I can understand your frustration with Mozilla's rapid release updates since early 2011. One of the main issues is indeed add-ons not being compatible. You can change the settings so Firefox doesn't automatically update going forward. This help article on "How do I configure update options?" (scroll down towards the end) should help.

Thanks for letting me know how to disable automatic updates. However, the core issue remains. I was perfectly happy with the last version I was running. I was not happy with 8.0, and downgraded. But I had to go all the way back to 3.6.24, which meant I also had to get new plug-ins and themes, because the ones I was using were no longer compatible. This is a real pain in the you-know-what, and detracts greatly from the user experience.

You can actually go back to the 7.0.1 version (which I'm assuming you had). I know many users who've done so and are happier with Firefox 7. However, given that Firefox 8 has taken care of some security and safety vulnerabilities over its predecessor, they recommend having the latest.

Personally, I was happier with Firefox 7 as well, but am still using Firefox 8 so I can try and troubleshoot some issues and report them. My main issue with Firefox 8 is that it's slower on many websites, including my Hotmail email.

Anyway, lest I digress, I have compiled a list of older official Firefox versions on this Firefox Review web page which you can use to download Firefox 7.0.1.

Many thanks for your reply -- and the link to the downloads page!

I decided to give 8.0.1 another try. This time, a window asking me which add-ons I wanted to enable appeared when it was installing. I checked all the boxes, and when the browser came up, all of the previously disabled/incompatible add-ons were active and enabled -- including Google Toolbar! And it works!!