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FF 4.x Suitable for Win XP Pro?

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  • Last reply by garthzares

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FF 4.x works fine with my new laptop running Win 7. Unfortunately, I have crash problems and problems with the appearance of FF 4.x on my desktop pc running Win XP Pro SP3.

Should I downgrade to 3.6.15?

FF 4.x works fine with my new laptop running Win 7. Unfortunately, I have crash problems and problems with the appearance of FF 4.x on my desktop pc running Win XP Pro SP3. Should I downgrade to 3.6.15?

Chosen solution

I've been reading and found what my problem was, yeah, it's now working again, lol. I no longer have two banners and all the menu items are working. I had been using No Script as an Add-on, when I disabled it, everything started working and appearing normal.

   I'm not sure why it didn't do this in the beginning when I first loaded Firefox 4, might have been an update loaded for No Script that made it incompatible. I don't know if this will help your problem but it did mine and I apparently wasn't the only one having this issue. I'll have to leave No Script disabled until they have an update that won't cause problems.
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"...I have crash problems..."

See if any of this information helps:




"...problems with the appearance of FF 4.x..."

Maybe the following will help

You can change the interface to look much like Firefox 3.6.x. See:

Firefox 3 Theme for Firefox 4: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/firefox-3-theme-for-firefox/

Also see:

There are major changes to the user interface in Firefox 4.

  1. The MenuBar / Firefox button. Turn on the Firefox 3 style Menu Bar on (Firefox button off) or turn the Menu Bar off (Firefox button on) using one of the following:
    • HOLD down the ALT key while pressing the keyboard letters VTM. The Menu Bar will appear as in Firefox 3.6. This places a check mark next to "Menu Bar".
    • Right-click in a blank space on a tool bar, click "Menu Bar" to check/un-checked (checked = display Menu Bar; un-checked = display Firefox button
    • Using the Menu Bar: View > Toolbars, click Menu Bar to check/un-check (on/off)
    • Using the Firefox button: click Firefox button > Options, click Menu Bar to check/un-check (on/off)
  2. Tabs on top (above other toolbars). To change Tab Bar to a position below the toolbars as in prior versions, click "Tabs on top" to check/un-check (on/off)
    • HOLD down the ALT key while pressing the keyboard letters VTT. This checks/un-checks (on/off) "Tabs on top".
    • Right-click in a blank space on a tool bar, click "Tabs on top" to check/un-checked (checked = Tabs are on top; un-checked = Tabs are below toolbars)
    • Using Menu Bar: View > Toolbars
    • Using Firefox button: click Firefox button > Options
    • Use one of the above procedures to again show "Tabs on top" (checked)
  3. The Status Bar has been eliminated and replaced by the Add-on Bar. You can restore some of the prior Status Bar functionality on the new Add-on Bar by
    • installing the Status-4-Evar extension: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/status-4-evar/
    • Be sure the Add-on bar is diplayed at the bottom of the Firefox 4 window
      • Ctrl+/ toggles the Add-on Bar displayed or not displayed
      • Firefox button > Options OR, if you are optionally using the Menu Bar instead of the Firefox button, View > Toolbars OR right-click in a blank space on a toolbar::
        • if no check mark next to Add-on Bar, click Add-on bar to place a check mark.
        • If Add-on bar has a check mark, it is already displayed
    • then drag 3 widgets to the Add-on Bar from the Customize Toolbar window (the 3 widgets are: Status Text, Progress Meter, Download Status). To open the Customize Toolbar window
      • Using Menu Bar: click View > Toolbars > Customize
      • Using Firefox button: click Firefox button, click small arrow to the right of Options, click Toolbar Layout
      • Note: Instead of either of the above, you can do as in the past, right-click an empty space in the Navigation toolbar and choose Customize
    • set options for Status-4-Evar:
      • Menu Bar: Tools > Add-ons, click on Status4Ever, click Options, set options to your liking
      • Firefox button: click Firefox button, click Add-ons, scroll down to Status-4-Evar, click Options, set options to your liking
  4. Firefox 4.0 has a combined Go/Reload/Stop button that is positioned at the far right of the location bar.
    • During the page load process it shows as a Stop button and after the loading has finished the button is changed to a Reload button. If you type in the location bar then that button becomes a Go button.
    • You can middle-click that button to duplicate the current tab to a new tab.
    • In Firefox 4.0 you can move the Stop/Reload button out of the location bar and put them wherever you want on the toolbar. You can also make them appear as separate buttons on the toolbar.
      • Open the "View > Toolbars > Customize" window to move them out of the location bar.
      • Swap the two buttons or move them to their previous position at the left of the location bar.
      • If the order is "Reload - Stop" to get a combined "Reload/Stop" button.
      • Swap the order to "Stop - Reload" or separate them otherwise to get two distinct buttons.




There is a change in Firefox 4 in how Location bar search works.

Modified by Helper7677

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I don't mean to say this is just too much information, it's just that it doesn't focus on my problem. Perhaps I failed to outline my problem clearly as most of this info does not apply.

1. I use FF 4.x on my Win 7 machine without problems. I am quickly becoming familiar with and comfortable with the changes. I like them. 2. I also have tried to use FF 4.x on my Win XP machine and have had problems. It does NOT look like the same browser on my XP machine. Once I open another browser window from the first window, I see 2 title banners at the top and frequently some stuff just doesn't work. It's different and it's hard to get used to.

I appreciate all this info; I'm sure some of it will be useful at some point.

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Mine is doing the same thing with the XP Pro I have on the desktop. I haven't loaded Firefox 4 on the laptop, been afraid to with all the problems I'm having on the desktop.

When I open Firefox there are two banners. It wasn't originally this way and did work fine when I first upgraded. I noticed I now also have an orange Firefox tab on the second banner that contains a drop down list of some menu items, which are still listed where they normally were so it appears to me I should only be seeing one or the other but not both? I haven't checked out to see if the menu items are functional but I do know the private browsing does not work in either location. Everything worked until that Firefox tab showed up and I don't know how to get rid of it.

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I don't know either and no one seems interested in this problem. Hard to understand since Win XP users still outnumber Win 7 users. I am slowly learning to accommodate FF 4 on my XP machine. Yet another reason to consider upgrading my XP machine to 7? I wonder if MS pays commission to FF...lol

This pic shows a new approach to tech support.

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Chosen Solution

I've been reading and found what my problem was, yeah, it's now working again, lol. I no longer have two banners and all the menu items are working. I had been using No Script as an Add-on, when I disabled it, everything started working and appearing normal.

   I'm not sure why it didn't do this in the beginning when I first loaded Firefox 4, might have been an update loaded for No Script that made it incompatible. I don't know if this will help your problem but it did mine and I apparently wasn't the only one having this issue. I'll have to leave No Script disabled until they have an update that won't cause problems.
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I have never used that specific add on, but it got me thinking. I will try disabling all of them and then enable them one at a time to try to determine which of them might be causing problems. "THANKS FOR THE IDEA!  ;)

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Yes I have this exact same problem. Yes I am using Windows XP 32 bit. Yes Firefox used to work fine before I loaded Fiefox 4.0.

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I suspect Mikey has hit the nail on the head. I have to use Windows XP because my machine is supplied by my employer and they have decided that there are problems with the deployment of Windows 7 at the moment.

The symptoms I get are the same as Mikey's, plus at FF start I get one standard window plus multiple extra windows (> 10) with two title bars. Also at start up, my previous tabs aren't restored. Tear-off tabs no longer work properly either.

I may have to use another browser until the deployment of Windows 7, which is sad because if I get to like the other browser I may not come back to FF ...