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What the hell is causing FF to keep changing the location of the
PROFILES folder?

Some times it's
C:\WINDOWS\Local Settings\Application
Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\.........

Other times it's
C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\.........

I DO NOT want the "Local Settings" one. Everything else is in
"Windows'application data......."

It seems to change at random. WHY?????
This did NOT happen in version 2.x.

I am now running FF 3.6.15

I should mention that because I have a batch file setup to always kill
a folder called "Local Settings", I lost all my bookmarks when FF
decided to move to that folder. Fortunately I had a fairly recent
backup to restore most booknarks.

wrote on [Tue, 12 Apr 2011 01:14:09 -0500]:
> What the hell is causing FF to keep changing the location of the
> PROFILES folder?

What version of Windows are you using?

>
> Some times it's
> C:\WINDOWS\Local Settings\Application
> Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\.........
>
> Other times it's
> C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\.........

It shouldn't be saving to c:\windows\ anything. It should be
%APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\
which would expand to
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\ folder (Windows 7/Vista) or
the C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\ folder (Windows XP/2000)

On Tue, 12 Apr 2011 15:20:20 +0000 (UTC), Justin
<> wrote:

> wrote on [Tue, 12 Apr 2011 01:14:09 -0500]:
>> What the hell is causing FF to keep changing the location of the
>> PROFILES folder?
>
>What version of Windows are you using?
>
Windows 98se (with Kernal Ex, which allows 98 to use FF3 and other XP
related programs).

Yea, and I dont need a sermon about upgrading my OS. I like 98, and
hate XP and up. (I also have Win2k installed, but rarely use it).
>>
>> Some times it's
>> C:\WINDOWS\Local Settings\Application
>> Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\.........
>>
>> Other times it's
>> C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\.........
>
>It shouldn't be saving to c:\windows\ anything. It should be
>%APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\
>which would expand to
> C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\ folder (Windows 7/Vista) or
>the C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\ folder (Windows XP/2000)

wrote on [Tue, 12 Apr 2011 22:16:47 -0500]:
> On Tue, 12 Apr 2011 15:20:20 +0000 (UTC), Justin
> <> wrote:
>
>> wrote on [Tue, 12 Apr 2011 01:14:09 -0500]:
>>> What the hell is causing FF to keep changing the location of the
>>> PROFILES folder?
>>
>>What version of Windows are you using?
>>
> Windows 98se (with Kernal Ex, which allows 98 to use FF3 and other XP
> related programs).
>
> Yea, and I dont need a sermon about upgrading my OS. I like 98, and
> hate XP and up. (I also have Win2k installed, but rarely use it).

Fine. Use an unsupported and ANCIENT OS and you expect there to be problems
This is one of the, That browser in unspported on that OS, so unexpected
issues are the norm.

You can make XP and Vista and 7 look just like windows 98 or windows 95
AND get the benefit of hardware and software from this century to be supported.

On Wed, 13 Apr 2011 05:10:45 +0000 (UTC), Justin
<> wrote:

> wrote on [Tue, 12 Apr 2011 22:16:47 -0500]:
>> On Tue, 12 Apr 2011 15:20:20 +0000 (UTC), Justin
>> <> wrote:
>>
>>> wrote on [Tue, 12 Apr 2011 01:14:09 -0500]:
>>>> What the hell is causing FF to keep changing the location of the
>>>> PROFILES folder?
>>>
>>>What version of Windows are you using?
>>>
>> Windows 98se (with Kernal Ex, which allows 98 to use FF3 and other XP
>> related programs).
>>
>> Yea, and I dont need a sermon about upgrading my OS. I like 98, and
>> hate XP and up. (I also have Win2k installed, but rarely use it).
>
>Fine. Use an unsupported and ANCIENT OS and you expect there to be problems
>This is one of the, That browser in unspported on that OS, so unexpected
>issues are the norm.

I can see where there might be some sort of problems viewing some
websites or other such things, but changing the profiles folder is not
the OS. This is soem sort of configuration issue, but what? Actually
FF3 works flawlessly on the web. I went into FF with about:config and
there is no listing of the path for the profile folder. Nor is it in
the settings. Where the hell is it?
>
>You can make XP and Vista and 7 look just like windows 98 or windows 95
>AND get the benefit of hardware and software from this century to be supported.

No thanks. MS can keep their bloated spyware operating systems. Not
to mention them being virus magnets. I never get viruses in 98. The
brief hour I went online with Win2000, I already has a virus, which is
why I do not use Win2000 to connect to the internet. I only boot to
it to operate some of the USB stuff that 98 wont run (the one and only
drawback of Win98 is USB support). Thats the only time I use Win2000,
and I stripped it down to eliminate most of the unneeded apps that it
comes with.

If I upgrade to anything, it will be another non-MS OS such as linux
(if they ever develop a user friendly version), or just get a
Macintosh. But at my age, I'll probably croak before I need to
upgrade. There's still plenty support for 98.

