Help downgrading from Firefox 4.0?
Firefox 3.X was working perfectly with me for a long time.
Unfortunately I recently upgraded to Firefox 4.0 and with the new version-- my Shockwave Flash plugin will cause Firefox to hang. I upgraded Flash player to the latest version--it still causes Firefox to hang. Granted--Firefox works fine with Flash Player disabled--but then I can't see streaming video (youtube, nfl.com, etc., various links sent in email, etc.) and this is simply too terrible a condition to live with.
I posted another question on here about how to fix this flash player problem, but I got no response. Also -- "Live Support" always seems to be closed.
So now I'm thinking what I need to do is downgrade to a prior version of firefox. Preferably -- I do not want to have recopy all of my bookmarks--I have hundreds of bookmarks.
What is the best way to downgrade? Uninstall and reinstall? Will I get to keep my bookmarks?
All Replies (6)
Sorry to hear about your problems and apologies for not responding sooner.
According to your Plugins list, you don't have Adobe Flash installed. You can download that from here: http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
You may also need Shockwave For Director for some enhanced videos. Download from: http://get.adobe.com/shockwave/
Before you run either of those, run the Flash Uninstaller first, download from here: Download uninstall_flash_player.
Close Firefox via File | Exit before you run it. The uninstaller will also remove Flash from IE, but ensures a clean install when you install both Flash and Shockwave For Director.
On Youtube, you hardly need Flash anymore. All videos are being converted to the new standard called HTML5 which Firefox 4.0 supports. I suggest signing up to the HTML5 Trial by clicking the link at the foot of that page (there's nothing to install and no forms to fill in).
If you still don't get any joy, you can downgrade to the previous secure version v3.6.16 from here: Download Firefox v3.6.16
To downgrade, please follow these steps after downloading the file.
- Go to Add/Remove programs and uninstall Mozilla Firefox choosing to keep your bookmarks, customizations etc.
- Reboot and then delete the folder called Mozilla Firefox at this location: C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox
- Finally, run the installation file for v3.6.16 you downloaded earlier.
Nope, uninstall - install didn't work for me. Staying with FF 3.6.16 for now.
@ RichKD, this is a Windows thread, but I note from another post that you have a MAC, so it might be better if you create your own thread.
Because the problem was identical, I was looking for possible solutions anywhere. This seemed liked a possibility. It wasn't. However I did find my own solution and here it is in case you come across any other MAC people with this trouble. Firefox beginning with 4.0 can no longer be placed in any "Applications" sub folder, must be upper most "Applications" folder. Example; Applications ➢ Internet ➢ browsers ➢ Firefox 4.0.1.app hangs. Applications ➢ Firefox 4.0.1.app no apparent problem. At least that seems to be the fix for me.
This is why I said to you that you'd be better off starting your own thread.
I had. "4.0.1 has improvement over 4.0 but pages still hang. ..." is mine, but no one was providing any possible fixes for mac.