Where are the instructions about how to upgrade to Firefox 5?
Where are the instructions about how to upgrade to Firefox 5?
I have FF v4 and want to upgrade to v5. But despite my searching, I cannot find any instructions on how to upgrade. Why do S/W developers for the most part fail to provide this essential information?
Specifically, does one do an in-place upgrade (install to existing v4 directory)? If so, are all the user's settings/ preferences/ configurations/ bookmarks/etc. preserved? Or does one install to a new directory? If that is the case, how does one then incorporate their former customizations into the new install? Also, what happens to add-ons, plug-ins, etc.
Install instructions, including upgrade instructions, should be readily available on the same page where the download link is!
Please advise. I'm anxious to upgrade, but without this basic information, I will not feel comfortable in doing so.
All Replies (7)
In Firefox 4 and later you can go to Help > About Firefox to check for updates and update.
You can update Firefox in the same installation folder.
Your bookmarks and other profile data are stored elsewhere in the Firefox Profile Folder and won't be affected by a reinstall, but make sure that you do not select to remove personal data if you uninstall Firefox.
"cor-el" - Thanks for the great answer, including the reference to the [Firefox Profile Folder] Unfortunately, I got mixed up about versions. The active version I have now is 3.6.18. Unfortunately for that version, when I select Help->Check_for_Updates, it simply says that no updates are available.
So I guess I can print out the "about:support" page and backup/export the bookmarks. I guess there are three ways I could proceed:
1) remove FF3 and install FF5 in new directory, or
2) install over top of the existing FF 3 programs directory, or
3) (preferred) create a new FF 5 programs directory without uninstalling FF 3, thus allowing me to have two versions to use/test against.
If I do install a separate FF 5 program directory, I would have to see if it uses the existing FF 3 profile ("Application Data", eg., pref.js, bookmarks.json, etc.) or whether it simply creates a new profile and it is up to me to copy the desired data over.
Also, will any/all of the above preserve/reinstall plugins and extentions (add-ons)???
And my (rhetorical) question will remain- why do the developers not have install/update/upgrade instructions?!
Thanks for any insights you may provide! Hopefully an upgrade will help resolve the FF crash and lockup (CPU pegs 100% and FF unkillable) problems that have PLAGUED me the past 3 weeks. Must have spent 40-60 hours recovering from almost non-stop crashes. But it appears that I'll also need to purchase a new computer (faster CPU, more memory) since website abuse the user with multiple animated gifs, Flash and AJAX/javascript CPU-intensive threads.
Modified by trumpman
You can't update from Firefox 3.6.x to Firefox 5 at the moment.
That update has been disabled and Firefox 3.6 users do not get that offer.
You need to download the full Firefox 5.0.1 version yourself if you want to use that version.
You need to do a custom install of Firefox 5 if you want to keep the current version and make sure that you do not start Firefox after the installation has finished, but first create a new profile.
You may also want to remove the tick to set that version as the default browser.
"cor-el" - Thanks again for the great insights! I'm just about to do the upgrade. I must have spent like 60 hours this past month dealing with browser crashes, I believe mainly due to CPU lockups caused by excessive and needless activity by websites nowadays. Nothing I can do with abusive websites' coding, so I'll also have to upgrade my computer.
I am still slightly concerned with using FF5 with an existing FF3 profile folder. For example, what happens if FF5 has new entries not f0und in the existing prefs.js file? (I also see that prefs.js uses sqlite database unlike previous versions more accessible format.) Would FF5 create any new/missing entries as needed? If not, then it may be better to use the list of modified entries from the FF3 prefs.js file (which I can access from "about:support" - Troubleshooting Information) and manually change thru the "about:config" interface.
You can create a new profile for Firefox 5 if you do not want to use your Firefox 3 profile.
Make sure that you do not launch Firefox after having installed Firefox 5.
See also:
Thanks, good references. I haven't really had problems with the profiles, as the last link would caution. But it is still unclear whether parameters new since FF3 will be created when needed. I'll guess I'll try to compare the old and new prefs.js files, else go with new FF5 one and re-add the modified ones from FF3.
I was going to go to FF5 from 3.6 but I guess I won't now all this stuff is over my head.