Now, I didn't come here to debate my OS. I just want to find out
where the settings are "hidden" inside FF for the location of the
profile folder, as well as the cache, cookies, and other similar
stuff. Actually, I'd much prefer if I could set the profile folder to
the same folder that the FF program is, or a sub folder of it. But if
thats not possible, at least get it to stay where it belongs.

wrote on [Wed, 13 Apr 2011 05:21:29 -0500]:
> On Wed, 13 Apr 2011 05:10:45 +0000 (UTC), Justin
> <> wrote:
>
>> wrote on [Tue, 12 Apr 2011 22:16:47 -0500]:
>>> On Tue, 12 Apr 2011 15:20:20 +0000 (UTC), Justin
>>> <> wrote:
>>>
>>>> wrote on [Tue, 12 Apr 2011 01:14:09 -0500]:
>>>>> What the hell is causing FF to keep changing the location of the
>>>>> PROFILES folder?
>>>>
>>>>What version of Windows are you using?
>>>>
>>> Windows 98se (with Kernal Ex, which allows 98 to use FF3 and other XP
>>> related programs).
>>>
>>> Yea, and I dont need a sermon about upgrading my OS. I like 98, and
>>> hate XP and up. (I also have Win2k installed, but rarely use it).
>>
>>Fine. Use an unsupported and ANCIENT OS and you expect there to be problems
>>This is one of the, That browser in unspported on that OS, so unexpected
>>issues are the norm.
>
> I can see where there might be some sort of problems viewing some
> websites or other such things, but changing the profiles folder is not
> the OS. This is soem sort of configuration issue, but what? Actually
> FF3 works flawlessly on the web. I went into FF with about:config and
> there is no listing of the path for the profile folder. Nor is it in
> the settings. Where the hell is it?

FF3 uses the variable %APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<profile folder>
to define the profile folder, I doubt this is setup properly under Windows
98

see if this works
1. At the top of the Firefox windowOn the menu bar, click on the Help menu and select Troubleshooting Information.... The Troubleshooting Information tab will open.
2. Under the Application Basics section, click on Open Containing FolderShow in Finder. A window with your profile filesfolder will open.

On Wed, 13 Apr 2011 12:40:36 +0000 (UTC), Justin
<> wrote:

> wrote on [Wed, 13 Apr 2011 05:21:29 -0500]:
>> On Wed, 13 Apr 2011 05:10:45 +0000 (UTC), Justin
>> <> wrote:
>>
>>> wrote on [Tue, 12 Apr 2011 22:16:47 -0500]:
>>>> On Tue, 12 Apr 2011 15:20:20 +0000 (UTC), Justin
>>>> <> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> wrote on [Tue, 12 Apr 2011 01:14:09 -0500]:
>>>>>> What the hell is causing FF to keep changing the location of the
>>>>>> PROFILES folder?
>>>>>
>>>>>What version of Windows are you using?
>>>>>
>>>> Windows 98se (with Kernal Ex, which allows 98 to use FF3 and other XP
>>>> related programs).
>>>>
>>>> Yea, and I dont need a sermon about upgrading my OS. I like 98, and
>>>> hate XP and up. (I also have Win2k installed, but rarely use it).
>>>
>>>Fine. Use an unsupported and ANCIENT OS and you expect there to be problems
>>>This is one of the, That browser in unspported on that OS, so unexpected
>>>issues are the norm.
>>
>> I can see where there might be some sort of problems viewing some
>> websites or other such things, but changing the profiles folder is not
>> the OS. This is soem sort of configuration issue, but what? Actually
>> FF3 works flawlessly on the web. I went into FF with about:config and
>> there is no listing of the path for the profile folder. Nor is it in
>> the settings. Where the hell is it?
>
>FF3 uses the variable %APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<profile folder>
>to define the profile folder, I doubt this is setup properly under Windows
>98
>
>see if this works
> 1. At the top of the Firefox windowOn the menu bar, click on the Help menu
>and select Troubleshooting Information.... The Troubleshooting Information tab will open.
> 2. Under the Application Basics section, click on Open Containing FolderShow in Finder.
>A window with your profile filesfolder will open.
>

Ok, I did as you said and it shows my profiles to be:
C:\Windows\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\DEFAULT.S78

Then I opened the windows registry using regedit. I searched for
"firefox" then "profiles". I found "firefox" looked at all the
subcategories in the registry. There is no reference to anything
related to the word 'profiles' or the string to it's location. When
searching for the word 'profiles' I found a few instances of it for
other programs, but not for FF.

I also searched my whole computer for any other instances of
"Firefox.exe". There are none anywhere except in my D: drive for the
installation of Windows2000 (which should not have any effect on the
Win98 installation). There is nothing like a firefox.ini file or
anything like that.

I did find a way to modify the cache. It's now in the FF folder,
which is
F:\firefox3\CACHE\Cache

I did this according to this information that I got (somewhere) in the
past and had it saved in my FF notes.

