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All Firefox extensions gone after update to Firefox 20.0

I can probably reinstall them but I am not sure I remember them all.
This really sucks!
Instead of working I have to be messing with the system now for who knows how many hours.
Anybody else experienced this after installing the 20.0 update?

I reinstalled 19.0.2 and restored the folder .mozilla/firefox from a backup from couple months ago but my extensions are still gone.
Is there another place where Firefox puts its config files?
Could Firefox sync mess this up too? Does it sync so fast after starting Firefox?

I think my extensions are under ~/.mozilla/firefox/<profile>.default/ where <profile> is a random string. Specifically under .mozilla/firefox/<profile>.default/extensions/.

Updating Firefox (using, say, upgradepkg mozilla-firefox-20.0-x86_64-1_slack14.0.txz, the patch file found at your favorite mirror) does not wipe out your ~/.mozilla/firefox/<random>.default/extensions directory.

The first time you start Firefox after update it checks extensions for version compatibility and will attempt to update any that are not compatible and if that fails it will disable the extension (but not remove it). You should have seen a message window to that effect. If you open a terminal and

Code:

ls .mozilla/firefox/*.default/extensions

{5384767E-00D9-40E9-B72F-9CC39D655D6F}/    {b9db16a4-6edc-47ec-a1f4-b86292ed211d}/

{73a6fe31-595d-460b-a920-fcc0f8843232}.xpi  {d10d0bf8-f5b5-c8b4-a8b2-2b9879e08c5d}.xpi

Those are the extensions; you can use ls to see the content of any of those directories; in my case, there are only two, Adblock Plus and NoScript.

The proper way to install/upgrade Firefox (or any software installed with Slackware package management) is to (1) download the appropriate files from a mirror, (2) upgradepkg packagename*.t?z.

In your case, a good mirror site to use would be the Oregon State University (OSU) site; for example:

Code:

su -

cd some_directory

wget ftp://ftp.osuosl.org/pub/slackware/slackware64-14.0/patches/packages/*firefox*

<wait a while>

upgradepkg *firefox*.t?z

Obviously, adjust the above for your Slackware version.

I have always upgraded Slackware-provided software using the above method and have never had a problem with any package doing so. Firefox, Thunderbird, SeaMonkey (and everything else) just start and go -- highly recommend doing it this way.

Hope this helps some.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 273 (Post 4937836)

I think my extensions are under ~/.mozilla/firefox/<profile>.default/ where <profile> is a random string. Specifically under .mozilla/firefox/<profile>.default/extensions/.

Yes, I have that folder there and the extensions are in there.
Out of 7 only 3 have actual names, the rest a UID type names so I can't tell what they are.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tronayne (Post 4937893)

Code:

ls .mozilla/firefox/*.default/extensions

{5384767E-00D9-40E9-B72F-9CC39D655D6F}/    {b9db16a4-6edc-47ec-a1f4-b86292ed211d}/

{73a6fe31-595d-460b-a920-fcc0f8843232}.xpi  {d10d0bf8-f5b5-c8b4-a8b2-2b9879e08c5d}.xpi

Code:

su -

cd some_directory

wget ftp://ftp.osuosl.org/pub/slackware/slackware64-14.0/patches/packages/*firefox*

<wait a while>

upgradepkg *firefox*.t?z

Thank you for the detailed help.
Much appreciated you took the time.
I do use the Slackware provided packages (although some versions back, I think around Slackware 12.2, I did use the Mozilla provided generic tar.gz file).
And I upgrade also using "upgradepkg".
I've been using mostly the "Carol" mirror for packages. I think it's in Manitoba.

What's even more serious now is that I can't install any extension at all.
The list of my previous extensions is empty and if I try to install, for example Add-Block Plus, then it just keeps saying "Installing" in the progress bar" and never finishes.
I will try to back up and remove all extension files and see if that will make a difference.

It seems that you borked your profile.
In the extensions folder you can open these with Ark and then you can find out the name of the extensions (especially in the install.rdf).

Try Help --> restart with add-ons disabled.

If that doesn't work, I think it's best to start all over again with a brand new profile...

