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@bigpup @mikewalsh @mikeslr
I clicked on the FirefoxESR-Portable that I placed into mnt/home from your previous instructions. That activated. See screenshot of what activated.
Is this the newest FirefoxESR? Totally confused at this point.
The desktop shortcut taken from user/share/applications does not activate. See above post.
Sky
@bigpup @mikewalsh @mikeslr
In order to activate the FirefoxESR-Portable from the desktop shortcut taken from mnt/home, LAUNCH needs to be clicked. ?
I am writting from the updated new version now.
Sky
@Sky Aisling :-
Um.....okay. Strictly speaking, dragging the 'firefoxesr-portable.desktop' file from /usr/share/applications SHOULD permit using it as a desktop launcher. I'm in it myself ATM.
The 'MenuAdd' script links the 'LAUNCH' script into /usr/bin as 'firefoxesr'. The 'Exec' line of 'firefoxesr-portable.desktop' (the desktop entry) then calls /usr/bin/firefoxesr. Trouble is, with you still having the older build on the system, we don't know for certain what Firefox executable(s) you DO have in /usr/bin.... 
IF the older Firefox 116.0.2 had an executable already in /usr/bin with the same name, the MenuAdd link would not have been created.....because sym-links cannot overwrite anything else (even other sym-links). So; if you wouldn't mind taking a look in /usr/bin, and either telling us - or better yet, showing us with a screenshot - exactly WHAT Firefox entries are there at present, it will help considerably.
Make sense?
If so, over to you...
Mike. 
@mikewalsh @mikeslr @bigpup
Looks like it's saying there is a broken link?
Sky
@mikewalsh @mikeslr @bigpup
Does this help?
Compared to symbolic link of 'old' Firefox-ESR 116.0.2
Same file name shows up in both links?
"firefox/firefox.sh"
Sky
@Sky Aisling :-
Ah, HELL. Sky, I am SO sorry, mate. This is my fault. @bigpup's instructions were spot-on as far as they went.....but you've downloaded the wrong item..! 
Let me explain....
I've got so much Puppy stuff uploaded for the community that, for years now, I've been "juggling" several cloud a/cs with relatively small amounts of storage. Out of all these, I've had my Google Drive a/c the longest; I was a relatively early Google 'adopter', and opened my a/c with them almost 25 years ago.
It was several years before I even realised that I HAD cloud storage. I began using the Drive when I joined the Puppy community, over a decade ago. It didn't take me long to approach the storage limits, so I added a MediaFire a/c.....then a MEGA.nz /ac.....and more recently, a couple of lesser-known ones. But this is besides the point...
A few months ago, Google sent me an absolutely cracking deal on larger quantities of guaranteed storage, and I got to thinking seriously about this. By taking them up on the basic "paid" storage option, I could pretty much double the combined amount of FREE storage across all the other accounts added together, so.....this is what I've done. For the princely sum of GBP £1.59 per month, I get a guaranteed 100 GB of storage. It'll take even ME a loooong time to approach the limits of this.....and I see it as a good "investment" for the future. It's a way of ensuring that MY stuff, at least, remains available to the community for years to come.
The only downside to all this is that it's going to take me a long while to migrate everything back to the Drive. It's also going to mean that there will be an awful lot of broken and/or incorrect links across the entire forum. It'll probably take me years to catch up with them all!
Anyway, this is what I'll ask you to do:-
===========================================
You'll have to go back to using the 'old' Firefox just for a little bit. This shouldn't take long to do, though.
Please go into /mnt/home.
Go into the FirefoxESR-portable64 directory, and click on the 'MenuRemove' script. This will unlink the portable Firefox ESR from your system, okay?
Now, simply delete the portable Firefox directory....
We'll be removing the old Firefox after this is sorted out, in any case.
What you downloaded here was actually an even older FF build than you already had (102.0.9, I believe).....for which I apologise. I'm maintaining so many browsers for the community that even I'm starting to get confused trying to remember what's been updated and what hasn't! Some have updater mechanisms, some don't.....so some need regular updating, while others can take care of themselves if they're configured correctly. D'you see where I'm coming from with this? 
