Right, I've removed all traces of 2.6, (and 1.6 that i found) in /usr/lib/ as well, so now all i have is 2.10 on the system. i placed all the unpacked files in /usr/lib/mozilla-firefox-2.0.0.10/ being as that is adjacent to where the old Firefox was.
I've copied over the startup script to /usr/bin/ and modified the script to point to the right directory /usr/lib/mozilla-firefox-2.0.0.10/
I've also redirected all the shortcuts to /usr/bin/firefox
Now, if i run Firefox from a shell as root,it works a treat,all plugins installed and working, no problems.
However, if i run it as normal from a desktop shortcut, or from a shell under my normal login (rob), i have broken plugins again, even if i try re-install plugins under the 'rob' user.
Also, I've discovered if i have a root launched Firefox running, and then launch Firefox again under my normal login (rob) i have all plugins working. i don't know if this is relevant at all, or just a 'quirk' ?
I've checked that the plugins are in the /home/rob/.mozilla/firefox/ directory & also checked the firefox launch script (/usr/bin/firefox) to make sure it points it in the right place MOZ_USER_DIR=".mozilla/firefox" (< is that correct?)
Being a complete n00b to linux, i'm kinda wandering aimless, and guess its gonna be something very simple, but i've no idea why it runs ok as root, but not under my normal login. its not a major issue as it will run fine as root, but i believe for security reasons its favorable to run with less privileges?
Again, many thanks for any help!