Firefox /Thunderbird Instal Option Question
DS
Firefox "workings" are carried out from one main folder e.g.: Firefox folder
and sub folders therein. By this I mean no registry entries and nothing in
any other folders on the computer, sorry if this isn't clear but I don't
know how to ask the question. I suppose its similar to a USB instal but I
would want it on the main drive.
One advantage of this would be that the whole program could be deleted
easily and I know the latest version of Opera can be wholly installed in
,and operated from one main folder of the users choosing.
Thanks.
Mike
Ron Hunter
portable HD, or Flashdrive.
Chris Ilias
> On 7/2/2011 1:15 PM, DS wrote:
>> Is their a download option available for the above programs so that
>> all the
>> Firefox "workings" are carried out from one main folder e.g.: Firefox
>> folder
>> and sub folders therein. By this I mean no registry entries and
>> nothing in
>> any other folders on the computer, sorry if this isn't clear but I don't
>> know how to ask the question. I suppose its similar to a USB instal but I
>> would want it on the main drive.
>
> Look for 'Portable Firefox'. This is a version intended for user from a
> portable HD, or Flashdrive.
The portable version adds registry entries. See
<http://groups.google.com/group/mozilla.support.firefox/msg/1322cecb20312bdf>.
--
Chris Ilias <http://ilias.ca>
Mailing list/Newsgroup moderator
Alan Baxter
Cite: http://portableapps.com/node/19538
Q: "Does Firefox Portable write to the registry at all?"
A: "Yes. Most of our apps write somewhere on the local machine,
whether it be registry, TEMP, or APPDATA, however all personal data is
removed on close, and other stuff cleaned up if possible."
--
"Trim your follow-ups."
http://www.mozilla.org/community/etiquette.html
Alan Baxter
>My bloviated meandering follows what Alan Baxter graced us with on
>7/2/2011 2:51 PM:
>entries, just "personal" data, no?
Yup. It's kind of short on details. I think Firefox Portable -- like
Firefox itself -- doesn't *depend* on the registry for its settings,
but doesn't guarantee that it won't leave anything behind. What if
the Firefox Portable user makes it the default browser through its
options? That system global setting may be left in the registry. (Or
not. That may have been a bug that's been fixed by now.)
http://portableapps.com/node/9795
Alan Baxter
All of the Firefox Portable "workings" are contained in one folder --
called FirefoxPortable by default -- so it's easily "uninstalled" by
just deleting the FirefoxPortable folder.
Firefox Portable may possibly leave stuff behind in the registry or
file system. A site search for Firefox Registry on portableapps.com
will give you more information about that. I wouldn't depend on a
deletion completely covering your tracks if you're trying to use it
surreptitiously.
Ron Hunter
> My bloviated meandering follows what Alan Baxter graced us with on
> of Firefox on my system (a couple of 3s, and a 4, 5 and 6) that I use
> for theme and extension testing. You wouldn't believe how many hits it
> finds when I search for "firefox" or the word "portable" I can say
> though that after searching for 2-3 minutes, I never came upon any
> entries that seemed to point to the portable version.
>
> Not definitive but maybe somewhat telling?
>
You can find Firefox Portable on www.majorgeeks.com.
Alan Baxter
>My bloviated meandering follows what Alan Baxter graced us with on
>of Firefox on my system (a couple of 3s, and a 4, 5 and 6) that I use
>for theme and extension testing. You wouldn't believe how many hits it
>finds when I search for "firefox" or the word "portable" I can say
>though that after searching for 2-3 minutes, I never came upon any
>entries that seemed to point to the portable version.
>
>Not definitive but maybe somewhat telling?
Sounds like it usually does a pretty good job of cleaning up after
itself. I've installed Firefox Portable on my computer a few times
myself to support other people that are using it. I've never noticed
it leaving anything behind or it causing any conflict with any of the
other nine versions of Firefox that I use on my PC for support.
Rick Carter
> You can find Firefox Portable onwww.majorgeeks.com.
I'd get it straight from the source at http://www.portableapps.com
Rick Carter
Alan Baxter
>On Sat, 02 Jul 2011 17:36:51 -0600, Alan Baxter
><noretur...@invalid.com> wrote:
>>
>> What if the Firefox Portable user makes it the default browser through its
>>options?
