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Installing Firebug in Old Firefox does nothing

  • 5 replies
  • 1 has this problem
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  • Last reply by whocares

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After the FF17.0.1 install I installed Firebug so I could test some things. Then I created bat files so I could run FF17 and my original FF3.5 separately and simultaneously.

However FF3.5 (using the profile originally from FF3.5, but briefly used in FF17) cannot see Firebug and any attempt to install Firebug ends up with nothing changed in the UI.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/firebug/versions/?page=3

I've tried going down that list and trying the ones claimed to be compatible with 3.5: Firebug 1.5.4, 1.5.3, 1.5.2, 1.5.0. Each time it says it is installing it, asks me to restart Firefox for it to take effect, I click [restart], it does so, but Firebug never appears - neither the icon in the lower-right in the status bar, never under the Tools menu... not even in the Extensions list in the Add-ons dialog.

When I do "about:config" and "firebug" several things come up - the first being "extensions.bootstrappedAddons" and that includes an entry for firebug - bug it claims version 1.11.0 - of which there is none in the addon pages. I tried editing that to be 1.5.0 (last install) and quit/restarted FF, but to no avail.

I took a look at https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/unable-install-add-ons-or-extensions?esab=a&s=install+firebug&r=5&as=s But none of those are my situation.

Any other ideas?

Thanks!

After the FF17.0.1 install I installed Firebug so I could test some things. Then I created bat files so I could run FF17 and my original FF3.5 separately and simultaneously. However FF3.5 (using the profile originally from FF3.5, but briefly used in FF17) cannot see Firebug and any attempt to install Firebug ends up with nothing changed in the UI. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/firebug/versions/?page=3 I've tried going down that list and trying the ones claimed to be compatible with 3.5: Firebug 1.5.4, 1.5.3, 1.5.2, 1.5.0. Each time it says it is installing it, asks me to restart Firefox for it to take effect, I click [restart], it does so, but Firebug never appears - neither the icon in the lower-right in the status bar, never under the Tools menu... not even in the Extensions list in the Add-ons dialog. When I do "about:config" and "firebug" several things come up - the first being "extensions.bootstrappedAddons" and that includes an entry for firebug - bug it claims version 1.11.0 - of which there is none in the addon pages. I tried editing that to be 1.5.0 (last install) and quit/restarted FF, but to no avail. I took a look at https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/unable-install-add-ons-or-extensions?esab=a&s=install+firebug&r=5&as=s But none of those are my situation. Any other ideas? Thanks!

All Replies (5)

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Why are you trying to use Firefox 3.5 still? it is no longer used, and barely any users use it anymore, plus it is horribly insecure. All users should be using Firefox 17.0.1 or later

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Okay Tylerdowner, you asked:

I'm using 3.5 because that's the last version which worked properly in several ways. As a developer I had to revert to 3.5 from 3.6 because Firebug didn't exist for 3.6 for a looong time. That taught me not to upgrade. 3.5 is a known quantity.

The most important feature to me personally was the ability to actually delete the CAs AND HAVE THEM REMAIN DELETED which no further version of FF has allowed - even if you take the pains to deleted each and every one of them (first you have to expand every single one, then you can't select everything - you have select only the cert names), the next time you open it they're all back again! WTF people?

I also despise the new styling (if I wanted Chrome, I'd use it). Give me back the 2 arrows, the X for stopping, the status bar at the bottom, the more extensive right-click menu.. and thinking you know how much of the URL I want to see in the URL bar??? Sheesh.

But what I really hate second to the CA problems is the auto-updating, forcing my application (browser!) to change whenever the development bums think they know better what I want and they screw everything over. IF YOU PUT OUT A NEW VERSION, DON'T MAKE UI CHANGES MANDATORY! And they turn out so many versions, the version #s are meaningless. That's NOT more choice or better upkeep, that's plain confusion. Go back to the standard x.y.z notation and go tell off the marketing people!

Now that I have seen FF17 I can appreciate a couple new things, but.. the insecurity of being forced to trust alien CAs isn't worth it to me. And upgrading has lost my history - renamed my file places.sqlite.corrupt. Thanks guys.

