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Multiple instances bug?

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Anonymous (not verified)
Multiple instances bug?

Hi,

When I tried to run PortableFirefox for the first time, it detected
the firefox.exe running on my main machine. After shutting that down,
it could then run. Also, I could then restart the main machine firefox
as well.

What is this dependency? (Note, I code Win32 in my day job, so I would
like to help fix this.)

Why am I doing this? I really like having completely separate profiles
managed in separate firefox instances. I have separate bookmarks and cookies
etc from my main work firefox on this portable drive. I would like to still
use the work firefox as well.

John T. Haller
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They are seperate

If you search the forums, this has been discussed a couple of times. Firefox itself will auto-kill itself and latch on to another running instance of Firefox if there is one already running. This is the way Firefox is coded. There is a way to allow the multiple instances which is explained in the launcher's readme and requires an INI file. The readme and a sample INI are contained in the PortableFirefoxCode directory.

Portable Firefox is seperate from a local install. It uses its own profile, bookmarks, etc. That's why it's called Portable Firefox.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

drudru (not verified)
Right, but it still sees the other..

If they are meant to be separate, then why isn't this the default. Is it because it prevents detecting itself?

John T. Haller
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Because it isn't standard

It isn't a standard part of Firefox. And it may cause side effects.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

drudru (not verified)
What are the side effects?

What are the possible side effects?

Also, what kind of support are you getting from the Mozilla team for these portability modifications?

drudru (not verified)
Also, real quick...

I changed the .INI file setting to true, but it still detects
the host firefox that is running. Hmmm.

This mod of firefox is way cool, though.

John T. Haller
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Read the readme.txt

You have to read the readme.txt as I said. Most likely, you didn't place the INI in the same directory as PortableFirefox.exe. The existing INI is a sample, it isn't used.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

drudru (not verified)
Doh!

Ah, good stuff! Sorry about that. Here I am, I write apps, yet I didn't fully read the readme Smile

It works fine. Thanks!

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