Can I make a suggestion here?

Instead of screwing around for more hours, try this: open Firefox and export your bookmarks (click bookmarks, down at the bottom click unsorted bookmarks, then click Import and Backup in the window that pops up, choose backup and where you want the file to go).

When that's done, exit Firefox, get into your home directory and

Code:

mv .mozilla .mozilla.bak

Then start Firefox.

Then install whatever extensions you want.

Then recover your bookmarks from the back up file you made above (the file will be names bookmarks-2013-01-24.json). Do the same thing as above (click bookmarks, etc.) and import that file, overwriting any existing (there won't be any, don't it anyway).

If all that works and you're a happy camper blow away the old directory:

Code:

cd

rm -rf .mozilla.bak

And life goes on.

Hope this helps some.

thanks guys for the suggestions.
I've done all the above.
I do have a backup of my profile.
Two key data sets are very important to me, my bookmarks and saved passwords.
So I can restore those no problem.
I think trying to use Firefox Sync was interfering.
It's a really nasty and buggy feature.
Right now, with a new fresh profile, I still can't install any extensions.
And without extensions, life with Firefox is just a nightmare.
I've unlinked my computer from Firefox sync.
And I'll redo the profile once again, restore my bookmarks and passwords.
And then I'll try to install extensions again.

I'm now an official Mozilla Corporation hater. They waste resources on removing menu items and taking features away instead of fixing long outstanding bugs and problems. I really wish there was a fork of Firefox by an independent non-corporate entity, kind of like Libreoffice. Someone needs to put them out of business!

Quote:

Originally Posted by tronayne (Post 4938146)

Code:

mv .mozilla .mozilla.bak

Code:

cd

rm -rf .mozilla.bak

And life goes on.

Hope this helps some.

Aren't firefox profiles in .mozilla/firefox ?
Why would I need to move the entire .mozilla folder then?
I also have my Seamonkey and Thunderbird data in there and don't want to mess with that.

Ok, this is totally screwy.
I've cleared my entire .mozilla folder.
Firefox will not install any extensions.
All I did was restore my old bookmarks and passwords. Otherwise it was a new profile.

Seamonkey is the same. No extensions will install.
And I recopied my old profile back but my Local Folders will not list any email and that's where I store several years of email.

I've now spent more than a full day on this.
Tomorrow I'll test ram and run some more tests.
But I was able to play UT2004 for over an hour last evening without any problems so I don't think there is anything wrong with my hardware.

How are you restoring your profile? Logged in as "you" or are you using sudo or su -? The only reason Firefox would not be able to install extensions is that "you" don't have permission to do so (as in somebody else owns the files and directories in your ~/.mozilla directory). Too, Thunderbird doesn't "belong" in the ~/.mozilla directory, it is created in ~/.thunderbird when you first start it.

On my systems Firefox, SeaMonkey and Thunderbird have been installed by root using the Slackware installpkg utility from the Slackware packages delivered on the distribution DVD and upgraded with the Slackware packages found in the patches/packages directory on a mirror whenever patches have become available -- those are all installed in the root tree; e.g., Firefox on a 64-bit system that's /usr/lib64/firefox-20.0 (and on a 32-bit system is /usr/lib/). The other two are similar.

Something you might want to check is the ownership of the directories and files in your ~/.mozilla directory:

Code:

ls -l .mozilla

total 12

drwx------ 3 trona users 4096 Dec  3  2011 extensions/

drwx------ 4 trona users 4096 Dec  3  2011 firefox/

drwx------ 3 trona users 4096 Feb 12 09:48 seamonkey/



ls -l .mozilla/extensions

total 4

drwxr-xr-x 2 trona users 4096 Dec  3  2011 {3550f703-e582-4d05-9a08-453d09bdfdc6}/

Note the date stamp of the extensions directory? It's empty, unused (but I leave it alone).

Code:

ls -al .mozilla/firefox

total 20

drwx------  4 trona users 4096 Dec  3  2011 ./

drwx------  5 trona users 4096 Feb 12 09:48 ../

drwx------  3 trona users 4096 Oct 12  2012 Crash\ Reports/

drwx------ 16 trona users 4096 Apr 25 08:17 lh09h7sl.default/

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users  94 Dec  3  2011 profiles.ini

What's in profiles.ini?

