293153 - Check for other/multiple versions of Firefox when uninstalling and set one of them as default if the version being uninstalled is default

Status: RESOLVED WORKSFORME

(Firefox :: Installer, enhancement)

Description

[Dan Fischbach]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.7.7) Gecko/20050414 Firefox/1.0.3 (ax)
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.7.7) Gecko/20050414 Firefox/1.0.3 (ax)

When installing multiple versions of Firefox on a machine, such as 1.0.3
official and a nightly trunk build via the offical installer (into a different
folder of course) everything appears fine.  However, after uninstalling the
nightly build, I noticed that Firefox was no longer my default browser in
Windows, even though it was installed (the 1.0.3 official one).  Windows set my
default browser as "Internet" (the null value).  Apparently, when Firefox was
uninstalled, it didn't check to see if multiple versions were on the machine
(which is an unlikely case anyway) so as not to remove the Set Program Access
and Defaults options.  1.0.3 thought it was the default browser, (by checking in
Options) but Windows didn't see Firefox at all.  To solve the problem, I
installed 1.0.3 ontop of itself into the same directory with the same
installation options I gave it when I first installed 1.0.3.  Before I solved
the problem, I tried clicking on Internet, just for fun, to see what it would
open.  Oddly enough, the Firefox Options window popped up, SANS a browser
window!  Very interesting....

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Install Firefox 1.0.3.
2. Install a nightly build from
http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/nightly/latest-trunk/ into a
different directory than your original install of Firefox 1.0.3 (btw, great work
on fast back/forward!).
3. Uninstall the nightly build (btw, I didn't try it the other way around: aka,
uninstalling the official build first).
Actual Results:  
Windows didn't recognize Firefox as the default browser anymore (none was selected).

Expected Results:  
The uninstaller should have searched for other versions of Firefox on the
machine and set that version of Firefox as the default browser if the user had
Firefox as the default browser before.  It shouldn't have removed the Set
Program Access and Defaults options if it found another version of the browser
on the machine.

Nightly did not have any extensions/themes whatsoever.

Comment 1

[zug_treno]

Related to bug 255225?

Comment 2

[Robert Strong (they/them - no direct email)]

The Start Menu shortcuts are actually separate from the default browser setting. Also see bug 339663.

Comment 3

[Robert Strong (they/them - no direct email)]

We also no longer try to reset the default browser on uninstall. This should no longer be an issue. Reporter, could you please confirm with a latest 1.8.1 branch nightly? Thanks.
ftp://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/nightly/latest-mozilla1.8

Comment 4

[Dan Fischbach]

Tried really quick with FF 2.0 b1 and it seemed to not reset it.  Can anyone confirm?

Comment 5

[Robert Strong (they/them - no direct email)]

(In reply to comment #4)
> Tried really quick with FF 2.0 b1 and it seemed to not reset it.  Can anyone
> confirm?
I coded the new installer with not removing registry keys for a side by side install in mind while cleaning up keys for installs that no longer exist. There is the StartMenuInternet registry key where only one installation can exist at any one time and in this case the last installation wins. We could probably improve on this so that if the last installation is uninstalled that we add the StartMenuInternet registry key for a side by side installation if one exists but this is IMO an edgecase and we don't have time to do this for Firefox 2.0. It is also easy to workaround it by re-installing the version you want to have a StartMenuInternet entry for.

Comment 6

[Steve England [:stevee]]

Can this bug now be closed?

Comment 7

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

(In reply to comment #6)
> Can this bug now be closed?

I think the crux of the reporter's issue is resolved, namely "Windows didn't recognize Firefox as the default browser anymore".  In addition, the branding of nightlies to something other than Firefox also helps.

But reporter's expected results is not yet fully addressed "The uninstaller should have searched for other versions of Firefox on the machine and set that version of Firefox as the default browser if the user had Firefox as the default browser before. It shouldn't have removed the Set Program Access and Defaults options if it found another version of the browser on the machine."  I think RS has addressed the last item. Bug 255225 might be discussing some aspects of the first item.

Rather than morph this bug I'm going to close WFM, my read is the reporter is more interested in FF not having been reset as default browser.  However, if this does get reopened it should perhaps be severity=ENH (certainly not critical)

Dan, feel free to change if you see this differently.