If they added a feature to ask me about every website contacted per page load and allowed me to disallow all the ones I don't know or don't trust - yes, I mean it: I want to be asked about every website, from mozilla.org to my own - then I wouldn't have to worry about the CAs. I trust my own website white lists more than anyone else's blacklists.

Combine that with adding the ability to save a page AS RENDERED REGARDLESS OF SOURCES (JS, CSS, etc.) and I'll start to seriously consider upgrading.

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Starting on this page - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/firebug/versions/ - there are 106 older versions of Firebug listed, on 4 pages going back to the Firebug versions for Firefox 1.5.

This appears to be to last version made for Firefox 3.5:
Versions 1.4.5 - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/firebug/versions/?page=3#version-1.4.5

BTW, your old 3.5 Profile which was run briefly in Firefox 17 is probably b0rked. I suggest that you create a new Profile for Firefox 3.5.

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A couple of points that you may not have known or concerned about using 3.5:

  1. A very small percentage of the internet uses Firefox 3.5 anymore. Developing a website using this ancient of a version means that you are likely to develop a site that looks correctly in 3.5, but doesn't work properly in later versions. Also, it means you aren't using the more modern HTML5 and CSS that Firefox 17 (and most modern browsers) supports.
  2. Firebug does work properly in Firefox 17, and each time Firefox is updated, Firebug also updates. There haven't been issues with Firebug compatibility for several years.
  3. You can change the Firefox look to be exactly like 3.5 without much work if you like. Install an add-on such as https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/luddite-ui, and you can change Firefox even look like Firefox 2 if you want.
  4. You are also not able to take advantage of the performance improvements or new developer tools in newer versions of Firefox. There have been some pretty awesome tools built into Firefox in the last year or so you should take a look at.
  5. Lastly and most important, Firefox 3.5 hasn't received an update in years. This means you are vulnerable to literally HUNDREDS of security holes which have been publicly disclosed and are being exploited in the wild right now. Leaving your computer, and personal information open to these holes is a very unwise thing to do. Just as an example, https://www.mozilla.org/security/known-vulnerabilities/firefox.html has all the holes plugged since 4.0 was released. This doesn't include all the security fixes that were fixed in 3.6 and 3.5 never saw.
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> the-edmeister

1. Yes, I went through the page 3 ones and started page 4 and as I originally described, none of them appear anywhere within FF3.5 after installation.

2. Huh, the 1.5.x claimed to be 3.5-3.6 on those pages. I guess that's a misnomer then?

3. Yup, they both seem to be borked. I'll have to try my backup profile. But strangely they seem to both now be borked... and slowly getting more borked without me doing anything else: example - neither can get into the add-ons website today, but could last night:


addons.cdn.mozilla.net:443 uses an invalid security certificate ....

(Error code: sec_error_untrusted_issuer) ...

[View Certificate] [Cancel]


en-us.add-ons.mozilla.com:443 uses in invalid security certificate....



> Tylerdowner

1. Good point - I've been finding that out more lately.

2. It does look like Firebug works "properly" in FF17, however without the icon in the status bar I find the right-clicking cumbersome and it doesn't seem to be very consistent - sometimes the Firebug pane opens, other times it doesn't. Is it degrading before my eyes?

3. Interesting. I'll look at that as soon as FF decides to work again: see #3 above.

4. Perhaps. I have some time now, I might look at them.

5. That is a nice list of bugfixes. But my biggest issues about that list is that it doesn't list at which version every one of those bugs was INTRODUCED. I also use Kaspersky and don't go all over the internet, so this isn't nearly as important to me as #6:

6. No, the most important thing is my control of my browsing and again, begin forced to let "Firefox" control my CAs and certificates is something that irks me to no end - it won't even let me add an exception to the above case for cdn.mozilla.org! It seems like an early, basic failure and since it has been around for years, that makes it seems like Mozilla doesn't care about it at all.

7. Although the instability - meaning the change in behaviour over the last 2 days without any settings being changed - makes me even more wary of depending on it.


Hmm, time to checkup on Opera - I liked it back when the web started.