764239 - Automatic partial updates always fail due to "Missing profile"

Status: RESOLVED WORKSFORME

(Core :: General, defect)

Description

[Mark Callow]

Automatic software updates for both Firefox and Thunderbird have never worked on my MacBook Pro.

To reproduce:
1. Go to About->{Firefox, Thunderbird}
2. Observe the message telling you there is an update and observe it downloading.
3. Click the button giving permission to install & restart {Firefox,Thunderbird}

The installation will begin then a message box appears telling you that the update failed because your user profile can't be found or accessed.

There is a secondary bug too. The message goes on to say that the most recent version of the complete package will be downloaded and another message box appears with a empty progress meter. The meter remains empty; it appears that nothing is downloaded.

If you revisit About->{Firefox,Thunderbird} at this point you will see that (a) you are still running the old version and (b) the line that says "checking for updates" or "your software is up to date" is not displayed.

To install an update, I have to manually download the complete package. At which point a tertiary bug shows up. When I drag the installer to the Application folder, I get a message box telling me the there is a newer item in the Application folder.

I have another virtually identical MacBook Pro at work. I have no problems with the updates there. There only difference between the 2 is that I have a master password set on the one which fails.

Comment 1

[Mark Callow]

For what it's worth, the latest Firefox update for which this failed was 12 to 13.

Comment 2

[Mark Callow]

If you want people to keep their software up-to-date, please pay attention and fix this bug.

It just happened again, during an attempt to update Thunderbird from 12 to 13, so I can give a more accurate sequence of events than I managed above.

1. Tell it to install the update.
2. The "Installing update" progress display appears
3. After 1 or 2 secs, a message box appears. The title of the text in
   the message box is "Missing Profile." The message says the update
   could not be installed because the user profile is missing or
   inaccessible.  - This is the primary bug.
4. Dismiss this message box
5. Another message box appears telling you that the "partial update"
   failed so it will try downloading and installing a "full
   update."
6. Click OK to dismiss this message box
7. The downloading progress meter appears. No progress is ever displayed,
   even if I wait 10 or 15 minutes. Nothing is downloaded. - This is
   the secondary bug.

If I exit and restart {Firefox,Thunberbird} after this, About reveals that the old version is still running yet when I go to install a manually downloaded full update, MacOS opens a message box telling me there is a newer version in Applications." - This is the tertiary bug.

Comment 3

[Mark Callow]

I have just realized that I only have a master password set on Firefox not Thunderbird so it looks like the bug is not related to that. I have changed the bug summary accordingly.

Comment 4

[B.J. Herbison]

Is this bug still relevant? The installer and installation notifications have changed many times in the past six years.

Comment 5

[Hani Yacoub, Desktop QA]

I couldn't manage to reproduce this issue. Since the bug was logged 10 years ago, most likely isn't reproducible anymore for the reporter also.
Closing this bug as resolved: Worksforme.