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Firefox 50 keeps asking to restart to install a Firefox 49 that is already installed

  • 11 replies
  • 7 have this problem
  • 14 views
  • Last reply by FredMcD

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On Mac OS X, Firefox 50.1.0 keeps asking to restart to install a Firefox 49.0.2 upgrade that is already installed. "Update ready to install" "Update : Firefox 49.0.2" I have 2 user accounts on the Mac both have the issue. Deleting, the personal settings folder does not solve the issue.

On Mac OS X, Firefox 50.1.0 keeps asking to restart to install a Firefox 49.0.2 upgrade that is already installed. "Update ready to install" "Update : Firefox 49.0.2" I have 2 user accounts on the Mac both have the issue. Deleting, the personal settings folder does not solve the issue.

Chosen solution

Enough time spent chatting with a bot. Solved it by brute force : Warning this deletes your Firefox profile too.

  1. !/bin/bash

for u in $(ls /Users) do sudo rm -Rf /Users/$u/Library/Caches/Firefox/ sudo rm -Rf /Users/$u/Library/Caches/Mozilla/ sudo rm -Rf /Users/$u/Library/Autosave\ Information/ sudo rm -Rf /Users/$u/Library/Application\ Support/Rapport/ sudo rm -Rf /Users/$u/Library/Application\ Support/Firefox/ sudo rm -Rf /Users/$u/Library/Saved\ Application\ State/org.mozilla.firefox.* done

My feeling is that deleting /Users/$u/Library/Caches/Mozilla/ might have been enough.

Read this answer in context 👍 6

All Replies (11)

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Adding a snapshot

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Let’s do a full clean re-install; Download Firefox For All languages And Systems {web link} Save the file. Then Close Firefox.

Using your file browser, open the Programs Folder on your computer.

Windows: C:\Program Files C:\Program Files (x86)

Mac: Open the "Applications" folder.
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-download-and-install-firefox-mac

Linux: Check your user manual. If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it - see Install Firefox on Linux. If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder Firefox in your home directory.

Do Not remove the profiles folder.

Look for, and rename any Mozilla or Firefox program folders by adding .old to them. Do not rename the Mozilla Thunderbird folder if there is one.

After rebooting the computer, run a registry scanner if you have one. Then run the installer. If all goes well, remove the OLD folders when you are done.


If there is a problem, start your Computer in safe mode and try again.

Starting The Computer In Safe Mode;
Free Online Encyclopedia

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Forgot to mention : re-installing the application does not fix it.

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Try the instructions I posted above.

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Instructions above for Mac instruct 1) to re-download the dmg file 2) drop the app in the Applications folder 3) restart Mac. Of course, I have : "Forgot to mention : re-installing the application does not fix it.". Which points have I missed in the "instructions above" that were supposed to fix it ?

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Adding snapshot for Update History. Showing inconsistent state of Firefox update manager.

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Did you remove Firefox from the Programs/Applications folder first?

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FredMcD said

Did you remove Firefox from the Programs/Applications folder first?

Yes. I did.

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Chosen Solution

Enough time spent chatting with a bot. Solved it by brute force : Warning this deletes your Firefox profile too.

  1. !/bin/bash

for u in $(ls /Users) do sudo rm -Rf /Users/$u/Library/Caches/Firefox/ sudo rm -Rf /Users/$u/Library/Caches/Mozilla/ sudo rm -Rf /Users/$u/Library/Autosave\ Information/ sudo rm -Rf /Users/$u/Library/Application\ Support/Rapport/ sudo rm -Rf /Users/$u/Library/Application\ Support/Firefox/ sudo rm -Rf /Users/$u/Library/Saved\ Application\ State/org.mozilla.firefox.* done

My feeling is that deleting /Users/$u/Library/Caches/Mozilla/ might have been enough.

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If it works, it works.

Please flag your last post as Solved Problem so others will know.