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How can I get rid of a stuck update which will not install or cancel?

  • 2 replies
  • 5 have this problem
  • 174 views
  • Last reply by kssmk2

kssmk2
kssmk2
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I asked for updates to add-ons. One update turned out to be for McAfee Site Advisor. I restarted the computer but after restarting the update shows as "This update will be installed when Firefox is restarted" even though it had just been restarted. I tried restarting again, twice, but there is no change. I tried to cancel the install but clicking on Cancel does nothing. So I cannot install the update and I can't get rid of it. What now? The other updates were OK.

Firefox 3.6.20, XP Home/SP3.

Thanks.

I asked for updates to add-ons. One update turned out to be for McAfee Site Advisor. I restarted the computer but after restarting the update shows as "This update will be installed when Firefox is restarted" even though it had just been restarted. I tried restarting again, twice, but there is no change. I tried to cancel the install but clicking on Cancel does nothing. So I cannot install the update and I can't get rid of it. What now? The other updates were OK. Firefox 3.6.20, XP Home/SP3. Thanks.

All Replies (2)

cor-el
cor-el
  • Moderator
  • Top 10 Contributor
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If files already have been downloaded then you need to remove the files in the updates and updates\0 folder.
You can delete active-update.xml and updates.xml as well if present. 

C:\Documents and Settings\<user>\Local Settings\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Mozilla Firefox\updates
(%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Mozilla Firefox)

If there are problems with updating then best is to download the full version and uninstall the currently installed version.

Download a fresh Firefox copy and save the file to the desktop.

  • Uninstall your current Firefox version.
  • Do not remove personal data when you uninstall the current version.

Remove the Firefox program folder before installing that newly downloaded copy of the Firefox installer.

  • It is important to delete the Firefox program folder to remove all the files and make sure that there are no problems with files that were leftover after uninstalling.

Your bookmarks and other profile data are stored elsewhere in the Firefox Profile Folder and won't be affected by a reinstall, but make sure that you do not select to remove personal data if you uninstall Firefox.

kssmk2
kssmk2 Question owner
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cor-el

Thanks for the advice. I'll do that tomorrow.