If you go back to the Firefox thread:- viewtopic.php?t=4083
.....you'll find the link has now been updated. I've spent the last couple of hours on all this, migrating all the Firefox versions back to the Drive and getting them in the right place. These are now all bang up to date.......and since we're starting from scratch again, you've got the choice; you can either stick with the ESR build, OR you can go with the 'mainline' build, which updates rather more regularly. This part is YOUR choice. Nobody can make the decision FOR you.....you've got to decide this bit yourself. The procedure will be identical, whichever one you go with.
I'm turning in for a few hours now, so I will catch up with you later on. If others want to help with this in the meantime, they can.....at least you've now got the correct link to go on, and these ARE all up-to-date. (That 'firefox_esr' entry you've got in /usr/bin isn't right anyway, because the 'LAUNCH' link has been re-named recently. Clicking on the existing portable's MenuRemove script, as detailed above, will remove this one.)
I'll look-in again later on, when I'm back in the land of the living! 
Mike. 
You have the portable packages expert helping now.
So I will let him provide all needed help.
Thanks mikewalse for that info about your portable donwloads! 
I will just add that the big difference between ESR and mainline versions of Firefox.
Firefox Extended Support Release (ESR) is a version of Firefox designed for organizations that need stability and security without the latest features.
It typically receives security updates and stability fixes for about a year, with planned release cycles for new ESR branches.
As I understand.
ESR versions are using well established bug free features and updates, that have been proven to work well, in the newer/newest release of the mainline versions.
A new feature(s) is offered in the latest mainline version, when it proves to be working well, and bug free.
A newer ESR version is released by internal update and download availability.
The newer ESR version will now have this newer feature(s).
The things you do not tell us, are usually the clue to fixing the problem.
When I was a kid, I wanted to be older.
This is not what I expected
@mikewalsh
Oh! Mike!
I don't envy your position.
You write:
The only downside to all this is that it's going to take me a long while to migrate everything back to the Drive. It's also going to mean that there will be an awful lot of broken and/or incorrect links across the entire forum. It'll probably take me years to catch up with them all!
I noticed at one point there were about 3,000 people watching this thread.
Good Luck!
In the meantime I'll get back to starting over again.
So, as I understand ... the portable downloads from
https://mega.nz/folder/jepQRTRL#NomNB30HIUuC2CDYP7hTrA are now up-to-date?
@bigpup
bigpup...Thank you for the info on the difference between 'mainline' Firefox and 'ESR' Firefox. That helped in making my next decision.
Sky
PS - Mike - We are so far apart geographically. I had a big GB drive I could've passed on to you. I'm small potatoes when it comes to storage usage.
@Sky Aisling :-
Ooh, no, no, no. Don't use the Mega.nz link anymore.....because there's nothing there now. That location no longer exists. The Firefox portable builds have now all been moved to my paid-for Google Drive a/c; that's the one I mentioned in my last post. It's my oldest a/c, but instead of it being a free one with just 15 GB, it's now a basic, subscription variant with 100 GB of storage.....and that's why everything will eventually be moving back there again.
The link you now want - for downloading the portable Firefox of your choice - is this one:-
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing
Having downloaded the one you want, refer back to @bigpup's instructions again - the procedure will be exactly the same, because the routine for "installing" the portables has been standardised across ALL my portable packages, regardless of application.
However; before you do, I would go into /usr/bin & remove that red firefox_esr link.....because it no longer points to anything, and is just cluttering the place up now.
When you've done that, head back here, and we'll sort out the next step, which will be 're-installing' your bookmarks, etc. (You'll have to create a new profile, because Firefox will complain about using an old one, and will refuse to launch until you do. That's out of my hands, I'm afraid. Nothing I can do about that one...)
And remember; DON'T REMOVE THE OLD FIREFOX. Not yet. We still need to retrieve your bookmarks, etc. We'll deal with this after the new portable has been re-installed again (for which I once again apologise).
Over to you....
Mike.
Welcome to Linux software! 
Are we having fun yet 
Believe it or not.
The portable builds by mikewalsh, do solve a lot of Linux software install issues!
The things you do not tell us, are usually the clue to fixing the problem.
When I was a kid, I wanted to be older.
This is not what I expected
@mikewalsh
You write:
Ooh, no, no, no. Don't use the Mega.nz link anymore.....because there's nothing there now.
Sorry, you and I are on a 9hr time difference. I must have checked your old cloud site before you had a chance to clean it out.