Code:

cat .mozilla/firefox/profiles.ini

[General]

StartWithLastProfile=1



[Profile0]

Name=default

IsRelative=1

Path=lh09h7sl.default

No big deal, that's what's supposed to be there.

Notice that every file and directory so far is owned by "me" and the group is "users?"

OK, let's make it a little easier to list:

Code:

cd .mozilla/firefox/lh09h7sl.default/

ls -al

total 140032

drwx------ 16 trona users    4096 Apr 25 08:23 ./

drwx------  4 trona users    4096 Dec  3  2011 ../

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users        0 Apr 24 06:52 .parentlock

drwxr-xr-x 18 trona users    4096 Mar 12 12:27 Cache/

-rw-------  1 trona users      424 Mar 30 07:35 NoScriptSTS.db

drwx------ 18 trona users    4096 Mar 12 12:27 OfflineCache/

-rw-------  1 trona users        1 Apr 25 07:59 _CACHE_CLEAN_

drwxr-xr-x  2 trona users    4096 Apr 25 07:58 adblockplus/

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users  364350 Jan 16 10:28 adblockplus-rules.json

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users  524288 Apr 24 12:13 addons.sqlite

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users  295496 Apr 24 12:13 addons.sqlite-journal

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users    62534 Apr 24 11:15 blocklist.xml

drwx------  2 trona users    4096 Apr 24 05:42 bookmarkbackups/

-rw-------  1 trona users  196608 Apr 24 06:52 cert8.db

-rw-------  1 trona users      366 Feb 14 09:24 cert_override.txt

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users    98304 Dec 20 16:44 chromeappsstore.sqlite

-rw-------  1 trona users      166 Apr 16 18:29 compatibility.ini

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users  229376 Apr 24 07:48 content-prefs.sqlite

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users  1048576 Apr 25 07:59 cookies.sqlite

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users    32768 Apr 25 08:00 cookies.sqlite-shm

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users  590288 Apr 25 08:00 cookies.sqlite-wal

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users    4429 Jan 20  2012 cshelper.cfg

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users      152 Jan 20  2012 dh-conv-rules.rdf

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users      517 Apr 24 06:52 dh-media-lists.rdf

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users    82456 Apr 24 06:52 dh-smart-names.rdf

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users    98304 Apr 24 09:28 downloads.sqlite

drwxr-xr-x  3 trona users    4096 Nov  4 14:35 epub/

drwxr-xr-x  4 trona users    4096 Apr 16 18:24 extensions/

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users      446 Apr 16 18:24 extensions.ini

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users  524288 Apr 16 18:24 extensions.sqlite

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users  327680 Apr 24 11:27 formhistory.sqlite

-rw-------  1 trona users    16384 Apr 24 06:52 key3.db

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users    27499 Apr 24 15:40 localstore.rdf

lrwxrwxrwx  1 trona users      19 Apr 24 06:52 lock -> 192.168.1.10:+22169

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users    22665 Apr 20 09:26 mimeTypes.rdf

drwx------  2 trona users    4096 Jun 10  2012 minidumps/

drwx------  2 trona users    4096 Dec 20 16:45 mozilla-media-cache/

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users  196608 Apr 25 06:53 permissions.sqlite

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users 52428800 Apr 25 07:59 places.sqlite

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users    32768 Apr 25 08:22 places.sqlite-shm

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users    98408 Apr 25 08:22 places.sqlite-wal

-rw-------  1 trona users    3053 Apr 19 08:05 pluginreg.dat

-rw-------  1 trona users    61143 Apr 25 08:05 prefs.js

drwxr-xr-x  2 trona users    4096 Apr 25 08:00 safebrowsing/

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users      34 Jul 19  2012 search-metadata.json

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users    10828 Apr  3 07:38 search.json

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users    65536 Jul  1  2012 search.sqlite

