From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

Being a generally untrusting person, I want to be able to try an update
and revert to my previous version if I don't like the new one.

I download and untar the new version (157 in this case).
Start it from within its own separate subdirectory and generate a new
profile.
Shut it down.
Copy (cp -raf *) over ALL the contents of the old profile.
Restart and test.

Looked OK, but I didn't want to deal with making it the current version
yet. When I closed 157 and restarted 150 I was told that firefox
wouldnt work with a profile newer than the version and it demanded that
I either quit or make a new profile. I quit. I tried again. Same
thing. 150 worked fine with that profile only half an hour ago.

Tried again: ./firefox from within the FF150 subdirectory. This time
it brought up FF157 with the selected old profile with all my tabs gone.

I find this maddening. Is there a simple explanation? Should I have
done something different? My procedure has been working for decades --
until today :-(
--
Cheers, Bev
It doesn't matter who you vote for, the government always gets in.

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From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

On 9/29/26 4:32 PM, The Real Bev wrote:

Being a generally untrusting person, I want to be able to try an update
and revert to my previous version if I don't like the new one.

I download and untar the new version (157 in this case).
Start it from within its own separate subdirectory and generate a new profile.
Shut it down.
Copy (cp -raf *) over ALL the contents of the old profile.
Restart and test.

Looked OK, but I didn't want to deal with making it the current version
yet. When I closed 157 and restarted 150 I was told that firefox
wouldnt work with a profile newer than the version and it demanded that
I either quit or make a new profile. I quit. I tried again. Same
thing. 150 worked fine with that profile only half an hour ago.

Tried again: ./firefox from within the FF150 subdirectory. This time
it brought up FF157 with the selected old profile with all my tabs gone.

I find this maddening. Is there a simple explanation? Should I have
done something different? My procedure has been working for decades --
until today :-(

The first would be "did you backup the profile folder?" like from the ~/.mozilla folder.
I would have thought it would just run off your old profile and muck it up as if it were
an upgrade. Granted restoring you profile backup would be the only option after that.
--
Mint 22.3, Thunderbird 153.3.1esr, Firefox 156.0.1
Alan K.
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From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> wrote:

Being a generally untrusting person, I want to be able to try an update
and revert to my previous version if I don't like the new one.

I download and untar the new version (157 in this case).
Start it from within its own separate subdirectory and generate a new profile.
Shut it down.
Copy (cp -raf *) over ALL the contents of the old profile.
Restart and test.

The profile files are usually created relative to the user's home
directory in Linux, not the installation directory, so I'm not sure
what you were copying where. But note that Firefox might now store
some things under ~/.config and ~/.local rather than ~/.mozilla
since it adopted the "XDG Base Directory Specification":

https://www.phoronix.com/news/Firefox-147-XDG-Base-Directory

I think it only creates the new locations if there's no existing
~/.mozilla directory when it starts up, but maybe you did that at
one point and it switched over to the new paths as a result,
ignoring the old ~/.mozilla directory that you copied back
afterwards?
--
__ __
#_ < |\| |< _#
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From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

On 9/29/26 16:09, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:

The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> wrote:

Being a generally untrusting person, I want to be able to try an update
and revert to my previous version if I don't like the new one.

I download and untar the new version (157 in this case).
Start it from within its own separate subdirectory and generate a new
profile.
Shut it down.
Copy (cp -raf *) over ALL the contents of the old profile.
Restart and test.

The profile files are usually created relative to the user's home
directory in Linux, not the installation directory, so I'm not sure
what you were copying where.

Yes. Force-copy contents of Profile1 into Profile2.

But note that Firefox might now store
some things under ~/.config and ~/.local rather than ~/.mozilla
since it adopted the "XDG Base Directory Specification":

Not unless it does it secretly. I just untar the tarball into its own subdirectory. I do NOT install or create symlinks.

https://www.phoronix.com/news/Firefox-147-XDG-Base-Directory

I think it only creates the new locations if there's no existing
~/.mozilla directory when it starts up, but maybe you did that at
one point and it switched over to the new paths as a result,
ignoring the old ~/.mozilla directory that you copied back
afterwards?

I have always left the previously-current firefox files and associated
profile alone. I could go back and run an ancient firefox with its own profile. Old versions had no knowledge of newer versions. This is
strange. If I run a firefox out of a forced location (/FF159/firefox/)
as ./firefox -P I should get THAT version of firefox and whatever
profile I choose in the next step. Been that way for a few decades, but
not today :-(
--
Cheers, Bev
If you have one lawyer in town, he goes hungry.
If you have two lawyers in town, they both get rich.
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