Re: Fwd: Re: I think Firefox is crashing my system

[David Christensen <dpchrist@holgerdanske.com>]

On 8/16/25 13:26, Van Snyder wrote:
> David Christensen wrote on 08/16/2025 12:52:18 PM
> > Perhaps backup the Firefox bookmarks, uninstall Firefox and purge
> > configuration files, restart, install Firefox, and restore bookmarks?
>
> How do I do those things?


0.  Run the following command as root to determine the name of the 
package containing Firefox:

2025-08-16 22:31:22 root@laalaa ~
# dpkg-query -l | grep -i firefox
ii  firefox-esr                           128.13.0esr-1~deb11u1 
    amd64        Mozilla Firefox web browser - Extended Support Release 
(ESR)

So, on my system the name of the package is "firefox-esr".


1.  Backup the Firefox bookmarks:

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/restore-bookmarks-from-backup-or-move-them

Start (or whatever your desktop calls it, might have to drill down) -> 
Firefox -> Bookmarks -> Manage Bookmarks -> Import and Backup -> Backup...


2.  Uninstall Firefox and purge configuration files:

https://manpages.debian.org/trixie/apt/apt-get.8.en.html

See Description -> purge.  Run the following command as root (untested):

# apt-get purge firefox-esr

Also -- move aside your Firefox profile directory.  Run the following 
command in a terminal with your normal user account:

$ mv ~/.mozilla ~/.mozilla- old


3.  Restart:

Use whatever method your desktop environment provides.


4. Install Firefox

https://manpages.debian.org/trixie/apt/apt-get.8.en.html

See Description -> update.  Run the following command as root (untested):

# apt-get update

See Description -> install.  Run the following command as root (untested):

# apt-get install firefox-esr


5.  Restore bookmarks:

Start (or whatever your desktop calls it, might have to drill down) -> 
Firefox -> Bookmarks -> Manage Bookmarks -> Import and Backup -> Restore


Document your work into a plaintext file on a USB flash drive with 
factory formatting (e.g. FAT32, exFat, etc.).  For GUI usage, type in 
what the windows/ dialogs say, what widgets you click, what text you 
enter, etc., and what happens.  For terminal usage, copy from the 
terminal and paste into the text file.  Include prose descriptions of 
what you are doing and *why*.


RTFM, STFW, and/or post to this mailing list if you get stuck:

https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/amd64/

https://wiki.debian.org/


This book is dated, but most of the concepts and content are still useful:

https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/learning-the-unix/0596002610/


David