-rw-------  1 trona users    16384 Dec  3  2011 secmod.db

-rw-------  1 trona users    14585 Apr 24 06:52 sessionstore.bak

-rw-------  1 trona users    35657 Apr 25 08:23 sessionstore.js

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users  327680 Apr 21 11:46 signons.sqlite

drwxr-xr-x  2 trona users    4096 Apr 16 18:30 startupCache/

drwxr-xr-x  2 trona users    28672 Apr 25 08:16 thumbnails/

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users  1622460 Nov 22 07:49 urlclassifier.pset

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users 57671680 Nov 22 07:49 urlclassifier3.sqlite

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users      154 Apr 24 06:52 urlclassifierkey3.txt

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users      129 Apr  3 07:39 user.js.conf

drwxr-xr-x  2 trona users    4096 Mar 12  2012 useragentswitcher/

drwxr-xr-x  5 trona users    4096 Jun 14  2012 weave/

drwxr-xr-x  2 trona users    4096 Apr 24 06:52 webapps/

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users  1966080 Apr 24 06:52 webappsstore.sqlite

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users    32768 Apr 24 09:51 webappsstore.sqlite-shm

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users 24069360 Apr 24 07:58 webappsstore.sqlite-wal

Again, I own everything and the group is users -- other than "trona" as owner, yours should be identical (maybe with a few different files, but pretty much the same).

So, if yours is not the same as the above? Try this:

Code:

Shut down Firefox, SeaMonkey, Thunderbird

Open a terminal window

su -    (or sudo)

<password>

cd your_home_directory

chown -R your_userid.users .mozilla

Ctrl-D

Then start Firefox -- "you" must own every file and directory in your ~/.mozilla directory for you to be able to install or remove extensions.

Oh, yeah, if you're copying a back up, make sure to do the "chown" before you start Firefox (you've probably got ownership messed up in the backup).

Hope this helps some.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tronayne (Post 4938603)

Code:

ls -l .mozilla

total 12

drwx------ 3 trona users 4096 Dec  3  2011 extensions/

drwx------ 4 trona users 4096 Dec  3  2011 firefox/

drwx------ 3 trona users 4096 Feb 12 09:48 seamonkey/



ls -l .mozilla/extensions

total 4

drwxr-xr-x 2 trona users 4096 Dec  3  2011 {3550f703-e582-4d05-9a08-453d09bdfdc6}/

Note the date stamp of the extensions directory? It's empty, unused (but I leave it alone).

Code:

ls -al .mozilla/firefox

total 20

drwx------  4 trona users 4096 Dec  3  2011 ./

drwx------  5 trona users 4096 Feb 12 09:48 ../

drwx------  3 trona users 4096 Oct 12  2012 Crash\ Reports/

drwx------ 16 trona users 4096 Apr 25 08:17 lh09h7sl.default/

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users  94 Dec  3  2011 profiles.ini

What's in profiles.ini?

Code:

cat .mozilla/firefox/profiles.ini

[General]

StartWithLastProfile=1



[Profile0]

Name=default

IsRelative=1

Path=lh09h7sl.default

No big deal, that's what's supposed to be there.

Notice that every file and directory so far is owned by "me" and the group is "users?"

OK, let's make it a little easier to list:

Code:

cd .mozilla/firefox/lh09h7sl.default/

ls -al

total 140032

drwx------ 16 trona users    4096 Apr 25 08:23 ./

drwx------  4 trona users    4096 Dec  3  2011 ../

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users        0 Apr 24 06:52 .parentlock

drwxr-xr-x 18 trona users    4096 Mar 12 12:27 Cache/

-rw-------  1 trona users      424 Mar 30 07:35 NoScriptSTS.db

drwx------ 18 trona users    4096 Mar 12 12:27 OfflineCache/

-rw-------  1 trona users        1 Apr 25 07:59 _CACHE_CLEAN_

drwxr-xr-x  2 trona users    4096 Apr 25 07:58 adblockplus/

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users  364350 Jan 16 10:28 adblockplus-rules.json

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users  524288 Apr 24 12:13 addons.sqlite

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users  295496 Apr 24 12:13 addons.sqlite-journal

