Configured browsers are opening as virgins

[johoo]

The recent build of Win7 on a new laptop is opening virgin browsers instead of the configured browsers.

Chrome Portable and Firefox Portable have personal preferences set and uBlocks Origin installed. Firefox is the default browser.

The new build has peculiar behavior.

- Double Click on Shortcut and Firefox config opens
- Click on a link in Thunderbird and Firefox virgin opens (even if Firefox config is already open)
- CMD filename.htm is opened by Firefox virgin (even if Firefox config is already open)

This is a twin to the install on the old laptop, where links are always opened in configured Firefox.

New System:
Open Firefox shortcut twice: Firefox config and Firefox virgin
Open Chrome shortcut twice: Chrome config and Chrome virgin

Old System:
Open Firefox shortcut twice: Firefox config and Firefox config
Open Chrome shortcut twice: Chrome config and Chrome config

Can anyone point me to a switch which tells Win7 to only open the configured browser?

 

[file3456]

If you are trying to use a portable browser to be the default browser, then you'd have to more than likely have to set up the default program to handle what ever file type you'd want Firefox portable to open. So if you want FF to open an HTML file then set that in the default programs. XML, etc would be the same.

To get to the default programs settings, start typing default programs in search under the start orb.

Another thing you need to know about portable browsers is that they come with an ini file that has options. If you have FF or Chrome physically installed then you need to set the correct integer value a 1 or 0 in the ini file so that the portable version doesn't muck up with your physical install. You can open the ini file with Notepad or Notepad ++.

 

[Paul Black]

Hi F22 Simpilot,

If you are trying to use a portable browser to be the default browser, then you'd have to more than likely have to set up the default program to handle what ever file type you'd want Firefox portable to open. So if you want FF to open an HTML file then set that in the default programs. XML, etc would be the same.

To get to the default programs settings, start typing default programs in search under the start orb.

Another thing you need to know about portable browsers is that they come with an .ini file that has options. If you have FF or Chrome physically installed then you need to set the correct integer value a 1 or 0 in the .ini file so that the portable version doesn't muck up with your physical install. You can open the ini file with Notepad or Notepad ++.

That's very interesting, I didn't know that. Thanks for sharing!

 

[johoo]

"If you are trying to use a portable browser to be the default browser, then you'd have to more than likely have to set up the default program to handle what ever file type you'd want Firefox portable to open. So if you want FF to open an HTML file then set that in the default programs. XML, etc would be the same."

The act of making Firefox the default does all of the associations. Changing the default in the browser to Chrome does not change these associations, and Chrome does not appear in the default program list. It is a one-time event.

"Another thing you need to know about portable browsers is that they come with an ini file that has options. If you have FF or Chrome physically installed then you need to set the correct integer value a 1 or 0 in the ini file so that the portable version doesn't muck up with your physical install. You can open the ini file with Notepad or Notepad ++."

There is no physical install, and browsers use profiles, not .ini's.

Chrome has seven .ini files. Two have a current date. Neither of these has config settings.

Firefox has 19 .ini files. Only three have current dates and FirefoxPortableSettings.ini only has the address of the last profile directory used. Firefox can have several profiles, I only have one.

There is one .exe, there is one profile for each browser.

Double click a browser shortcut, and the first instance is configured, the second double click opens a virgin instance, the third instance double click opens a virgin instance, the....

Every instance of a browser is a virgin except the first double click from the shortcut.

 

[file3456]

Do this for XML, HTML files, etc for what ever browser you want.

 

[johoo]

As I said previously, "The act of making Firefox the default does all of the associations." The htm/html associations start out as IE, but making Firefox the default browser changes them to Firefox.



The question I am trying to solve is why two different instances of Firefox open .HTM depending on where it is.



The CMD line .HTM opens a different instance than clicking on .HTM in Thunderbird.



I am trying to find out how/why there are two different instances of both Chrome and Firefox co-existing in my system. One of them has all the configuration/preferences/extensions and the other does not.

 

[RoWin7]

Are you talking about maintaining settings and extensions that have already been set in your FF and Chrome profiles?

Why are you double-clicking on each program 2 or 3 times? That would produce multiple instances of each program.

 

[johoo]

"Are you talking about maintaining settings and extensions that have already been set in your FF and Chrome profiles?"

No.

"Why are you double-clicking on each program 2 or 3 times? That would produce multiple instances of each program."

That's the point, it produces multiple instances but they are NOT the same instance! The first DC opens configured Firefox, the second DC opens virgin Firefox. If it was only Firefox I would be looking for a Firefox problem but the same thing is happening with Chrome.

This is portable Firefox/Chrome, not installed.

 

[file3456]

Where did you download both browsers?

 

[johoo]

portableapps.com

 

[RoWin7]

Is there a reason you can't run one instance and just open a 2nd window? Then your profile would show in both windows.

 

[johoo]

"Is there a reason you can't run one instance"

Yes, I cannot limit the system to one instance because the instance which opens varies depending on where I am when I click on an HTM/HTML file.

Firefox virgin and Firefox config have the same profile in aboutrofiles. That means there should only be one instance.

Everything you read online about browsers is that you can have multiple profiles for various purposes. There is NOTHING about the same browser using the same profile opening different instances.

I have one copy of firefox with one profile and depending on where they are opened from, I get a different instance.

What 'should' happen is the way it worked on my old laptop. If firefox was open, the new HTM opened in a new tab. If firefox was not open, it opened in firefox config.

What I have is:

- if firefox config is open, a CMD line HTM will open a new instance of firefox virgin
- if firefox virgin is open, double clicking the firefox shortcut will fail 'because there is an instance already running'

I have installed/reinstalled and it makes no difference to the outcome which is why I came here. I am looking for advice on how to prevent firefox virgin opening on HTM etc.

Why does it matter? Firefox config has ublock origin which prevents >40 ads per page on CNN. If firefox virgin is the instance open and I go to cnn those ads flood the page. This problem is not unique to firefox, I installed Chrome and it worked the same way, which is why I suspect this is a Win 7 problem rather than a browser issue.

It is time to close this thread. I appreciate your willingness to assist but we are not getting anywhere.

Thanks

 

[file3456]

portableapps.com

I'll see if I can't reproduce the issue.

 

[RoWin7]

I understand what you're saying now, but I can't reproduce the problem. And I don't have Chrome.

 

[file3456]

Whelp, I tried portable Firefox and I installed the Adblock add-on and then opened multiple instances of FF and the add-on still was there in all open windows.

If you go to the data | setting | folder and in the ini file is the LastProfileDirectory= set correctly pertaining to your portable FF profile folder of: \Data\profile ?

 

[RoWin7]

Also, I believe if you move the default profile to a folder in your data, let's say to My Documents or anywhere that's not in the system files, the program will stop using it. Don't delete it, because it's the template for new profiles. If you ever need to make another profile, move it back to the profiles folder again first.