284576 - Update utility BROKE FIREFOX 1.0 and downloaded FAULTY INSTALLATION FILE (Installer crashes)

Status: RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 249067

(Toolkit :: Application Update, defect)

Description

[Matthew Slyman]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; .NET CLR 1.1.4322)
Build Identifier: 

"FIREFOX CRITICAL UPDATE 1.0.1" POPUP KILLS FIREFOX INSTALLATION

While using Firefox under Windows XP (with up to date firewall, antivirus 
software), just innocently reading a trusted web page, I suddenly got a popup 
message apparently from Firefox telling me that in order to avoid my machine 
being attacked, I needed to update Firefox to Version 1.0.1
I pressed "OK", it downloaded a 4,816,464 byte file called "Firefox Setup 
1.0.1.exe" and launched it.  It appears to be a self-extracting ZIP.

When the window opens, it is entitled - "Netscape 7.2 Setup - Welcome"...  
Contains text "Welcome to Netscape 7.2 Setup.  You are about to install 
Netscape version 7.2
Click NEXT to continue the Setup program"
License agreement...
FOR TRANSLATIONS OF THIS LICENSE INTO SELECTED LANGUAGES, PLEASE VISIT 
WWW.MOZILLA.ORG/LICENSING.

  MOZILLA FOUNDATION
  MOZILLA FIREFOX END-USER SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT

The window layout is broken, but on the next pages you get the familiar Setup 
options from Netscape 7.2.  Nomatter which options you choose, you get one of 
those MS error reporting windows, "setup has encountered a problem and needs 
to close.  We are sorry for the inconvenience."

By this time it's broken Firefox 1.0.  Every time you try to load Firefox 1.0 
you get the message, something like "You need to complete a previous 
installation.  Please restart."

End result : Firefox is broken.

I got the same problem when I tried to install Netscape 7.2 some time ago, but 
why is this Firefox Critical Update window appearing?  I never installed 
Netscape 7.2, and I deleted the installation files.  The only companies I 
allow Automatic Update privileges on my computer are Microsoft, Norton and 
Mozilla.

I went to the Mozilla site and couldn't find any evidence that Firefox 1.0.1 
even exists.  Firefox 1.0 is still available for download.  I am very 
suspicious.  Can you help me please?  I want Firefox back.

(I already know of MS devious tactics in Automatic Updates, since I got a 
message telling me I needed to upgrade to MSN Messenger 6.2 when I already had 
that version!  When when the "update" was downloaded, it did a load of other 
things to my machine, changing default browser back to IE etc.)

Reproducible: Didn't try

Steps to Reproduce:

Comment 1

[Asa Dotzler [:asa]]

Matthew, you're saying that you get a Netscape installer when you try to install
the Firefox 1.0.1 update? 

Comment 2

[Matthew Slyman]

Yes - I've just sent you six screenshots by email, showing the problem.  I'll 
attach cropped screenshots.

I even tried loading the Firefox 1.0 installer (which I saved), and got 
exactly the same results.

Comment 3

[Matthew Slyman]

Attachment: Screenshot 1

Comment 4

[Matthew Slyman]

Attachment: Firefox installer gives Netscape 7.2 Welcome screen

Comment 5

[Matthew Slyman]

Attachment: Badly displayed Mozilla license agreement screen (with Netscape title)

Comment 6

[Matthew Slyman]

Attachment: Badly displayed Setup Type screen with Netscape 7.2 title

Comment 7

[Matthew Slyman]

Attachment: The crash in all its glory (nomatter what you do)

Comment 8

[Matthew Slyman]

Attachment: MS Error report details

Comment 9

[Matthew Slyman]

Attachment: MS Error report details (technical 1)

Comment 10

[Matthew Slyman]

Attachment: MS Error report details (technical 2)

Comment 11

[Matthew Slyman]

Attachment: MS Error report details (technical 3)

Comment 12

[Matthew Slyman]

Attachment: MS Error report details (technical 4)

Comment 13

[Matthew Slyman]

Attachment: MS Error report details (included file)

Comment 14

[Matthew Slyman]

I have now found other bugs that look similar - (search for "Installer 
crashes")
<ul>
<li><a href='https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=260425'>260425</a>
<li><a href='https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=270864'>270864</a>
<i>Somewhat similar:</i>
<li><a href='https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=257255'>257255</a>
</ul>
<br>
<p>My Windows installation is on "G:\" rather than "C:\".  Could that be 
partly the cause of this problem?</p>

Comment 15

[Ben Goodger (use ben at mozilla dot org for email)]

I bet I know why this is happening ... a NS7.2 installer was probably run on
this system and then did not clean up its ns_temp dir that it extracted its
files to for some reason and perhaps still had the files open so they could not
be overwritten... so when the Firefox installer was deflated into that location
it copied files it could overwrite and used the ns7.2 config.ini for everything
else, resulting in a strange hybrid installer and boom!

It's worth testing this situation out. 

Comment 16

[Matthew Slyman]

I just did.  You're absolutely right.
===WORKAROUND:===
After reading your remarks, I found the "ns_temp" directory in
"Documents and Settings/[username]/Local Settings/Temp/"
- it contained old junk from a half-completed NS7.2 installation.  I deleted it,
ran the setup utility, and everything worked fine!
=================
Thanks for your help.  I can now test my work on Firefox again (and use my
favourite browser for everything else).  If you want, I'll send you a copy of
the ns_temp directory I deleted.

Comment 17

[Daniel Veditz [:dveditz]]

Ben's comment 15 was going to be my guess too. I think the suite installer may
have code to create a unique temp directory to prevent this, or maybe it was
just a one-off to handle the special case of the suite installer launching the
GRE installer and both needing a ns_temp directory.

Not a security exploit, clearing confidential flag

Comment 18

[:Gavin Sharp [email: [e-mail]]]

*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 249067 ***