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users    62534 Apr 24 11:15 blocklist.xml

drwx------  2 trona users    4096 Apr 24 05:42 bookmarkbackups/

-rw-------  1 trona users  196608 Apr 24 06:52 cert8.db

-rw-------  1 trona users      366 Feb 14 09:24 cert_override.txt

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users    98304 Dec 20 16:44 chromeappsstore.sqlite

-rw-------  1 trona users      166 Apr 16 18:29 compatibility.ini

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users  229376 Apr 24 07:48 content-prefs.sqlite

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users  1048576 Apr 25 07:59 cookies.sqlite

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users    32768 Apr 25 08:00 cookies.sqlite-shm

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users  590288 Apr 25 08:00 cookies.sqlite-wal

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users    4429 Jan 20  2012 cshelper.cfg

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users      152 Jan 20  2012 dh-conv-rules.rdf

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users      517 Apr 24 06:52 dh-media-lists.rdf

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users    82456 Apr 24 06:52 dh-smart-names.rdf

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users    98304 Apr 24 09:28 downloads.sqlite

drwxr-xr-x  3 trona users    4096 Nov  4 14:35 epub/

drwxr-xr-x  4 trona users    4096 Apr 16 18:24 extensions/

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users      446 Apr 16 18:24 extensions.ini

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users  524288 Apr 16 18:24 extensions.sqlite

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users  327680 Apr 24 11:27 formhistory.sqlite

-rw-------  1 trona users    16384 Apr 24 06:52 key3.db

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users    27499 Apr 24 15:40 localstore.rdf

lrwxrwxrwx  1 trona users      19 Apr 24 06:52 lock -> 192.168.1.10:+22169

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users    22665 Apr 20 09:26 mimeTypes.rdf

drwx------  2 trona users    4096 Jun 10  2012 minidumps/

drwx------  2 trona users    4096 Dec 20 16:45 mozilla-media-cache/

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users  196608 Apr 25 06:53 permissions.sqlite

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users 52428800 Apr 25 07:59 places.sqlite

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users    32768 Apr 25 08:22 places.sqlite-shm

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users    98408 Apr 25 08:22 places.sqlite-wal

-rw-------  1 trona users    3053 Apr 19 08:05 pluginreg.dat

-rw-------  1 trona users    61143 Apr 25 08:05 prefs.js

drwxr-xr-x  2 trona users    4096 Apr 25 08:00 safebrowsing/

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users      34 Jul 19  2012 search-metadata.json

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users    10828 Apr  3 07:38 search.json

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users    65536 Jul  1  2012 search.sqlite

-rw-------  1 trona users    16384 Dec  3  2011 secmod.db

-rw-------  1 trona users    14585 Apr 24 06:52 sessionstore.bak

-rw-------  1 trona users    35657 Apr 25 08:23 sessionstore.js

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users  327680 Apr 21 11:46 signons.sqlite

drwxr-xr-x  2 trona users    4096 Apr 16 18:30 startupCache/

drwxr-xr-x  2 trona users    28672 Apr 25 08:16 thumbnails/

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users  1622460 Nov 22 07:49 urlclassifier.pset

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users 57671680 Nov 22 07:49 urlclassifier3.sqlite

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users      154 Apr 24 06:52 urlclassifierkey3.txt

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users      129 Apr  3 07:39 user.js.conf

drwxr-xr-x  2 trona users    4096 Mar 12  2012 useragentswitcher/

drwxr-xr-x  5 trona users    4096 Jun 14  2012 weave/

drwxr-xr-x  2 trona users    4096 Apr 24 06:52 webapps/

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users  1966080 Apr 24 06:52 webappsstore.sqlite

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users    32768 Apr 24 09:51 webappsstore.sqlite-shm

-rw-r--r--  1 trona users 24069360 Apr 24 07:58 webappsstore.sqlite-wal

Code:

Shut down Firefox, SeaMonkey, Thunderbird

Open a terminal window

su -    (or sudo)

<password>

cd your_home_directory

chown -R your_userid.users .mozilla

Ctrl-D

Thanks Tronayne for the detailed help.
I've done all that though. I even chmod -R 755 .mozilla to make sure the folder was writable.
The only files I copied from my backup into the new Firefox profile were key3.db and signons.sqlite which I understand have my passwords.

