How does one bypass the "Checking Your Add-Ons" Part of Updating Firefox?

[khaley]

I haven't been able to use Firefox since last June--the last time I tried to update from 7.0 to the next version up--because whenever I try to reinstall the latest version (or any version, new or old) it installs only as far as the launching-Firefox stage, at which point it leaves me hanging indefinitely at the "Checking Your Add-Ons" window. Ultimately I'm always forced to cancel the processes in the task manager, remove the FF program entirely from my computer, and resort back to Google Chrome, which is only half as good as FF.

How can one successfully get past the "Checking Your Add-ons" stage of the update process?

[PhilliePhan]

How can one successfully get past the "Checking Your Add-ons" stage of the update process?

It sounds to me as though you need to "completely remove" Firefox before trying to reinstall it. This goes beyond simply uninstalling it - you need to remove all your profile data/settings/add ons.
-- You may be given the option to "Remove my Firefox personal data and customizations" at uninstall ( I can't remember ) and this should work. Or, you may simply be able to create a fresh user profile.

Personally, I suggest full removal procedure linked below:
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Uninstalling_firefox#Removing_user_profile_data

Then, you ought to be able to re-install with no problems.

Cheers :)
PP

[khaley]

Wow, THANK you. That actually worked (I followed the steps in the link you included). I just wondered, do I have to go through those same steps each time I update to a new version of FF (I assume it constitutes wiping the slate clean in order for the new FF)? And I suppose there's a way of importing those renamed profile settings (of the old FF) into the new version?
Thanks again!

[PhilliePhan]

Wow, THANK you. That actually worked (I followed the steps in the link you included). I just wondered, do I have to go through those same steps each time I update to a new version of FF (I assume it constitutes wiping the slate clean in order for the new FF)? And I suppose there's a way of importing those renamed profile settings (of the old FF) into the new version?
Thanks again!

You're welcome. Happy to help :)

Now that you have done a clean re-install of Firefox, you may not have the same issues when trying to update in the future.
Because Firefox is a fluid and ever-changing animal, I really don't know how dealing with and importing profiles is going to ultimately shake out.
You are probably going to have to redo all your extensions and plugins manually rather than trying to import the old ones. I'd recommend starting fresh simply because there obviously are some issues with the existing profile.....

Have a look at this page:
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_manager
There are some interesting links at the bottom of that page as well.

It is possible to use multiple profiles to help diagnose problems, if you want to take the time to do that, but again, you may not have these issues again with the clean install.

If you do end up having further problems, post back here and we'll see if we can sort it out.

PP :)