305230 - attempts to run firefox-1.0.6 process on remote machine causes local process to start

Status: RESOLVED INCOMPLETE

(Firefox :: General, defect)

Description

[chip piller]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.7.10) Gecko/20050716 Firefox/1.0.6
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.7.10) Gecko/20050716 Firefox/1.0.6

I have firefox-1.0.6 installed on a local linux machine and a remote linux
machine.  I ssh from the local machine to the remote machine and issue the
command to start firefox-1.0.6.  There is a wait of several seconds and then a
new firefox window starts up on the local machine, with the process running on
the local machine, and with my local default homepage and other settings.

I want to achieve the same behaviour that I get with all other applications that
I launch remotely, where the application is in fact running on the remote
machine but with the display sent to the local machine using X and ssh. In this
particular case I want to use the remote firefox process to access a web server
that cannot be accessed directly from the local machine.

On the remote machine I also have firefox-0.8 installed and it behaves
correctly, with the process running on the remote machine and the display window
sent to my local machine using the X/ssh protocol.

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1.Install firefox-1.0.6 in user directory for local and remote linux machines
2.ssh from local machine to remote machine.
3.try to start firefox-1.0.6 process running on remote machine using command
"./firefox-1.0.6/firefox-installer/firefox"

Actual Results:  
After several seconds a new firefox window appears on the local machine,
complete with the local machine user account default settings, with the process
running on the local machine.

Expected Results:  
As with all other applications, the process should have started to run on the
remote machine and the display should have been sent to the local machine using
the X/ssh protocol.

Comment 1

[Jason Kane]

Same problem, but I have two lame solutions:

1) It works properly on the remote machine if you close down all local firefox processes before starting the remote.  In practice this means one firefox session for the remote work and a konq/opera/? session for 'local' browsing.  This sucks, but it works.

2)  If I do the following (on the remote):
ln -s /usr/lib/firefox-1.0.3/firefox-bin ~/newfox
sudo ln -s /usr/lib/firefox-1.0.3/libmozjs.so /usr/lib/libmozjs.so
sudo ln -s /usr/lib/firefox-1.0.3/libxpcom.so /usr/lib/libxpcom.so
sudo ln -s /usr/lib/firefox-1.0.3/libplds4.so /usr/lib/libplds4.so
sudo ln -s /usr/lib/firefox-1.0.3/libplc4.so /usr/lib/libplc4.so
sudo ln -s /usr/lib/firefox-1.0.3/libnspr4.so /usr/lib/libnspr4.so

I can run '~/newfox' and get a firefox session that works remotely as expected.

(In reply to comment #0)
> User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.7.10)
> Gecko/20050716 Firefox/1.0.6
> Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.7.10)
> Gecko/20050716 Firefox/1.0.6
> 
> I have firefox-1.0.6 installed on a local linux machine and a remote linux
> machine.  I ssh from the local machine to the remote machine and issue the
> command to start firefox-1.0.6.  There is a wait of several seconds and then a
> new firefox window starts up on the local machine, with the process running on
> the local machine, and with my local default homepage and other settings.
> 
> I want to achieve the same behaviour that I get with all other applications
> that
> I launch remotely, where the application is in fact running on the remote
> machine but with the display sent to the local machine using X and ssh. In this
> particular case I want to use the remote firefox process to access a web server
> that cannot be accessed directly from the local machine.
> 
> On the remote machine I also have firefox-0.8 installed and it behaves
> correctly, with the process running on the remote machine and the display
> window
> sent to my local machine using the X/ssh protocol.
> 
> Reproducible: Always
> 
> Steps to Reproduce:
> 1.Install firefox-1.0.6 in user directory for local and remote linux machines
> 2.ssh from local machine to remote machine.
> 3.try to start firefox-1.0.6 process running on remote machine using command
> "./firefox-1.0.6/firefox-installer/firefox"
> 
> Actual Results:  
> After several seconds a new firefox window appears on the local machine,
> complete with the local machine user account default settings, with the process
> running on the local machine.
> 
> Expected Results:  
> As with all other applications, the process should have started to run on the
> remote machine and the display should have been sent to the local machine using
> the X/ssh protocol.
> 

Comment 2

[sebastian]

same problem here... I need to run both firefox localy (faster) and use the one remotely because of different settings and network access. I'd really like this to be possible (using ff 1.5.0.3 here)

Comment 3

[David Sparks]

This used to work with the --no-xshm cmdline switch but no as of ~1.5

Comment 4

[chip piller]

I'm now running 1.5.0.5 and found the following solution in, of all places.... the Release Notes!
http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/releases/1.5.0.5.html

"firefox -remote (mozilla-xremote-client) no longer works on urls containing commas, and is deprecated. firefox -new-window /url/ will open the url in a new window; firefox -new-tab /url/ will open the url in a new tab"

Comment 5

[Ling C. Ho]

(In reply to comment #4)
> I'm now running 1.5.0.5 and found the following solution in, of all places....
> the Release Notes!
> http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/releases/1.5.0.5.html
> 
> "firefox -remote (mozilla-xremote-client) no longer works on urls containing
> commas, and is deprecated. firefox -new-window /url/ will open the url in a new
> window; firefox -new-tab /url/ will open the url in a new tab"
> 

What exactly does this solution do? We are trying to prevent the remote session from opening a new window/tab in a local session.

Comment 6

[Tyler Downer [He/Him]]

This bug was reported on Firefox 2.x or older, which is no longer supported and will not be receiving any more updates. I strongly suggest that you update to Firefox 3.6.3 or later, update your plugins (flash, adobe, etc.), and retest in a new profile. If you still see the issue with the updated Firefox, please post here. Otherwise, please close as RESOLVED > WORKSFORME
http://www.mozilla.com
http://support.mozilla.com/kb/Managing+profiles
http://support.mozilla.com/kb/Safe+mode

Comment 7

[Tyler Downer [He/Him]]

No reply, INCOMPLETE. Please retest with Firefox 3.6.3 or later and a new profile (http://support.mozilla.com/kb/Managing+profiles). If you continue to see this issue with the newest firefox and a new profile, then please comment on this bug.