>
>(I tried many times)
I think I see what you mean, Fred. All it does is screw up the system
setting in the registry.
I just checked with a new Firefox Portable installation on my PC. If
the Firefox Portable user makes it the default browser through its
options, then the system global setting is changed to point to it.
Now, if I close all my browsers, including Firefox Portable, and click
an http link on the desktop or an external app, then Windows XP starts
up the Firefox Portable executable. But it uses the default profile
from my regular Firefox installation instead of the Firefox Profile
one! So all that did was leave me with a useless default browser
setting.
The next time I started up my regular Firefox, it notified me that it
wasn't the default browser and allowed me to make it the default
browser again. A successful recovery from that experiment. Now I
understand why Portable Firefox has "Always check to see if Firefox is
the default browser on startup" unchecked. It just screws things up
if you make it the default.
Kaimbridge M. GoldChild
> Is their a download option available for the above programs so
> that all the Firefox "workings" are carried out from one main
> folder e.g.: Firefox folder and sub folders therein. By this
> I mean no registry entries and nothing in any other folders on
> the computer, sorry if this isn't clear but I don't know how to
> ask the question. I suppose its similar to a USB instal but I
> would want it on the main drive.
>
> deleted easily and I know the latest version of Opera can be
> users choosing.
> Thanks.
FireFox Portable?:
http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/firefox_portable
~Kaimbridge~
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Alan Baxter
>On Sun, 03 Jul 2011 10:44:30 -0600, Alan Baxter
><noretur...@invalid.com> wrote:
>>FredW <fr...@blackholespam.net> wrote:
>>>On Sat, 02 Jul 2011 17:36:51 -0600, Alan Baxter
>>><noretur...@invalid.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> What if the Firefox Portable user makes it the default browser through its
>>>>options?
>>>
>>>That doesn't work.
>>>(I tried many times)
>>
>>I think I see what you mean, Fred. All it does is screw up the system
>>setting in the registry.
>
>Why do you say so?
Actually, Fred, I know what I'm talking about. Unfortunately, you've
snipped part of my explanation of "why do you say so?" I'll repeat it
here:
"I just checked with a new Firefox Portable installation on my PC. If
the Firefox Portable user makes it the default browser through its
options, then the system global setting is changed to point to it.
Now, if I close all my browsers, including Firefox Portable, and click
an http link on the desktop or an external app, then Windows XP starts
up the Firefox Portable executable. But it uses the default profile
from my regular Firefox installation instead of the Firefox Profile
one! So all that did was leave me with a useless default browser
setting."
Followed by:
>>The next time I started up my regular Firefox, it notified me that it
>>wasn't the default browser and allowed me to make it the default
>>browser again. A successful recovery from that experiment. Now I
>>understand why Portable Firefox has "Always check to see if Firefox is
>>the default browser on startup" unchecked. It just screws things up
>>if you make it the default.
>
>I have only a portable Firefox.
>I resides on an other partition then Windows.
>Windows only "recognizes" browser installed in Windows.
I see your setup is different from mine.
>So when I tell in portable Firefox that it is the default browser,
>this is not noticed by Windows, because when I check the default browser
>in the Control Panel, Mozilla Firefox is *not* shown and can also *not*
>be added (via a path).
>
>You have both the "regular" Firefox and the portable.
>Windows only recognizes the "regular" Firefox.
>So when you talk about making the portable Firefox the default browser,
>in fact it does not and you mix up the two version because a Firefox is
>shown, but it is not the one you think.
Actually, Fred, it *is* the one I think. Portable Firefox modified
the registry entry to point to it and the executable started up by XP
when I click on an http link on the desktop or an external app is the
Firefox Portable executable. The full path is reported by the
Sysinternals Process Explorer utility.
>When you "make" portable Firefox the default browser, this is *not*
>done, only the previous choice of a browser is eradicated, leaving IE as
>"the" default for Windows.
Yes, I believe that is true for you. My tests show that it is
different for me.
Alan Baxter
>Some programs allow the user to specify a path to a preferred browser.
>Windows fails in that respect.
>I call it a bug, Microsoft will probably say it's a "feature".
> ;-)
:)
Chris Ilias
> You can find Firefox Portable on www.majorgeeks.com.
It's important to note that the portable version is not made by Mozilla.