Go for clean install

This links helps you to get all the versions of Firefox http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/

here is the link for Firefox 17 10.0.11 ESR - windows

http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/10.0.11esr/win32/en-US/

Download Firefox 17 10.0.11 ESR - windows

http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/10.0.11esr/win32/en-US/Firefox%20Setup%2010.0.11esr.exe

> Go for clean install

Thanks ... but that's exactly what I don't want to do. The toll (in terms of time and work) is just too high.

The question remains: is there an easy and straight-forward way to "downgrade" Firefox 17 Desktop to 10.0.11 ESR that keeps the config and customizations?

It could all be so easy, if Mozilla would eventually implement either a revision snapshot approach that would create a restore point before each update (like e.g. Windows 7 does), or a version and platform independent, transportable configuration container that would allow to package all configuration options, customizations, add-ons, etc. to a single file.

Both ideas have been around for several years already, but of course Mozilla rather choses to keep themselves busy with designing completely braindead release cycles and unnecessary GUI eye candy.

I've started to learn how to program extensions for Google Chrome some time ago. As soon as I'm good enough to implement the kind of functionality that's currently still exclusive to Firefox due to the add-ons that I use on it, I'll write my own extensions for Chrome and dump Firefox forever.

Firefox once was the greatest browser of them all, but Mozilla did _everything_ to turn it into a major pain in the @** in less than one year's time.

I don't know why you guys are talking about 10.0.11 ESR when the latest ESR version has just been released - http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/17.0esr/

You could install 17.0 ESR over your current installation, which usually works out fine. But I would recommend that you back up your Profile - justin case.
http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Backing+up+your+information

> I don't know why you guys are talking about 10.0.11 ESR

Well, because 17.0 ESR is supposedly based on the same code base as the FF 17 desktop release (as its version number suggests), so all of 17's compatibility problems with add-ons will presumably exist in 17.0 ESR as well. (I can't verify, because by the time of writing this, Google search doesn't return any hits regarding 17.0 ESR release notes.)

I think the guys at Mozilla didn't quite get it yet that it's not their crappy browser that attracts users, but the plethora of awesome add-ons which make up for all of FF's deficiencies. After all, who would seriously want this memory hog anyway, if not for those chest of jewels called add-ons, which turn a pretty much useless piece of junk code (which FF actually is, sorry Mozilla) into a Swiss army knife for web browsing.

Once they'd get it, they'd change FF's upgrade mechanism in a way so that it would check for add-on compatibility first, and only upgrade the browser if the browser would remain compatible with all installed add-ons. Yes, exactly like this: not the browser should update itself, and render an arbitrary number of add-ons useless in a second, but rather should the add-ons be able to prevent the browser from updating, as long as FF can't guarantee compatibility with installed add-ons.

The Mozilla guys need to realize that their browser is just an empty container. And like a container gets its value from the merchandise inside, FF gets its value from installed add-ons. Without add-ons, FF is just a rusty piece of junk.

Actually the latest ESR is both 10.0.11esr and 17.0esr currently as they were both released on Tuesday Nov 22.

ESR channel users will not get a update to 17.0 until 17.0.1esr at earliest.

Firefox 10.0.11esr and 17.0esr are at http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all.html (just scroll down for 17.0esr)

Also do watch your language as this is a family forum, Thank you.

Actually Extensions compatibility are not so much of a issue ever since Firefox 10.0 (or even since 4.0 originally) unless

- Extensions which use XPCOM binary components must be recompiled specifically for the Firefox version.

- Extensions that use the "strict compatibility" flag in the install.rdf.
- Extensions with a max version compatibility lower than Firefox 4.0.
- Extensions tested by addons.mozilla.org and discovered to be incompatible by automated testing.

Also Themes which must be specifically updated to support new features.

A Extension example that are version specific is the Antivirus client toolbars and such.

Plugins which are not installed in Firefox (like Flash, Java, Quicktime) are also not so much of a issue in version compatibility for a number of release now.

Also the word Addons does not refer to one thing like say Extensions but rather is a general word that groups together Extensions, Themes, Plugins, Personas themes and even search engines and dictionaries.

Also Firefox really does not need much in the way of Extensions to be useful as many of the things can be done in Firefox already or changed in about:config depending. The Extensions are for those users who want to add some features that many others may have no need for.

I just want to say THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! to TheOtherGuy for so clearly articulating my own frustration with Firefox's upgrade behaviors.

What I've learned as a long-time Firefox user is to (a) disable "Maintenance" and "Automatically install updates", and (b) to create a backup archive (7-Zip file) of my current profiles before upgrading.

I just used my 7Z archive file to roll-back to Firefox 15. Firefox 17, like far too many Firefox upgrades, was destructive and disruptive — and ultimately pointless and stupid. I literally could NOT simply just use the browser after upgrading: I had to learn new UI behaviors and deal with al the broken extensions that I'd painstakingly arranged just as I wanted them.

Fortunately I could uninstall, clean out everything from FF 17, un-zip my archive profiles, and use my saved copy of the FF 15 uninstaller to roll-back.

One can but wonder if Mozilla will quit thinking so highly of itself and instead start paying attention to the fact that they're alienating their user based with idiotic upgrades that break existing usage models without adding anything useful.

THANKS AGAIN TheOtherGuy for saying what so very many of us are thinking.

Hi Phrawm48 and TheOtherGuy!

First off, sorry to hear about your issues with add-ons incompatibility with the latest version of Firefox. Unfortunately Mozilla is not in control of all third-party add-ons in our ecosystem. It's part of the beauty of it that our community of add-on developers are independent hackers, programmers, or just people who want to scratch an itch of theirs and publish their add-on for others to benefit from too.

If we did what TheOtherGuy suggests, which is to check for compatibility of all installed add-ons before deciding to upgrade, you could in theory be stuck with an old version of Firefox simply because you happen to have one or two abandoned add-ons (by their developer) that aren't getting updated. This older versions of Firefox usually have security holes that have since been patches. So as you might see, it's not as easy as it seems to do "the right thing" here. We believe that it's a better choice to ensure that Firefox itself remains a secure and performant browser, but I could see your point that some people would prefer that we prioritize add-on compatibility over security and performance.

About being a memory hog, Firefox actually uses less memory than e.g. Chrome with the same amount of tabs open. This has been proven in several studies. With every release of Firefox, we take additional steps towards superior performance. Of course, performance can be measured in many different ways (startup speed, JavaScript performance, page load times, etc) and we don't claim to be fastest in all of these benchmarks. But we are certainly very competitive, and in some cases even the fastest/most memory efficient.

I hope this adds some context to our decision making process at Mozilla. If you tell us which add-ons you're having issues with in Firefox 17, we could try to help you sort it out.

Thanks!

- David