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I have the problem where firefox disappears from my dock. Even though it prompts me to check the applications folder, when I check, it is already there.

  • 4 replies
  • 1 has this problem
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  • Last reply by Kirstenyb

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It is the only icon that disappears from the dock. The others are there. (Well, Picassa does too but I don't care about that one.) When I double click on the "?" that appears in the dock, Firefox reappears as an icon in a large blue 'folder' with an arrow that seems to want me to save it to my Applications folder. As described by another customer in 2013, when I do that it asks if I want to install Firefox again. I don't. Your suggestion to the last customer to move it to applications folder -- when I check my applications folder it is always already there. Yet it continues to disappear from the doc. (You used the acronym DMG in your advice to her- I don't know what that means). Please advise. Thanks.

It is the only icon that disappears from the dock. The others are there. (Well, Picassa does too but I don't care about that one.) When I double click on the "?" that appears in the dock, Firefox reappears as an icon in a large blue 'folder' with an arrow that seems to want me to save it to my Applications folder. As described by another customer in 2013, when I do that it asks if I want to install Firefox again. I don't. Your suggestion to the last customer to move it to applications folder -- when I check my applications folder it is always already there. Yet it continues to disappear from the doc. (You used the acronym DMG in your advice to her- I don't know what that means). Please advise. Thanks.

All Replies (4)

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Make sure that Firefox gets installed properly.

Open the Firefox disk image file and drag the Firefox program into the Applications folder on your hard drive. You shouldn't double-click the Firefox application to run it from the disk image, but instead drag it out of the DMG folder.


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Hello: Ok, it doesn't seem to solve my problem. (DMG stands for document manager?)

(I took 3 screen shots but am not sure how to attach them here. They are too large) Let me describe again: When I turn on my computer, the Firefox is a "?" in my dock. When I try to drag the question mark to the applications folder it doesn't go. When I click on the "?" and then try to drag the firefox icon (which is now in a blue folder with an arrow indicating it wants to go to the applications folder), it doesn't go ....or it says: that it already exists and do I want to replace it.

When I double click the ? in the dock, of course, it runs for the session.

I appreciate your solution but am no further ahead. Kirsten

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DMG stands for disk image and is the file format that Mac OS uses for installing programs.

You can drag the old version to the trash if you can't replace it.

  • Trash the current Firefox application (open the Applications folder in the Finder and drag the Firefox application to the Trash) to do a clean (re)install

If the current Firefox 31 release is already installed then you can eject the DMG file as described in the article.

Note that Firefox 32.0 will be released this Tuesday.

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OK, I'll try to "trash" the current disk image. When I did the "eject" thing - as described in the article - it seemed to work. But made no difference ultimately. So maybe this idea of trashing the old one will.