476974 - After installing 3.1b2 attempts to launch previous 3.0 install only launches 3.1b2

Status: RESOLVED WORKSFORME

(Firefox :: General, defect)

Description

[Roger]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9.1b2) Gecko/20081201 Firefox/3.1b2
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9.1b2) Gecko/20081201 Firefox/3.1b2

I installed Firefox 3.1b2 but did not uninstall my current 3.0.5 version. I had shortcuts to each browser (firefox.exe) version but both launched the 3.1b2 version of the browser. I even tried going directly to the firefox.exe file for 3.0.5 directory in the Program Files and launching the application from there but still got the 3.1b2 browser. Both versions of the browser show up using the Control Panel 'Add Remove Applications'. I cannnot find a way to launch the older version of the browser that still seems to be installed on my system.

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1.Double-click shortcut or directly click Firefox.exe of 3.0.5
2.
3.
Actual Results:  
Firefox 3.1b2 launches

Expected Results:  
Firefox 3.0.5 launches

I was trying to use the older version of the browser because add-ons were not yet available for the 3.1b2 (google notebook specifically) Since I cannot open the older browser I cannot use that add on and all my information I stored there is inaccessible. Inconvenient but I HOPE a simple reinstall of the older version will fix this issue - have not tried that yet.

Comment 1

[Wolf [:wolf]]

If Firefox 3.1b2 is open, then attempting to open another firefox (whether 3.1b2 again or 3.0.5) will just result in a 2nd window appearing. Make sure Firefox is completely closed, then run 3.0.5, and it should launch. (Check Help/About) and don't go by pages that load on startup, etc. as they may be sharing the same profile and as a result, appear to be the same version.

You may want to visit support.mozilla.com for more help.

Comment 2

[Matthias Versen [:Matti]]

This works for me and the issue you got is explained by Wolf.
You must close the old Firefox first before opening the other one.

Comment 3

[Roger]

You are correct. If 3.1b2 is completely shut down then 3.0.5 launches
correctly. The reverse 'issue' is also true. With 3.0.5 running, trying to 
launch 3.1b2 only results in a second 3.0.5 window. Too bad they can't run
simultaneously so they could be compared. (Glad I didn't reinstall!)

Thanks

Comment 4

[Wolf [:wolf]]

You can if you one run of them with the -no-remote switch. You have to use a seperate profile for that though, as 2 processes can't share a single profile. (one process will lock the profile to try to prevent bad things from occuring.)

Comment 5

[Roger]

Thanks for the extra info - FYI if you want a Website with instructions (I know you don't need them but if you find somebody else like me...) here is a step-by-step:

http://www.callum-macdonald.com/faq/multiple-firefox-instances/