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Installing Firefox

Once downloaded the installation package, the installation of Firefox is simple – just run the package. If you downloaded a special construction of Firefox, which looks like a file. Zip file and has no installation, just create a new folder in Program Files directory Firefox and extract its contents there. You can then start Firefox running the firefox.exe file.

Note that during the initial installation of Firefox, you will be asked if you want to import existing bookmarks, saved passwords, browsing history, etc. from Internet Explorer. I recommend you select Yes for this option, how will the transition to using Firefox much easier. However, if you say no at this point, you can still choose to import your IE settings below, as well as being able to import or export your bookmarks, so it is crucial that you do it right now.

Using Firefox for the first time

If you’re not familiar with Firefox, not a problem. Firefox is virtually identical to that of Internet Explorer in its basic functionality and the interface to use is fairly intuitive. Most everything works as expected. The most obvious differences are: a little ‘different – and highly customizable – appearance, the lack of a sound’ click ‘when you click on hyperlinks, and the ability to use several Add-Ons called Extensions (which customize the functionality) and themes (customize the look of it). Of course, Firefox has many more features and benefits that only these, but these are the most obvious things you can see in the first instance of Internet Explorer.

Since Internet Explorer is still the world’s most popular Internet browser, Firefox is designed to quickly and automatically take the existing settings of Internet Explorer. Maybe you’ve already imported a wide range of settings from Internet Explorer as part of the process of installing Firefox. However, if you have not already done so, or if you want to update them again at any time, go to the File menu in Firefox and select Import. Select the browser you want to import settings from, and click Next. On the next screen select the components you want to import and follow the instructions later.

One of the main advantages of Firefox is that its appearance and functionality can be modified to suit your tastes in many ways the Internet Explorer can, and has a range of features that may have never seen before. Once you have a handle on the basic settings, be absolutely sure to read the Firefox settings and features, tips and trick section carefully.

Uninstall Firefox

If you have a previous version of Firefox version 3.5 first, I strongly recommend that you completely uninstall it, do a complete cleanout of any traces of it as covered below, and then install the latest version of the full package 3.6 or newer. This will prevent a wide range of problems down the track, particularly in settings and customizations from previous versions of Firefox may be in conflict with, hide or remove some of the new features of Firefox or benefits. If you encounter strange problems in any version of Firefox, even the latest version, then doing a complete uninstall and cleanout as covered below are also recommended to solve the problem.

In any case, to completely remove all traces of Firefox from your system for any reason, follow these steps:

1. Backup your bookmarks in a bookmarks.html file. In Firefox 2 go to the Bookmarks menu, select ‘Organize Bookmarks’, then select File> Export. In Firefox 3, go to the Bookmarks menu, select ‘Organize Bookmarks’, then ‘Import and Backup’ select> ‘Export HTML’. Alternatively, you can export your bookmarks in. JSON, select ‘Import and Backup’> Backup.

2. Write down all the saved passwords you might want to keep. Under the menu Tools> Options in Firefox, go to Security tab and click the ‘save password’. Click on ‘Show Password’ button at the bottom of this window and all your saved login information for various sites will be displayed.

3. Go to Control Panel> Add / Remove Programs in Windows XP or Control Panel> Programs and Features in Windows Vista / 7, and if the voice in a ‘Mozilla Firefox’ (or similar) exists, select it and click Change / Remove or Uninstall button and uninstall it. During the uninstall, I recommend ticking the ‘Remove my Firefox personal data and customizations’ box as well – this will erase all bookmarks and saved settings, so make sure you back up your bookmarks as covered in point 1, and also note down all the passwords that you might otherwise forget as covered in section 2.

4. Go to your \Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox directory and delete it and all of its contents if it still exists.

5. To remove all Firefox profile data, delete the following directories if they still exist:

In Windows XP -

\Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\Mozilla

\Documents and Settings\[Username]\Local Settings\Application Data\Mozilla

In Windows Vista and 7 -

\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Mozilla

\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\

6. Find and remove all Firefox/Mozilla-related entries in the Windows Registry. Using the Windows Registry Editor (Start>Run>Regedit), delete any of the following keys if they exist – that is, right click on their name in the left pane of Registry Editor and select Delete.

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\FirefoxHTML]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\FirefoxURL\]

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Applications\firefox.exe]

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Mozilla]

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\MozillaPlugins]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Mozilla]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\mozilla.org]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\FirefoxHTML]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\FirefoxURL]

Note: If you also have Mozilla Thunderbird or any other Mozilla products installed, make sure to only delete entries under the keys above which specifically relate directly to Firefox by name.

The steps above will remove all the major Firefox-related settings and traces on your system. In the majority of cases you should only have to undertake Steps 1 – 3 of the above list. However again I must stress that if you are updating to Firefox 3.6 or newer from an older version of Firefox such as Firefox 2 or 3, or are having strange problems with Firefox and nothing else in this guide works to resolve it, then I strongly suggest you follow all the steps above so you can remove all traces of Firefox. On the other hand keep in mind that you do not need to uninstall Firefox when updating for minor incremental versions of Firefox, just use the built-in updater to install the latest version instead.