Closed Bug 213733 Opened 21 years ago Closed 13 years ago

Installer no longer remembers "default browser" status.

Categories

(Core Graveyard :: Installer: GRE, defect)

Product:
Core Graveyard
Component:
Installer: GRE
Platform:
x86
Windows XP
Type:
defect
Priority:
Not set
Severity:
normal

Tracking

(Not tracked)

Status:
RESOLVED WONTFIX

People

(Reporter: jasonb, Unassigned)

References

Details

(Keywords: regression) 

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.5b) Gecko/20030724
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.5b) Gecko/20030724

For the past several days, every time I've installed the latest Win32 build (via
the network stub installer) it asks me if I want to make Mozilla my default
browser.  This happens even when I do an in place upgrade (without first
uninstalling my old version).  This has never happened before - it's always
remembered from one install to the next what my default browser should be.

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Set Mozilla to be your default browser.
2. Install a nightly build.

Actual Results:  
Mozilla forgets that it's the default browser and asks again.

Expected Results:  
Perhaps this is reasonable if you've done a full uninstall of Mozilla, but on an
upgrade install (at the very least) it should remember what your default browser
is, rather than overwriting your preference - then asking again.

It may be that the installer is now first doing a full uninstall prior to
installation?  If so this behaviour is only recently introduced - but, if it is
doing that, it should be handling this situation better than it is.
I wouldn't mind this behaviour SO much if it weren't for bug 131106 requiring me
to reset all of my file associations that Mozilla grabs when I tell it to become
the default.  Even if I say "No", then go into Prefs to check the "Default"
button (which does not grab the image extensions), I still have to manually
check some things which it *doesn't* grab - like XUL, Chrome, and Gopher.  So
however I go about making Mozilla the default again, it requires extra work on
my part to "fix" it later on.
Keywords: regression
Summary: Installer no longer remember "default browser" status. → Installer no longer remembers "default browser" status.
not installer
Assignee: ssu → law
Component: Installer → File Handling
QA Contact: bugzilla → petersen
I don't see how it can't be the installer - since it's the part of Mozilla
that's causing the problem.  The only time this happens is when I run the
installer, so it must have something to do with a change in the installer
routine...  (Unless you're saying that the cause is the installer but it still
needs to be fixed elsewhere.)
This regression may have been caused by the patch for bug 210731.  (Same time
frame.)  If so, it's definitely setup (the installer) deleting something it
shouldn't be deleting.
The 8/19-04 build no longer exhibits this behaviour.  If subsequent builds also
don't "forget" that Mozilla is the default browser, I'll close this out.
Interesting.

It seems I was mistaken in the above comment.  What actually happens is that if
you (re)install the *same* build then the installer does NOT de-register Mozilla
as the default browser.  (I had re-installed the 8/19-04 build for various
reasons, and it kept Mozilla as the default browser, which is why I'd thought it
was something to do with the build rather than this situation.)

So there's definitely some kind of logic going on in the installer such that it
compares the existing build to that which is being installed - and only if
they're different does it de-register Mozilla.  We need to fix it so that it
never de-registers Mozilla at all - regardless of build comparison.
Does anybody know the Windows registry key where the string for the default
browser is stored?

I'd like to turn registry auditing on to determine when this is accessed (narrow
down if it's during the installer's called uninstall routine or it's actual
install routine proper), mark it read-only so that whatever installer process
*is* happening can't change my default browser from Mozilla, and, perhaps, try
to identify the offending bit of Mozilla code in an attempt to fix this bug...
I just installed the 12/19-08 Win32 build - and it no longer "forgot" that
Mozilla was my default browser.  I didn't have to go through all of the
rigamarole that I have been over the past 5 months since I filed this bug.

So - it *looks* like this has been fixed.  But I can't point to any bug that
would have been responsible for fixing this.  It would have happened sometime
between 12/17-08 and 12/19-08.  (I never used a 12/18 build so can't comment on it.)
Ack.  12/20-09 asked me (again) if I wanted Mozilla to be my default browser
when upgrading from 12/19-09.  All I can think of this time around is that the
installer doesn't disassociate the browser if the brand version is changed (i.e.
1.6b to 1.7a).

Also - I'm changing this back to the Installer component.  This is NOT just a
file association problem.  It's directly related to the installation routine (or
the removal routine that's called by the installer) not doing what it should be
doing properly.  The installer is clearly the culprit here, and it's code in
that component that needs to be fixed.
Assignee: law → general
Component: File Handling → Installer
QA Contact: chrispetersen → bugzilla
I have to check this tomorrow with a new build. But it seems that the bug only
appears when the GRE installer removes the orphaned GRE installations. Perhabs
the installer removes not only the files but also the registry entries.
Build 2003122400 WinXP
Installing todays trunk the GRE installer did not remove the orphaned GRE
directory and as a result of this I was not ask whether I want to make Mozilla
my default browser.
Good work!

I manually deleted my GRE directory and I, too, was no longer hit by this bug. 
I'll have to add a line to my custom install script (which also does things such
as deleting the unwanted desktop icon and program group) to do this automatically.

-> Installer: GRE.
Assignee: general → gre
Component: Installer → Installer: GRE
I got hit by this or similar installing Mozilla 1.6 on a Windows 98SE box.  I'd
set Firebird to be my default browser, and when the Mozilla 1.6 for Windows
installer asked if I wanted it to be my default, I said no.  After that,
clicking on any url in Outlook 2000 resulted in an error (file not found) and no
browser being launched.
You're saying that the installer removed Firebird as your default browser and
left you with no association at all?  I'm not sure if that's this bug per se (it
may be) but it's certainly not the behaviour you want.  If your default browser
isn't Mozilla, there's definitely no way that the install process should be
messing around with what is your default browser without at least first asking.

In any case, it's obvious that the installer's check as to what the default
browser is, and how it handles it, is busted when doing an upgrade install.
*** Bug 235844 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
1.7 blocker?
Windows XP with Celeron processor, dial up connection.  At initial install I 
did not choose to migrate Explorer favorites or set Mozilla as default.  
Decided to make default after initial use.  Answered Mozilla default request 
as yes, maintains default throughout session.  After session close, upon 
reconnect Explorer is default.  When I open Mozilla it again asks if I would 
like to set Mozilla as default, answer yes and it maintains default status 
during session but only this session.  Have attempted to de-install and re-
install Mozilla browser but upon re-install it does not ask if I would like to 
migrate explorer settings,favorites etc or if I would like to make Mozilla the 
default browser
That sounds like a related but different problem.
Product: Core → Core Graveyard
The GRE installer is long dead
Status: NEW → RESOLVED
Closed: 13 years ago
Resolution: --- → WONTFIX
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