192819 - Setting Mozilla browser and Mail as default programs using 'Set Program Access and defaults' applet zaps Mozilla installation

Status: VERIFIED FIXED

(SeaMonkey :: Installer, defect)

Description

[Joshua Holman]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.3b) Gecko/20030210
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.3b) Gecko/20030210

Windows XP SP1 (and I think W2K SP3) has a new feature that allows a user to set
MSFT programs (or other programs) to be the default programs for browsing, mail,
IM, and the like. You can also hide programs as well. With Mozilla 1.3b, Mozilla
and Mozilla mail are listed under the web browser and email program catagory. If
you make ether of those your default program for Mail and web browsing. Your
Mozilla installation is wiped out. The installation folder (C:\Program
Files\mozilla.org\mozilla) has nothing inside, the folder group in the start
menu is gone as well as the desktop icon. To workaround this problem, use the
ZIP build instead of the installer.

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Download mozilla-win32-1.3b-installer.exe or
mozilla-win32-1.3b-stub-installer.exe to your HDD.
2. Install Mozilla.
3. Go to The 'Set Program Access and defaults' (SPA&D) applet. To access SPA&D,
go to the Control Panel and click on Add or Remove Programs. Click the 'Set
Program Access and defaults' tab.
4. Choose Mozilla and Mail/News as defaults. Disable access to MSIE and Outlook
Express.
5. Press OK.

Actual Results:  
The Mozilla installation is wiped out. The installation folder (C:\Program
Files\mozilla.org\mozilla) has nothing inside, the folder group in the start
menu is gone as well as the desktop icon.

Expected Results:  
The MSIE and Outlook Express icons should have hidden. The defaults for both web
browsing and email should have been transfered to Mozilla.

I am on Win XP Home with 256 MB/RAM and a P4 procssor speed or 1.6 GHZ.

Comment 1

[Joshua Holman]

Attachment: SPA&D with Mozilla and Mail listed.

This is how the SPA&D applet looks before Mozilla is made the default for
browsing and mail.

Comment 2

[Joshua Holman]

added myself to CC.

Comment 3

[Joshua Holman]

Attachment: SPA&D after Mozilla installation has been zapped.

Note how Mozilla's products are NOT listed under browsing and mail.

Comment 4

[Shankar Unni]

Attachment: Diff showing which files were deleted

CONFIRM. I did the same thing (on WinXP SP1), selecting Mozilla as the default
browser and mail application (didn't try to hide access to IE, though), and
WinXP put up a popup insinuating that it was setting the access, but apparently
trashing the installation.  

Looks like it ran the uninstaller or something, because it also nuked the
desktop icons.

I've attached a Diff between the "ls" listings of the before and after
directories.  

Fortunately, reinstalling Moz fixes things up - the profiles aren't touched.

Comment 5

[Shankar Unni]

Comment on attachment 114158 [details]
Diff showing which files were deleted

Oops - attached wrong file

Comment 6

[Shankar Unni]

Attachment: Diff between saved and trashed directory listings

The right diff.

Comment 7

[Joshua Holman]

Here's another workaround. Launch the Set Program Access and defaults applet.
Instead of choosing Mozilla for mail or browsing, leave it set to "Use my
current web browser [email program]". This does not interfer with Mozilla. I
also have found that choosing the Mozilla icons under Internet and E-Mail in Win
XP's new start menu does not launch Mozilla. Are the two behavors connected?

Comment 8

[Henrik Gemal]

not installer

Comment 9

[Boris Zbarsky [:bzbarsky]]

Um.  It works with zip builds.  It's broken with installer builds.  That would
be.... installer!

(and read the file handling component description, please).

ccing dougt in case there are GRE issues.

Comment 10

[Joshua Holman]

Should this bug be marked new and be added as a showstopper for 1.3 final and
1.4a? If this bug is not fixed, it could make the installer builds of Mozilla a
bit of a pain to use until the fix is in.

Comment 11

[Michael Lefevre]

well I can't test this myself, but it looks like something that should be
investigated (and fixed if necessary) before 1.3...

Comment 12

[Daniel Veditz [:dveditz]]

Setting Mozilla as the default used to work, although the last time I tried it
was 1.0.1 or so. The uninstaller was changed to handle the GRE, perhaps it now
ignores the default-setting options (overloading the _UN_installer this way
doesn't seem to be such a good idea, but I guess it was handy).

Boy this is darn annoying, but probably not a 1.3 blocker.

Comment 13

[Daniel Veditz [:dveditz]]

Asa thinks this is a blocker, I'm swayed.

Comment 14

[Sean Su]

Attachment: patch v1.0 (ns tree)

Comment 15

[Sean Su]

Attachment: patch v1.0 (moz tree)

Comment 16

[Joshua Holman]

I recently installed Netscape 7.0x on my XP box. The SPA&D applet has Netscape
7.0x under browsing, mail, and IM. Setting NS 7.0x as the default using the
applet worked. Netscape was made the default and the install stayed intact. This
is pretty weird. I am beginning to think that 1.3b is using NS 7.0x's code for
this function and that since NS 7.0x is basing their releases off the 1.0.x
branch, something has gotten busted along the way.%

% Remember, this is my crackpot opinion here! 

Comment 17

[Joshua Holman]

Attachment: SPA&D Applet with NS7 as defaults for WWW, mail, & IM

Compare with the first two attachments that were made. NS7 has stayed the
default. Moz 1.3b did not.

Comment 18

[Samir Gehani]

Comment on attachment 114863 [details] [diff] [review]
patch v1.0 (moz tree)

r=sgehani

Comment 19

[Samir Gehani]

Comment on attachment 114862 [details] [diff] [review]
patch v1.0 (ns tree)

>-       data = "\"" + fProgram + "uninstall\\NSUninst.exe\" /ms /ua \"$UserAgent$\" /sd IM";
>+       data = "\"" + fProgram + "uninstall\\NSUninst.exe\" /ua \"$UserAgent$\" /sd IM";

This change is only in nim.jst: what is /sd?  I thought you only needed to
change this for the commands containing ``/hs'' and ``/ss'' (hide start menu
items and show start menu items).

Comment 20

[Sean Su]

/sd stands for Set Default (another mode), and no, we need for any command that
sets the run mode.

Comment 21

[Daniel Veditz [:dveditz]]

Comment on attachment 114862 [details] [diff] [review]
patch v1.0 (ns tree)

sr=dveditz

So does this mean a side-effect is that the windows features are set
non-silently? I don't see where "mode silent" means "do an install", on the
face of it it just means whatever you do, do silently.

But a .jst change is probably safer than an uninstall code change at this
point.

Comment 22

[Daniel Veditz [:dveditz]]

Comment on attachment 114863 [details] [diff] [review]
patch v1.0 (moz tree)

sr=dveditz

Comment 23

[Sean Su]

The side effect had always been there, just that no one had really noticed or
bothered to file a bug on it.

Just filed bug 194011.

Comment 24

[Sean Su]

patches checked in.  closing bug as fixed.

Comment 25

[Matthias Versen [:Matti]]

*** Bug 194740 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

Comment 26

[Joshua Holman]

since bug is closed, i'm removing sel from CC list. Good job everyone!

Comment 27

[Matthias Versen [:Matti]]

*** Bug 196333 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

Comment 28

[Chris Lyon]

*** Bug 196640 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

Comment 29

[Grace Bush]

verified mozilla build 20030311

Comment 30

[Chris Lyon]

*** Bug 191573 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***