Can't update because there is already a version of FF on my computer
My computer is telling me that my version of firefox is out of date. I attempt to install the latest version but then my computer says that the install failed because there is already a version of firefox running. Do I delete firefox before installing the new one? WHy is that necessary if the software is supposed to update itself?
All Replies (2)
Certain Firefox problems can be solved by performing a Clean reinstall. This means you remove your Firefox program files and then reinstall Firefox. This process does not remove your Firefox profile data (such as bookmarks and passwords), since that information is stored in a different location.
To do a clean reinstall of Firefox, please follow these steps: Note: You might want to print these steps or view them in another browser.
- Download the latest Desktop version of Firefox from mozilla.org (or choose the download for your operating system and language from this page) and save the setup file to your computer.
- After the download finishes, close all Firefox windows (or open the Firefox menu
and click the close button 
).
- Delete the Firefox installation folder, which is located in one of these locations, by default:
- Windows:
- C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox
- C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox
- Mac: Delete Firefox from the Applications folder.
- Linux: If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it - see Install Firefox on Linux. If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder firefox in your home directory.
- Windows:
- Now, go ahead and reinstall Firefox:
- Double-click the downloaded installation file and go through the steps of the installation wizard.
- Once the wizard is finished, choose to directly open Firefox after clicking the Finish button.
More information about reinstalling Firefox can be found here.
WARNING: Do not use a third party uninstaller as part of this process. Doing so could permanently delete your Firefox profile data, including but not limited to, extensions, cache, cookies, bookmarks, personal settings and saved passwords. These cannot be easily recovered unless they have been backed up to an external device! See Back up and restore information in Firefox profiles.
Please report back to say if this helped you!
Thank you.
If there a problem with updating or with the permissions then best is to download the full version and trash the currently installed Firefox application to do a clean reinstall.
Download a new copy of the Firefox application and save the Disk Image file to the desktop
- Firefox 57.0.2: *https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/all/
- trash the currently installed Firefox application (open the Applications folder in the Finder and drag the Firefox application to the Trash) to do a clean reinstall
- install the new version that you have downloaded
- https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/Installing+Firefox+on+Mac
Your personal data like bookmarks is stored in the Firefox profile folder, so you won't lose personal data When you uninstall and reinstall or update Firefox, but make sure NOT to remove personal data When you uninstall Firefox as that will remove all Firefox profile folders and you lose your personal data.