When I try to install an extension, let's say Addblock Plus, I go to search in the Extensions tab, then click the install button.
It should quick download progress, and then it stalls at installing and the progress bar just stays saying "Installing".
When I close Firefox and start it again, there is no extensions.
Same goes for Seamonkey.
But what's even more troubling is that my Local Folder email will not work (and I have almost a Gigabyte of old emails there) and one of my email accounts will not display either.

Yes, Thunderbird profile is on its own and not in .mozilla. I named it by mistake.

Anyway, I'm pretty stuck right now.
My next test will be taking my profile backups to a Windows machine and restoring them there, both Firefox and Seamonkey.

And what happens when you downgrade to FF 19*?
Or use a beta?

Just for grins: open Firefox then click Help and About Firefox.

What's it say?

Quote:

Originally Posted by adriv (Post 4938891)

And what happens when you downgrade to FF 19*?
Or use a beta?

yes, I've tried going back to the previous 19.0.2 version and same thing, the profile didn't work, extension would not install.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tronayne (Post 4938897)

Just for grins: open Firefox then click Help and About Firefox.

What's it say?

It's version 20.0
Everything works ok except no extension will install.
Even plugins work, Flash and Java.
I didn't have time to mess with this today as I had to work all day but I'll get back to it at some point.
What drives me crazy is that it's both Firefox and SeaMonkey.

OK, shooting from the hip:
Can you install extensions when you are logged in as root?
Can you install extensions when you are logged in as another user?
Do you have the same problem with Swiftfox?

Something you might want to try -- it'll only take a few minutes.

First, let's make sure of something: you can edit files with a text edit and save them? You can create files, right?

What's your UMASK? It should be 0022 (open a terminal and enter umask to see it):

Code:

umask

0022

If it's not 0022, do this:

Code:

umask 0022

Do ls -l /home; your user account should look exactly like (whith, of course, your userid, not mine):

Code:

drwxr-xr-x 86 trona users 20480 Apr 25 11:44 trona/

If you user account does not look like that, do this:

Code:

su -

chmod 755 /home/your_user_id

Ctrl-D

If you had to change either of those, then start Firefox and try an extension/add-on (while you're at it, if the umask was not 0022, check your .profile, .bashrc, whatever and fix that -- the default system-wide UMASK is 0022, if you've changed that somewhere or other, change it back). One possibility is /etc/profile:

Code:

 .

 .

 .

# Default umask.  A umask of 022 prevents new files from being created group

# and world writable.

umask 022

 .

 .

 .

Then, if the above did not work,

Log in as root (yeah, yeah you're supposed to do that so be careful).
startx
Start Firefox
Install, oh, Adblock Plus or NoScript (or both)
Does it work? If so:
Create a new user (use adduser; be sure to use the up arrow when you get to the Additional Unix Groups part
Log out of root, log in as the new user
Start Firefox
Install one or two extensions/add-ons
Did it work? If so, there's not a thing wrong with Firefox, it's your profile.

My bet is that somewhere along the line copying your ~/.mozilla directory back and forth something has gotten borked (probably something encrypted), especially if you've done that back and forth between Windows and Slackware but possibly some other way (who really knows? well, nobody).

What I would do is

Create a back up of your bookmarks (Bookmarks, Unsorted Bookmarks, Import and Backup, Backup)
Click Edit, Security, Saved Passwords, show passwords then write down on a piece of paper the address, username and password (you have to do this manually and you'll have to log in to those accounts to get things back, nice to have a list).
Shut down Firefox, SeaMonkey and Thunderbird (maybe not Thunderbird, it doesn't matter)
Open a terminal, get into your home directory and mv .mozilla .mozilla.bak; rm -r .mozilla
Start Firefox (this will create a new, clean profile)
Restore your Bookmarks (Bookmarks, Unsorted Bookmarks, Import and Backup, Import, Choose File, the .JSON file you created above)
Add one or two extensions/plug-ins

If that works, your next step would be to attempt to restore your passwords (you've already done that, I think). If that screws it up, you know where the problem is. Do the whole create a new profile thing again (but don't make the back up) and manually log in to the web pages and enter the user name and password you wrote down.

