442844 - Java no longer working after upgrade to Firefox 3.0

Status: RESOLVED WORKSFORME

(Firefox :: General, defect)

Description

[Brian]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-GB; rv:1.9) Gecko/2008052906 Firefox/3.0
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-GB; rv:1.9) Gecko/2008052906 Firefox/3.0

After upgrading to Firefox 3.0, java does not work.  I installed the latest version of java, and java worked immediately after installation.  But after closing and reopening firefox, java no longer works.  Java has not worked since then.

Other sites that exhibit the problem:

http://www.poems.com.sg (Enter numbers for account and password, then attempt to login)
http://www.hsbc.com.sg (Choose "Login to personal internet banking" and attempt to login)

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Browse to affected site
2. Enter username and password

Actual Results:  
I am requested to install java in most cases.  In the case of DBS banking, I am told that the applet has not loaded yet.

Expected Results:  
I should have been able to login to each of these sites normally.  This worked in Firefox 2 and still works in IE 6.

I have searched thoroughly for this bug, and have not found anything.  It has been several days now, and filing this report is a last resort for me.

Comment 1

[Ria Klaassen (not reading all bugmail)]

Do you get an error? Java gives an error, a java.lang.NullPointerException, if the applet starts up while you're using a Internet Explorer useragent string.

Comment 2

[Mike Lierman]

Java isn't working over here in FIrefox 3.1 Nightly. I get this Error Message:

"Java support is disabled on your system or no Java runtime environment is installed. If you want to use the Java-based HouseCall kernel, please enable or install a Java runtime environment version 1.4 or higher.
If you click the following link, you can access a free, up-to-date runtime environment for your system: http://www.java.com.

If your runtime environment is up-to-date but you are still receiving this message, please close your browser window and reopen Trend Micro HouseCall in a new window."

Tried opening and closing didn't do anything. So there might be a real problem with Java in Firefox 3.

Comment 3

[Manuj]

Can you tell us what is version of Java Run time Environment installed in your system. Try it working in safe mode. Because i tried both the site and worked fine for me. I have FF3 and update 6 and version 6 installed. 

Comment 4

[Brian]

I managed to solve this problem at last.  I uninstalled all java packages I had on the system, rebooted, and installed Java SE 6 update 6 without any other programs running.  After starting Firefox 3.0 and going to a java page, I saw the Java taskbar icon pop up, and java is working now!

So from my perspective the problem is solved, though I'm not sure what caused the problem in the first place.  I suspect some oddity with my configuration and the FF3 upgrade broke java, but uninstalling and reinstalling java fixed it.

Java SE 6 update 6 was the version I had installed before (and had worked until I restarted the browser).  But there were other older versions still installed as well.  Perhaps one of them caused a conflict.

Comment 5

[Manuj]

Well, good its working now. It happens with Java if there is conflict with previous configuration.

Comment 6

[Brian]

Looks like this is still a problem.  Reinstalling java only fixed it for one session.

But I am able to use java normally when I create a new blank profile.  So it's something about the profile I imported from firefox 2, that no longer works in version 3.

How would I go about debugging a problem like this?

Comment 7

[Jeffrey]

Attachment: Screen capture showing Java working with Firefox 3.0

Comment 8

[Jeffrey]

 I had the same annoying problem with FF3, try this:

 * Go to control panel and launch the Java Conole
 * Using the console, delete all temp Java files
 * Uninstall ALL versions of Java in the order that they were installed.
 * Enable hidden files and folders and show protected operating system files.
 * Using Windows Explorer, navigate to \program files and look for directorie
   named Sun, Java and delete them, also look for similar directories in the
   Common Files Folder and if they are there delete them as well.
 * Navigate to \Documents and Settings\yourprofile\Application Data and delete
   the directory named Sun
 * Empty the Recycle Bin
 * Clear the browser's cache
 * Reboot and re-install Java directly from Sun's site. I used the xpinstall
   file.
 * Reboot, make sure that Java is enabled in the options panel in Firefox and
   give it a test, if all goes well, it should work, anyway it worked for me.

   I've rebooted twice and it still passes the test, I attached a screen capture that shows Java working with 3.0. (Java 6 Update 7)

 Jeff

Comment 9

[Brian]

Thanks Jeff, I tried your suggestions.  But no dice.  Again it worked immediately after reinstallation (and deleting all those directories), but stopped working soon after.

I've reverted to Firefox 2.0.0.15 now, as it's good enough for me, and java works for me there.  Thanks everyone for your assistance!

Comment 10

[Mathias Rufer]

I had the same problem using Firefox 3.0 on a WinXP System (French) with Java 1.5.0.16
I could not get it working, the symptoms were exactly the same as described:

1) Java doesn't work at all after upgrade from Firefox 2.0.x to 3.0 Applets show a red cross instead of the content. Java Console shows various "ClassNotFound Exceptions" or other errors.
2) Java works once when creating a new profile. But it stops working after restarting the Browser once or twice
3) On the same system, Java works fine with IE7
4) After reverting to Firefox 2.0, Java works fine again

One strange thing is that the following test applets usually worked:
http://www.java.com/fr/download/installed.jsp
http://www.javatester.org/version.html

The applications that did not work include Fluke (Crannog) Netflow Tracker applets.

I uninstalled all versions of Java and re-installed 1.5.0.16 but it did not help. Note that I didn't try Java 1.6 because I need 1.5 specifically.
I also cleared all possible caches, no joy.

Please note that on another Windows XP system, FF3 and Java work seamlessly. It must have to do something with OS or Java installation.

Comment 11

[Brian]

I'd like to add something to this report.  I will use the DBS login page ( https://internet-banking.dbs.com.sg/IB/Welcome ) as an example.

When viewing this page in FF3 with java OFF, the username and password box are not displayed.  When viewing this page in FF3 with java ON, the username and password box ARE displayed, but I am told to wait until the java applet is running when I try to login.  It is as if java is running, but the browser believes it is not.  Or maybe some part of java is working, and another part is not working.

All works fine in IE6 and FF2 (currently running 2.0.0.16).

Comment 12

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

Do you still see this problem using the most recent versions of all components?
If you do not, please close the bug with resolution set to WORKSFORME. (Or INVALID if caused by an add-on)
If you do see the problem, please comment in the bug.

Comment 13

[Brian]

Ok I have marked this as WORKSFORME, as I have not encountered this bug for some time now.  I am currently using Firefox 3.  From memory I stuck to v2 for a while, then tried the upgrade again later and it worked.