373956 - Thunderbird 2 loading software updates when pref says not to

Status: RESOLVED INCOMPLETE

(Toolkit :: Application Update, defect)

Description

[Mike Cowperthwaite]

This happened to me on March 8 -- I had the 2pre-0307 build installed, and got a notice that the update had been downloaded and was ready to install.  I didn't *want* the update, but there it was.  This was the second time in a week or so that this had happened, and I thought I had taken steps to prevent it.  Sure enough, when I checked:
  Tools | Options | Advanced | Update
and had:
   Automatically check for updates to:
    [ ] Thunderbird
    [x] Installed Add-ons

I'm *pretty* sure that the Thunderbird check had been disabled all along, but it definitely was at the instance I'm reporting.

'app.update.channel' was set to 'nightly' (for the 'pre' build).  I've changed it to 'none' in user.js and haven't had the problem since; changing in prefs.js -- about:config -- won't work, because the setting is apparently loaded from the installation's 'defaults' folder after prefs.js is loaded.

The bug is: that checkbox should be minded.  I can't say whether this would have been a problem if the channel were set to 'release'.  I also can't say whether this a generic Update problem shared by Firefox or not, altho I suspect it is.  I did look for other reports and found none; sorry if I've created a dupe bug.

Comment 1

[Phil Ringnalda (:philor)]

Bug 319198 is the only one I know of, though there could well be others lost in the noise of "and THEN IT DELETED ALL MY BOOKMARKS!!1!"

And from it, what is app.update.enabled set to, and does changing the prefs UI change the value for that pref?

Comment 2

[Mike Cowperthwaite]

app.update.enabled is False
When I toggle it to True, then view the "Thunderbird" checkbox in Options, that checkbox is now checked.

Comment 3

[Phil Ringnalda (:philor)]

http://mxr.mozilla.org/seamonkey/source/toolkit/mozapps/update/src/nsUpdateService.js.in#1376 says "if app.update.enabled is true, or for whatever unreproducible reason I can't get that pref, forge ahead" so that's at least one way of getting this at random.

Comment 4

[Mike Cowperthwaite]

If I'm reading that code correctly, if the pref is False, the method returns False, which apparently means DO NOT PROMPT => GO AHEAD AND INSTALL.

Comment 5

[Gervase Markham [:gerv]]

Yes, but the comments say that code is never even executed if the update pref is set to false. (Of course, they could be wrong.)

Another possibility is that the bug might be these lines in canUpdate():

1532     var enabled = getPref("getBoolPref", PREF_APP_UPDATE_ENABLED, true);
1533     if (!enabled && gPref.prefIsLocked(PREF_APP_UPDATE_ENABLED))
1534       return false;

This seems to only return false if the pref is locked! I don't know if that's the correct behaviour; the name of the function suggests not.

Gerv

Comment 6

[Phil Ringnalda (:philor)]

Land o' bad pasting: the URL I thought was in my clipboard was http://mxr.mozilla.org/seamonkey/source/toolkit/mozapps/update/src/nsUpdateService.js.in#2026 which is what should be called to see if the update service should run, and would fail to true if the pref can't be read; what I pasted was what would happen if you have automatic checking disabled, but manually check; what Gerv pasted is what is looked at to determine whether the manual update UI should be shown: if update is disabled and locked off, then you get a disable "Check for Updates" item in the Help menu.

Comment 7

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

This sounds like it could be a duplicate of bug 372123 (though at this point it might be better to dupe forward).

Comment 8

[Joe Sabash [:JoeS1]]

(In reply to comment #2)
> app.update.enabled is False
> When I toggle it to True, then view the "Thunderbird" checkbox in Options, that
> checkbox is now checked.
> 

This bit me a few times in the last few weeks as well.
Looking in all-thunderbird.js in current branch app.update.enabled is forced true.
This means that if you manually request an update, your default gets set to
automatically update therafter.

Comment 9

[Joe Sabash [:JoeS1]]

I do a manual partial update for Tb branch and trunk daily. I'm sure that that
app.update.enabled got set to true (not by me) at some point in recent weeks, but
it does not seem to be reproduceable. Today's updates did not touch the pref.

Comment 10

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

JoeS in comment #8)
> (In reply to comment #2)
> > app.update.enabled is False
> > When I toggle it to True, then view the "Thunderbird" checkbox in Options, that
> > checkbox is now checked.
> > 
> 
> This bit me a few times in the last few weeks as well.
> Looking in all-thunderbird.js in current branch app.update.enabled is forced
> true.
> This means that if you manually request an update, your default gets set to
> automatically update therafter.

similar report in firefox bug 375991

Comment 11

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

can anyone still reproduce this?

the previous bug# mentioned were duped to  Bug 319198 -  disabling auto-update using the pref panel doesn't work - but it's not 100% clear to me that that bug has a clear focus.

Comment 12

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

No reply to comment #11 so resolving -> incomplete. If you can still reproduce please reopen or file a new bug. Thanks