nightly developer build.
Download ftp://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/nightly/latest-mozilla-central/firefox-15.0a1.en-US.win32.zip and extract the file.
Now close Firefox12 and run the Firefox.exe inside the extracted folder.
Ignore the PDF Addon page and just go to about:support. You will find the reset feature on the top right. Close the nightly and start Firefox12 again.
You can remove the extracted folder and the downloaded zip now.

The reset feature will remove all installed addons but your history, bookmarks and password should be still there.

Comment 8

[yyja]

(In reply to Matthias Versen (Matti) from comment #7)
> You can try the new profile folder reset feature in our nightly developer
> build.
> Download
> ftp://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/nightly/latest-mozilla-central/firefox-15.
> 0a1.en-US.win32.zip and extract the file.
> Now close Firefox12 and run the Firefox.exe inside the extracted folder.
> Ignore the PDF Addon page and just go to about:support. You will find the
> reset feature on the top right. Close the nightly and start Firefox12 again.
> You can remove the extracted folder and the downloaded zip now.
> 
> The reset feature will remove all installed addons but your history,
> bookmarks and password should be still there.

Thanks again for your prompt responses and suggestions, Matti. I tried and followed your instructions above, but did not see features described (e.g., the PDF Addon page, nor the reset feature on the top right in the opened about:support). The Firefox.exe opens just like the installed Firefox 12. Right now I am resigned to using Firefox 12 with a quick click to close the automatic Firefox Update "Checking compatibility for your Addons". The update entry in user.js can be removed and saved, but the same line in prefs.js will be over-written back. Do you want me to append the about:config and about:support files here for you to examine?

Comment 9

[Matthias Versen [:Matti]]

Did you close firefox before opening the new Firefox.exe ?
Only one Firefox version will run at the same time.

The update compatibility check is triggered by a Version string in prefs.js.
e.g. Firefox 12 writes his version in prefs.js and if you launch Firefox13 it will detect the FIrefox12 string and will start a compatibility check. After the check it writes Firefox13 in the prefs.js and the next time you launch Firefox13 the compatibility check isn't run because the version string in prefs.js matches the used version.
THe pref name is AFAIK either "extensions.lastAppVersion" or "extensions.lastPlatformVersion"

Comment 10

[sjw]

Do you still have this problem?

Comment 11

[sjw]

WFM
[closeme]

Comment 12

[sjw]

Not sure if incomplete or worksforme, but it should be closed anyway.