Hope this helps some.

Creating a new user is probably the first thing you should have tried, so before you do anything else do the following:

- create a new user - add it to the typical groups

- do not restore/copy across any dot files, profile directories or anything else from your existing user

- log in as the new user and startx

- open firefox and/or seamonkey and try to install any extension

Quote:

Originally Posted by adriv (Post 4939168)

OK, shooting from the hip:
Can you install extensions when you are logged in as root?
Can you install extensions when you are logged in as another user?
Do you have the same problem with Swiftfox?

I'll try those today, that was next on my list of tests.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tronayne (Post 4939235)

Code:

umask

0022

If it's not 0022, do this:

Code:

umask 0022

Do ls -l /home; your user account should look exactly like (whith, of course, your userid, not mine):

Code:

drwxr-xr-x 86 trona users 20480 Apr 25 11:44 trona/

If you user account does not look like that, do this:

Code:

su -

chmod 755 /home/your_user_id

Ctrl-D

Code:

 .

 .

 .

# Default umask.  A umask of 022 prevents new files from being created group

# and world writable.

umask 022

 .

 .

 .

Then, if the above did not work,

Log in as root (yeah, yeah you're supposed to do that so be careful).
startx
Start Firefox
Install, oh, Adblock Plus or NoScript (or both)
Does it work? If so:
Create a new user (use adduser; be sure to use the up arrow when you get to the Additional Unix Groups part
Log out of root, log in as the new user
Start Firefox
Install one or two extensions/add-ons
Did it work? If so, there's not a thing wrong with Firefox, it's your profile.

Create a back up of your bookmarks (Bookmarks, Unsorted Bookmarks, Import and Backup, Backup)
Click Edit, Security, Saved Passwords, show passwords then write down on a piece of paper the address, username and password (you have to do this manually and you'll have to log in to those accounts to get things back, nice to have a list).
Shut down Firefox, SeaMonkey and Thunderbird (maybe not Thunderbird, it doesn't matter)
Open a terminal, get into your home directory and mv .mozilla .mozilla.bak; rm -r .mozilla
Start Firefox (this will create a new, clean profile)
Restore your Bookmarks (Bookmarks, Unsorted Bookmarks, Import and Backup, Import, Choose File, the .JSON file you created above)
Add one or two extensions/plug-ins

Thanks Tronayne, you've covered a lot of ground.
Some of it raises more questions though.
I've had my user account's permissions set to drwx--x--x for a long time now.
Actually I think I've set them to 700 some years ago and it's always worked fine.
Good think you've pointed that out as I'll have to examine my permissions and tighten them again.
I don't want my girlfriend, who uses my computer sometime, to browse my files. She has her own account but permissions are set so she is limited to that account and a few shared folders for videos, pictures etc outside of /home
The permissions should not break Firefox, and I've already set 755 on .mozilla recursively.

I'll try her account, Firefox and installing extensions. And I'll try root too.
I'll report back after work.
Thanks again for the help

Ok, so I've run a quick test before I have to leave for work.
Extensions install and work just fine as root.
Another user account exhibited the same problem as my own, extensions were broken after starting Firefox (after the upgrade to version 20.0).
There was only one extension installed in the other account, Add-block Plus, and it disappeared and couldn't be reinstalled.
So this breakage happens when going from Firefox 19.0.2 to the 20.0.
Both user account have permissions drwx--x--x when ls -l /home .

On my machine it's
drwx------

Quote:

Originally Posted by adriv (Post 4940186)

On my machine it's
drwx------

Yeah, it's worked fine for years with these permissions.

Another problem that's showed up is I lost all my search engines and when I type address into the address field it will not launch the site.
That's in Firefox.
I'm starting to suspect that it's not Firefox or user profile related but something went wrong with my Slackware install.
Strange because Thunderbird is working fine.