I intend to use your new Google cloud site https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... p=sharing
Sky
@mikewalsh @bigpup
Well, The Cat Keeps Coming Back.
I followed bigpup's guide on downloading, uncompressing, copy to mnt/home, add menu. The results were both Firefox programs showing in menu/internet.
Firefox 116 activates no matter what shortcut on the desktop Firefox-Portable or Firefox-Portable in menu/internet.
Any shortcut item anywhere that lists Firefox-Portable runs as Firefox 116.
EXCEPT When I open Firefox-portable64 that is located in 'Downloads' and activate LAUNCH I can get Firefox 135.0 browser welcome page.
(Yes, I 'deleted' the offending FirefoxERS-portable from mnt/home and rebooted. FirefoxERS-portable 116 still activates from Firefox-Portable shortcuts.)
Sky
How do I get this installed?
A POSSIBLE WORKAROUND
I have exported bookmarks from FF 116.
They are in my-documents in FF 116.
I can store them off line or in my storage area away from the OS.
FF 116 then can be uninstalled using Puppy Package Manager.
Then import the bookmarks into FF 135.
Without FF 116 present this would allow the firefox links to find only FF 135?
Hmmm? date dependent?
Sky
@Sky Aisling :-
O-kay. Well, you appear to have successfully 'installed'/linked FF135 into the system. And you say you've successfully exported your bookmarks, yes?
Right. Now we need to completely remove all traces of the old FF116 from the system.
Go into /root, and click on the ROX 'eye' symbol on the menu bar. This will then show the 'hidden files', which always start with a '.'. Look for a directory called .mozilla. Inside this, you will find another directory called 'firefox'. This contains the old Firefox profile.....it'll be a file with a 'nonsense' name (a mixture of numbers & letters. By default, FF always looks here first for its profile...../root/.mozilla is the Puppy equivalent of /home/user/your-user-name in mainstream distros.
Since you've exported & saved your bookmarks, we can go ahead and delete the 'firefox' directory inside /root/.mozilla.
While you're in ROX, look in /root/.config and /root/.cache as well. If you find, or see anything labelled either 'mozilla' or 'firefox', you can delete those, too. This should have now removed all the old FF116's config & cache stuff.
Okay. We're getting there.
Since I'm not at all certain what files the Canonical FF116 places in the system when you install it, please go into /usr/lib. If there's any sign of a 'mozilla' or 'firefox' directory - of any kind - please delete it. While you're there, go into the directory labelled 'x86_64-linux-gnu', and look around for anything similar; again, if you spot anything, ANYTHING AT ALL with 'mozilla' or 'firefox' in its name, then delete it. The PPM has never been that reliable at the best of times, and not everything it installs gets removed, either.
Right. Nearly there....
Next, please go into /usr/share/applications. You should see a .desktop file labelled 'firefox-portable.desktop'. This is the Menu entry file for Firefox-portable, so leave this one alone. IF you can see any other firefox entries - probably just 'firefox.desktop', though it could be labelled something like 'org.gnome.firefox.desktop' or something similar, then remove those.
Finally, go into /usr/bin. The only item we want to see here is a sym-linked script called 'firefox'. Would you please let us have a screenshot of /usr/bin, showing any 'firefox' files?
Now; the next step is normally to run 'fixmenus' in the terminal, followed by either a restart of "X" OR a re-boot. I prefer a re-boot, because it fully re-initializes everything in the process. However, let us have that screenshot mentioned above BEFORE you do this, please. I want to check that we have the correct executable in /usr/bin before we restart the whole shebang.....
Over to you.
Mike.
@mikewalsh @bigpup
Thank you Mike,
I have one concern about deleting the Firefox 'profile'.
FF135 appears to be 'installed' into the system.
Doesn't FF135 need an entry(s) into a 'profile' directory?
If so, then did FF135 use the exsisting 'profile' directory?
By deleting the firefox directory inside /root/.mozilla the 'profile' directory is deleted.
Does this effect the current running FF135?
Otherwise, I will go ahead and continue with the deleting of Mozilla and Firefox entries per your instructions.
EDIT: Never mind. I see that FF135 created it's own profile when it downloaded.
Sky
Sky Aisling wrote: Sun Feb 16, 2025 6:42 pmI have one concern about deleting the Firefox 'profile'.
FF135 appears to be 'installed' into the system.
Doesn't FF135 need an entry(s) into a 'profile' directory?
