256471 - msn.com - Cannot download MSN Messenger with Firefox. Must use Explorer

Status: RESOLVED INCOMPLETE

(Tech Evangelism Graveyard :: English US, defect)

Description

[Clive Norton]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.7) Gecko/20040707 Firefox/0.9.2
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.7) Gecko/20040707 Firefox/0.9.2

With Firefox, page http://messenger.msn.com/download/downloadx.aspx does nothing
automatically, and when I "Click here to download manually" I get sent to
http://messenger.msn.com/Download/default.aspx . Then when I click "Get MSN
Messenger" I am sent back to the first page.

With Internet Explorer, simply loading the first page starts a download and
installation of MSN Explorer.

(Explorer v6.0.2600 - whatever is installed with XP - I have never updated it
unless it happened automatically)

Reproducible: Always
Steps to Reproduce:
1. Load http://messenger.msn.com/download/downloadx.aspx in Firefox. Nothing
happens.
2. "Click here to download manually" and get sent to
http://messenger.msn.com/Download/default.aspx
3. "Get MSN Messenger" and get sent back to step 1.
4. Use Explorer at step 1 and Messenger is downloaded and installed.

Actual Results:  
In Firefox go round and round a circular route
In Explorer downloaded and installed MSN Messenger

Expected Results:  
Downloaded and installed Messenger

Only installed XP three days ago, so most things are clean (which is why I am
re-downloading Messenger). 
All XP automatic updates are installed (about 52 of them)
SP1 is NOT installed
WinMessenger is uninstalled with
"RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection %windir%\INF\msmsgs.inf,BLC.Remove"

Firefox uses
Adblock V5d2n39
Googlebar 0.9.0.16

Comment 1

[Clive Norton]

Attachment: Filters used in Adblock

I have just exported these from adblock FYI.

Comment 2

[Clive Norton]

Disabling Adblock makes no difference. I have just tried this and the problem is
still repeatable.

Comment 3

[José Jeria]

This is IE only code, if you launch it in IE 6 SP2 it will warn you that a
ActiveX control named "MSN Messenger" is required for this. Therefore it will
not work on Firefox, nor Opera or any browser that doesnt support ActiveX

Comment 4

[Clive Norton]

Firefox DOES download the Czech version of MSN Messenger from
http://messenger.msn.cz/Download/default.aspx and click on "stahnout"

Comment 5

[Bill Mason]

The Czech site doesn't use the same coding.  The download button there routes
you directly to a downloadable setup application file.

That site, the site serves different code to Mozilla.  If you visit the site in
IE with ActiveX off, the 'manual download' link is a link to downloading the EXE
file directly.  In Mozilla, you get no such help.

So they need to fix their code.  Confirming new.

Comment 6

[Cody 'codeman38' Boisclair]

On http://messenger.msn.com/Download/default.aspx there is a link near the
bottom to "Download and Install Later", which successfully downloads the file in
Firefox.

Why they don't actually try to do browser sniffing to just identify non-ActiveX
browsers, though, I have no idea...

Comment 7

[Chris Lawson (gone)]

INCOMPLETE due to lack of activity since the end of 2009.

If someone is willing to investigate the issues raised in this bug to determine whether they still exist, *and* work with the site in question to fix any existing issues, please feel free to re-open and assign to yourself.

Sorry for the bugspam; filter on "NO MORE PRE-2010 TE BUGS" to remove.