Firefox, How To Do a Fresh Reinstall of ~~~
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by Martin Brinkmann on March 22, 2011 in Firefox - Last Update: August 21, 2013 - 6 comments
Firefox 4 has finally been released. I do not really want to rehash all that's been said in the past twelve months or so ever since the first beta releases appeared on the Mozilla servers. Only that much: Firefox 4 is faster and really not that much different from Firefox 3.6.
Here are a few overview guides that you may want to read if you have to read up on the release, everyone else may skip ahead.
Resetting Firefox?
The basic idea behind resetting the browser is to get rid of all the 'garbage' that has been accumulated ever since the browser, or the profile that is currently used, was installed for the first time. This includes leftover files, first and third party settings that have been changed or removed, extension leftovers and bloated database files. A fresh start may improve the performance and reliability of the browser. It highly depends on past usage though.
There are actually only two sets of data that I'd like to move over to the new version: Bookmarks and Extensions. Some users may have other things that they would like to keep, for instance passwords if they are using the built-in password manager to store passwords in the browser.
Preparations
I like to be on the safe side of things, which is why I recommend to create a full backup of the existing Firefox profile. This backup acts as a last resort to restore the profile and data, but also as an option to restore select information from the old profile.
I recommend Mozbackup for the job, but you are free to use other means like copying the profile manually or using extensions such as FeBe instead. What I like about Mozbackup is that it takes less than a minute to create a full backup of the Firefox profile folder, and that it offers restoration options.
I suggest you take a look at my how to backup Firefox with Mozbackup guide linked above to create the backup. The basic steps are as following:
And that's it, you have successfully created a backup of your Firefox profile. An alternative is to configure a Firefox Sync account which automatically backs up bookmarks, passwords and settings on Mozilla servers. It would then be possible to restore those settings once Firefox 4 has been installed. Keep in mind that Firefox Sync is not backing up extensions.
Now you need to download the latest version of Firefox from the Mozilla website. This is important as we need to uninstall previous versions of the browser (skip ahead to creating a new profile if you feel less adventurous.
Uninstalling Firefox
Now it is time to completely uninstall Firefox on the system. Make sure you delete the full profile folder as well. If you have troubles locating the profile folder consult the following Mozilla Support page. You can use a program like Revo Uninstaller to catch all leftovers and Registry keys that may still be on the system after using the standard Firefox uninstaller.
Installing Firefox 4
Install Firefox 4 using the recommended settings. The browser is installed without extensions, customizations, bookmarks and everything else that you may hold dear.
The first thing that you may want to do is to restore data that you have backed up. If you use Mozbackup it is a matter of selecting restore from the program options and then the components that you want to restore to Firefox 4.
It is obviously up to you what you want to restore, but I suggest to restore at least the bookmarks and extensions. Keep in mind that all extensions will start with no customization if you only restore. This means that you will spend some time configuring the extensions again. I had to enter the Last Pass master password and force compatibility checks in Firefox 4 to get an incompatible add-on working.
The Firefox interface will also be reset, which means that you may have to customize it as well. I for instance enabled the add-on bar again, got rid of the Firefox button and moved the NoScript icon to the add-on bar. Some settings, like getting rid of the new tab button can only be changed in the advanced configuration. This may take additional time if you are unfamiliar with the parameter names.
The customizations took less than five minutes to complete on my system, the time may differ depending on your experience with the browser and the number of extensions installed.
Switching to a new profile
Starting fresh may sound like a daunting task.Users who do not want to uninstall Firefox can instead create a new profile using the Firefox profile manager which acts as an independent copy as well.
Verdict
A fresh start can remove old settings and data that would otherwise still be carried around. I for one have resolved my Google sign out issues with the fresh install. I also managed to reduce the profile folder by more than five Megabytes. I cannot really say for sure but the browser feels a tad more responsive as well.
Have you installed Firefox 4 yet?
Update: MozBackup Final has been released.
Update 2: Mozilla has implemented native reset functionality in Firefox.
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Any browser can slow down and become cluttered over time as you install add-ons, build up history, and change settings. Firefox can “Refresh” your profile to quickly give you a clean slate while keeping your most important data. This would let you try the overhauled Firefox Quantum with a fresh profile, speed Firefox up if it’s become slow, or fix other browser problems.
RELATED:What’s New in Firefox Quantum, the Firefox You’ve Been Waiting For
What This Keeps, and What It Removes
The “Refresh” feature won’t delete everything. Firefox will keep your bookmarks and saved passwords. You’ll be prompted if you want to reopen your currently open tabs after the Refresh, too, so you won’t even lose your open tabs.
However, this will delete your installed add-ons and erase all their locally stored data. It will also reset your browser settings to their default values and clear the browser history and other cached data.
This ensures any problems caused by misbehaving extensions or issues with Firefox’s settings will be fixed by this process, speeding a slow Firefox up and fixing other problems. However, your important personal data will be kept—with the exception of any browser extensions and their data.
How to Refresh Firefox
To do this, click the menu button at the top right corner of the Firefox window.
Click the “Help” option near the bottom of the menu.
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Click the “Troubleshooting Information” option in the Help menu.
Click the “Refresh Firefox” button at the top right corner of the Troubleshooting Information page.
You’ll be warned that this will remove your browser add-ons, reset your customizations, and revert other browser data to the default settings. Click “Refresh Firefox” to confirm you want to make these changes.
How To Do A Clean Install Of Firefox
Firefox will close while it clears away the old data. After a few moments, it will reopen with a fresh browser and ask if you want to restore the tabs you had open before it closed.
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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.
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.
Last updated on February 15th, 2017
Google Chrome is a very popular Internet browser, but some times it runs into problems that make it unstable. In such cases, the only solution is to completely remove and re-install Chrome from scratch. This tutorial will show you how to remove Google Chrome completely from your computer and to re-install your favorite browser again.
This tutorial can fix many Chrome problems and issues, like:
How to completely remove Google Chrome in Windows. (All Versions)
Important: Keep in mind that if you follow this procedure, then you lose all your personal profile information stored on Google Chrome, including Bookmarks, Passwords, Settings, etc. Follow this procedure at your own responsibility if any of the other solutions didn’t have any effect.
Suggestions before you continue to remove Chrome from your computer:
Step 1: Uninstall Google Chrome from your computer.
1. Navigate toWindows Control Panel & open Programs & Features (Add/Remove Programs if you have Windows XP). In case you don't know how to do that, here is what you have to do:
2. In the program list, select the Google Chrome and click Uninstall.
Why Can't I Uninstall Mozilla FirefoxStep 2: Enable the Hidden Files View.
You must enable the hidden files view before performing the next step. To do that go to:
Step 3: Delete “Chrome” folders from your computer.
Navigate to the following locations and delete (or rename) the “Chrome” folder(s) that exist there.
Windows 8,7, Vista:
Windows XP:
How to re-install Google Chrome.Method 1. Using Chrome Download Center.
1. From any other browser that works (e.g. Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, etc.) navigate tohttps://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/browser/desktop/
2. Click Download Chrome and then follow the on screen instructions to finish the installation.
Method 2. Install a fresh copy of Google Chrome for all user accounts on your computer.
1. From any other browser that works (e.g. Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, etc.) , download and run the Alternate (offline) Google Chrome installer for all user accounts.
2. When the installation is completed, run Google Chrome.
That's it!
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How To Do A Clean Install Of Firefox Windows 10
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