Yes.....and no. Yes, it needs a profile to work with.....and no, it shouldn't be using the one in /root/.mozilla anyway. The 'LAUNCH' script tells it to create, and use its OWN profile inside the 'portable' directory.
Sky Aisling wrote: Sun Feb 16, 2025 6:42 pmIf so, then did FF135 use the exsisting 'profile' directory?
I'd be very surprised if it did; see my answer above. The 'LAUNCH' script tells it to ONLY use the one inside the portable directory, and to NOT look anywhere else. On top of all this, modern Firefox complains like a bastard IF you tell it use anything other than a very recent profile, and will refuse to run. Mozilla themselves would prefer that you create a fresh profile with every new version, and re-install everything from scratch.....over & over, again & again, ad nauseam.
Sky Aisling wrote: Sun Feb 16, 2025 6:42 pmBy deleting the firefox directory inside /root/.mozilla the 'profile' directory is deleted.
Does this effect the current running FF135?
Not until you shut it down, because it's currently running in RAM. Deleting the old one is all to the good; if anything, it will then be forced to HAVE to use its own profile.
Sky Aisling wrote: Sun Feb 16, 2025 6:42 pmOtherwise, I will go ahead and continue with the deleting of Mozilla and Firefox entries per your instructions.
Be back in a couple of hours.
Shouldn't be an issue. We'll get things running the way they should be, one way or another.
Mike.
@mikewalsh @bigpup
Hi Mike, you must be burning the midnight oil.
Profile: Yes, I see that FF135 portable has created it's own new 'profile' inside ~/downloads//Firefox-portable64.
Here's what I did today 2/16/25:
deleted firefox directory inside /root/.mozilla
deleted mozilla inside /root.cache (nothing in /root.config)
deleted firefox addons inside /usr/lib (nothing in x86 64-linux gnu)
deleted firefox.desktop in usr/share/applications
Took screenshot of /usr/bin sym-link message
Results:
FF116 is definitley gone from Fossapup(64) 9.6.
FF135 still needs the link in ~/downloads LAUNCH in order to execute.
Firefox-portable.desktop in usr/share/appliations set as desktop shortcut gives this message:
"Failed to execute child process “/usr/bin/firefox” (No such file or directory)"
Note1: broken link for adobe-flashplugin.
Note2: I might have deleted firefox addons ons too.
Mike, I might have screwed you up. Once all this was done I instinctively REBOOTED. I do that so often with Puppy to make sure I have changes recorded. I did reboot. I didn't want to leave the machine on with the OS running til I heard from you.
One final question: Is there another location to put Firefox-portable(64) which is executable and currrently in Downloads and still have it execute with the correct link? I want to clear the huge Firefox135 files out of Downloads. That's not the place for them to live indefinitley. EDIT: Later...I managed to take the big files out of Download and save them off line.
I am about done with this attempt to install Firefox135 Portable.
bigpup is right when he says,
The portable builds by mikewalsh, do solve a lot of Linux software install issues!
Mike - Thank you so much for all the hours of work you are putting into helping us Puppy fans to ease the pain of 'installing' browsers.
WORKAROUND 1
Palemoon is the built in browser in Fossapup(64) 9.6.
Palemoon 33.21is set as a portable.
I rarely use Palemoon outside of internal work on Puppy.
I can begin to set up Palemoon to my preferences as a my default browser.
WORKAROUND2
I can remake a new Fossapup(64) with a new .ISO.
Then do this process of downloading a Firefox portable again.
Sigh! Hours more of computer work on a sunny day in Paradise.
My thoughts unless you see something further that I've missed in the attempt to properly 'install' the FF135 portable? I so wanted to put a [SOLVED] on this thread.
Sky
As Maggie Smith once said, "I'm too old to think about the future. I don't even buy green bananas anymore".
@mikewalsh
Sky writes:
One final question: Is there another location to put Firefox-portable(64) which is executable and currrently in Downloads and still have it execute with the correct link?
Is there a way to utilize this 'link' option?
Sky
@Sky Aisling :-
You can delete that dead firefox symlink in /usr/bin. It's not serving any purpose now. The PPM often doesn't delete sym-links, especially with Canonical repository packages.