This is what I did.

------------------

You can do this by creating a new hidden preference.

1. Type about:config into the location bar and press enter
2. Accept the warning message that appears, you will be taken to a
list of preferences
3. Right-click somewhere in the list and select "New > String"
4. For the name of the preference type
browser.cache.disk.parent_directory
5. For its value type the path to where you want to store the cache
6. Next locate the preference browser.cache.disk.enable, it must be
set to true, if it is not, double-click on it to change its value

------------------------

Of course that just changes the CACHE, not the whole profiles folder.

It works just fine after restarting FF.


I'll have to see if things stay where they belong now, but I have my
doubts. I really only changed the CACHE.

On Tue, 12 Apr 2011 01:14:09 -0500, in message <>
wrote:

> What the hell is causing FF to keep changing the location of the
> PROFILES folder?
>
> Some times it's
> C:\WINDOWS\Local Settings\Application
> Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\.........
>
> Other times it's
> C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\.........


A) Are you sure you don't have two Firefox profiles?
You could be starting Firefox with one or other profile.

Have you used Windows Explorer to check both locations ... ?
******"C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\"
******"C:\WINDOWS\Local Settings\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\"


B) If Windows Explorer only shows a profile folder in only one place,
but that place changes, run the following check to see whether it
is Firefox or your OS+KernelEx combination.

One way to tell...

Firefox reads the location of its profile from the file
"profiles.ini". The file "profiles.ini" is always in a fixed
location specified by the operating system.

Look for "profiles.ini" and read it with Notepad.

1. If the location of "profiles.ini" also changes between
**********"C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\profiles.ini"
**********"C:\WINDOWS\Local Settings\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\profiles.ini"
then it is most likely your OS+KernelEx combination
changing the location of %APPDATA%.

2. If "profiles.ini" stays in the same place but the contents
of the "profiles.ini" in this place changes, then it is
most likely Firefox.

If you have two "profiles.ini" files, you need to check
whether each one changes, not whether the two are different,
before you can say it is Firefox.

Simply having two "profiles.ini" files would indicate
an OS+KernelEx problem with specifying %APPDATA%.



> I DO NOT want the "Local Settings" one. Everything else is in
> "Windows'application data......."
>
> It seems to change at random. WHY?????
> This did NOT happen in version 2.x.
>
> I am now running FF 3.6.15
>
> I should mention that because I have a batch file setup to always kill
> a folder called "Local Settings", I lost all my bookmarks when FF
> decided to move to that folder. Fortunately I had a fairly recent
> backup to restore most booknarks.



--
Kind regards
Ralph

On Thu, 14 Apr 2011 02:26:39 -0500, in message <>
wrote:

> Then I opened the windows registry using regedit. I searched for
> "firefox" then "profiles". I found "firefox" looked at all the
> subcategories in the registry. There is no reference to anything
> related to the word 'profiles' or the string to it's location. When
> searching for the word 'profiles' I found a few instances of it for
> other programs, but not for FF.


Firefox does not use the registry to store the location of its profile.

1. Firefox asks the operating system for the location of the
so-called 'APPDATA' folder. The operating system stores
the location in a registry key
Key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders
Name: AppData =

–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–
Note: the folder is not (usually) named "AppData". That is
the name of the registry setting.
–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–

2. Firefox reads the file %AppData%\Mozilla\Firefox\profiles.ini
where %APPDATA% represents the value which the operating system
stores in the registry value in #1.

–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–
The file "profiles.ini" cannot be moved unless the operating
system also changes the value for AppData = [...] . Changing
this value would affect many other programs, not just Firefox.
–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-–

3. Firefox reads the location of its profile from in the
"profiles.ini" file.


> I also searched my whole computer for any other instances of
> "Firefox.exe". There are none anywhere except in my D: drive for the
> installation of Windows2000 (which should not have any effect on the
> Win98 installation). There is nothing like a firefox.ini file or
> anything like that.

The two key files are "profiles.ini" and "prefs.js".


--
Kind regards
Ralph

On Tue, 12 Apr 2011 01:14:09 -0500, in message <>
wrote:

> What the hell is causing FF to keep changing the location of the
> PROFILES folder?
>
> Some times it's
> C:\WINDOWS\Local Settings\Application
> Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\.........
>
> Other times it's
> C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\.........
>
> I DO NOT want the "Local Settings" one. Everything else is in
> "Windows'application data......."
>
> It seems to change at random. WHY?????
> This did NOT happen in version 2.x.
>
> I am now running FF 3.6.15


Firefox 3.6.15 keeps its cache in a different location to the
rest of its profile data,

Perhaps
**"C:\WINDOWS\Local Settings\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\"
contains only the cache, while
**"C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\"
contains the rest of the profile data including "prefs.js".


Have you checked what is actually in these locations?


--
Kind regards
Ralph