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Why has Firefox Ver 2.0.0.20 quit working on a Win98 SE system

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I Have been using firefox ver 2.0.0.20 on a Win98 SE system for several years without any difficulty. Recently this stopped. Firefox either won't load or if it does it quits working after a few minutes and goes back to a continuous load mode. The ver 2.0.0.20 is still loaded but no longer works. Shouldn't the old version continue to work on the Win98 system, or has Firefox dropped support for Win98 system totally. If Firefox is activated shortly after boot-up, it will load and work for a few minutes, then drop off and stay in continuous load cycle indefinitely. Reboot of the system produces a repeat of the described cycle, It will remain working for only a short time, before dropping out.

I Have been using firefox ver 2.0.0.20 on a Win98 SE system for several years without any difficulty. Recently this stopped. Firefox either won't load or if it does it quits working after a few minutes and goes back to a continuous load mode. The ver 2.0.0.20 is still loaded but no longer works. Shouldn't the old version continue to work on the Win98 system, or has Firefox dropped support for Win98 system totally. If Firefox is activated shortly after boot-up, it will load and work for a few minutes, then drop off and stay in continuous load cycle indefinitely. Reboot of the system produces a repeat of the described cycle, It will remain working for only a short time, before dropping out.

All Replies (3)

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hello rockarthunter, support for such old versions of the browser (&your operating system) was dropped years ago by mozilla already, so it won't be possible to offer any troubleshooting steps or guide you into the right direction unfortunately. if it continued to work until now you might have been lucky but also open to all sorts of vulnerabilities out there on the web.

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Firefox 2.0 versions were the last for Win 98 SE.
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/2.0/system-requirements/

Support ended for Firefox 2.0.0.20 back in 2008.

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In case one or more of your settings files have become corrupted, if you haven't already, see whether you can start up in the Profile Manager and create a new profile.

Did Windows 98 have Start > Run? If so, run

firefox.exe -P

Any time you want to switch profiles, exit Firefox and return to this dialog.

When creating a new profile, I recommend using the default location suggested, and to avoid data loss, not re-using any existing folder. Before deleting unneeded profiles, I suggest making a backup first in case something were to go wrong.

Will it start? If not, there may be a problem with Windows, or with your Firefox program files, or with malware that blocks third party browsers. I don't have any leads on the non-Firefox issues.