The adobe-flashplugin symlink can also go. Flash hasn't worked since Dec 31st 2020 when Adobe killed it, and ceased all support for it. Nobody's used it for years, although it WAS still supported when Fossa was first released. It was replaced in browsers by the HTML5 standard.
Have you yet added a Menu entry for the portable FF135? If you have, first click on the MenuRemove script from inside the FF135 portable directory in /Downloads, then move the entire thing into /mnt/home. If there isn't a Menu entry for it, you can move it into /mnt/home straight away.
Once it's in /mnt/home, you can then click on the MenuAdd script, to put an entry back in Menu -> Internet. This will 'link' it into the system from its new location. The MenuReadMe text file explains all this, though frankly it'll surprise me if anyone ever bothers to actually read it!
=============================
You can't use that rt-clk -> 'Link' entry. Not in the way you're thinking. This is generally intended for adding a 'relative' sym-link from within the same directory, and is normally used if you want to add a differently-named link for, say, a library dependency with a different 'soname'.
Once you've done all this, you should be able to drag the 'firefox-portable.desktop' entry from /usr/share/applications onto the desktop for a shortcut. If that doesn't work, you can always drag the 'LAUNCH' script from inside the FF135 portable directory onto the desktop, re-name it, then add an icon. That will definitely work.
Let us know how you get on, please.
Mike.
@mikewalsh
[SOLVED]!
The add menu activation worked to properly to provide the link in menu/internet shortcuts.
All shortcuts that I've found so far activate directly to FF135 home page.
Firefox-portable-.desktop activates properly.
BTW - I did read the MenuReadMe text file.
Whew! I really had my doubts this morning!
Well, patience and perserverance paid off!
Much graditude to you and all the other folks who volunteer for this tough job,
Sky
@Sky Aisling :-
Excellent. Glad to hear it. WELL DONE.
The whole business would have been much simpler if you hadn't installed FF116 from the PPM, of course, but, well.......we live & learn. The main thing is, you're sorted.
One last thing to do now. Go into the Menu (the 'hamburger' symbol, top-right corner) -> Settings. Under the General section, scroll down to Firefox Updates. My recommendation is to tick the checkbox for "Allow Firefox to:- Automatically install updates (recommended)". This way, you will ALWAYS be up-to-date.
If you decide to choose the other option, "Check for updates but let you choose to install them", you'll need to periodically check via Menu -> Help -> About Firefox. If an update is available, there will be a button you can click to update, followed by another labelled "Restart to update Firefox".
This choice is entirely yours. Nobody can make it FOR you!
Mike.
Well, mikewalsh, you really got a workout on all the issues, that could pop up, with the portable builds, if that specific program is already installed.
But that is a good thing. It uncovered some issues, I and others were not knowledgeable of.
Thanks for sticking with this!
About Firefox set to check for updates, but let you choose to install.
When a update is available.
Firefox will pop up an info message, telling you there is an update available.
you can install the update, by going to Help ->About Firefox.
The things you do not tell us, are usually the clue to fixing the problem.
When I was a kid, I wanted to be older.
This is not what I expected
@bigpup :-
Ah. Info for me, too!
I wasn't aware about the "pop-up". As I've said on many occasions, I'm not a regular Firefox user.....for me, it's always been more of a 'back-up' browser, for when all else goes wrong.
I DO know it's a lot more stable, these days, as well as easier than ever to use. I have bad memories from the early-to-mid 'noughties, when FF used to crash whenever it felt like it.....sometimes a dozen or more times a day. A million times better than Internet Exploder, of course, but I lost track of the amount of work I lost in those days....
Bad experiences tend to stick with you. 
(As for 'sticking with it', it's not that I sometimes seem to be ignoring people halfway through a thread - I know it may LOOK that way - but so often life gets in the way at this end. ATM, Mama is in relative good health, so I've had more time on my hands recently.)
Mike.
@mikewalsh @bigpup
Good Day!
Mike writes:
The whole business would have been much simpler if you hadn't installed FF116 from the PPM, of course, but, well.......we live & learn. The main thing is, you're sorted.
This begs the question of why Puppy Package Manager (PPM) is offered in Puppy distros?
I've always thought of PPM as the 'company store' where I could pick up either essentials or bits and pieces for Puppy.
Perhaps a small red warning notice could be placed in the intro to Puppy Package Manager, a "Use at Your Own Risk" type of notice?
At any rate, all's well here now.
Sky
