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ff stores files in drive C !

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damasko
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ff stores files in drive C !

why does ff portable store files there?
C:\Users\damasko\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\zinh12ik.default
it stores crash reports and also some kind of profile data.

i'm using it with win7 and ff portable folder is on E drive

Chris Morgan
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Not portable

That's not from the portable version. Either you've got Firefox installed locally and that's the profile from it, or you're registered Firefox from inside Firefox Portable as the default browser. This is absolutely non-portable and shouldn't be done.

I am a Christian and a developer and moderator here.

“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” – Proverbs 15:1

damasko
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i deleted previous firefox

i deleted previous firefox folder and it appeared again.
now it contains only crash reports.
i noticed that also thunderbird creates a folder for crash reports.

Chris Morgan
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Just while running

The crash reports folder is cleared up on exit. Is that happening for you?

I am a Christian and a developer and moderator here.

“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” – Proverbs 15:1

ottosykora
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close ff down

correctly and then check again what is left there.

I have also noticed some signs of the folders on fresh installed w7, but then all was empty later.

Note also: there no way to completely prevent apps from writing something to local drive and registry.

Otto Sykora
Basel, Switzerland

J Neutron
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Crash reports

From http://www.portablefreeware.com/index.php?id=132

Stealth [?]: No. By default, crash files are created in the %APPDATA%Mozilla directory. To make stealth, edit \App\Firefox\application.ini and replace:

[Crash Reporter]
Enabled=1
ServerURL=https://crash-reports.mozilla.com/submit

with:

[Crash Reporter]
Enabled=0
ServerURL=https://crash-reports.mozilla.com/dontsubmit
MOZ_CRASHREPORTER_DISABLE=1

This will ensure only an empty directory is created.

neutron1132 (at) usa (dot) com

Chris Morgan
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Not accurate

I don't believe that that's accurate. But I'm not entirely certain.

I am a Christian and a developer and moderator here.

“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” – Proverbs 15:1

J Neutron
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Tried?

I've tried it, have you?

neutron1132 (at) usa (dot) com

Chris Morgan
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Academic

My belief that it's taken care of is entirely academic; I haven't used Firefox Portable for quite a long time.

I am a Christian and a developer and moderator here.

“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” – Proverbs 15:1

John T. Haller
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Cleaned On Exit

The crash reports and Mozilla directories are created during use and removed on exit. I just confirmed it in testing (again). And double-checked the code. This was fixed quite some time ago. PFC's listing is simply inaccurate. Quite a few listings there are, so it should not be used as a definitive answer on portable-ness.

Note that this doesn't apply if you set AllowMultipleInstances on as that makes FFP not fully portable and is only meant to be used on your own PC.

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

Jaburani
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Roaming\Mozilla is not needed anymore!

Hi.

To John

Can you adopt and add this stealth setting in paf installer for Beginners?

A lot of people are confused thanks to nasty empty folders!

Or stores them to application folder?

please.

Portable is Justice.

John T. Haller
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Huh?

As mentioned, this was fixed a long time ago. They are created during use and removed on exit. Firefox creates them. There is no altering that behavior.

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

Jaburani
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Is it impossible?

>As mentioned, this was fixed a long time ago.
I know.It's stinging reply I feel.
I appreciate your self-devoted works.

>There is no altering that behavior.
It means Firefox Portable is not "REAL" portable.
You should express clearly on Portable Firefox information Page.

My question is
can you obviate such behavior? Primarily crash report is not needed for Portable User.

Portable is Justice.

John T. Haller
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Those Aren't Left

As already stated, crash reports are not left on the local PC. The empty directories only occur while Firefox Portable is running (this is the behavior I said can't be altered). If Firefox crashes (and produces a crash report on the local PC, as it will), the FirefoxPortable.exe launcher will still clean it up afterwards since Firefox crashing is basically the same as it exiting in terms of cleaning up. So, yes, it is portable. And, yes, it is 'stealth' in PFC's definition of it.

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

Gimme_P
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I've got a very fresh install

I've got a very fresh install of Win 7, and the latest FF Portable and SeaMonkey Portable on the hard drive, and YES it DOES LEAVE some folders in AppData\Roaming on the computer, in my case:

-- Mozilla
-------- Extensions
-------- Firefox
-------------- InstallTime* (a file)
-------- SeaMonkey
-------------- InstallTime* (a file)

And I think that's not all because softs like CCleaner and Download managers all detect a lot of "portable" applications I run on the computer.

That's it.

ottosykora
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yes does

so what?

it is actually not possible to prevent to leave some regsitry entries etc. For example windows will register all apps running in numerous most recent lists of files. Nobody but MS can stop that.

Otto Sykora
Basel, Switzerland

Gimme_P
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agree

The guy reports that FF leaves some files on their computer and repeats that many times and all they have to say is "No, our apps are fully portable -you stupid noob-"!!!
So I just wanted to confirm that YES most of these apps leave something behind them. Also, I agree with the guy when he says this should be noticed on the apps page. And in my opinion -I would say- it's "not very smart" to try to make apps portable without even checking up their sources.

PS: I like PA.c

John T. Haller
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Bug

Actually, if these new single files are left, then that would be a bug. And different from the entire rest of this thread which is not a bug and someone not understanding that portable software is perfectly fine in temporarily storing files like this on a local drive.

By new, I mean these files appear to have debuted in Firefox 6 and are simply not handled by the launcher yet. This happens occasionally as new releases of Firefox come out and users will often miss it in beta testing. In that case, we mark it as a bug and address it with an updated launcher. Does that seem to be the case?

The other files we refer to as 'natural' are things like Prefetch files and tracking in the registry of what you're run that Windows does. All apps do that. And you can't remove it without admin rights. That's the way Windows works by design. There's no such thing as a 'stealth' app and anyone who claims they have one is lying or doesn't understand Windows.

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

Gimme_P
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Thanks for your reply, It's,

Thanks for your reply,

It's, definitely, not related to the latest FF or SeaMonkey, I've found these folders long before... which weren't (still aren't) removed after the launcher properly closes (As -I think- the guy was saying since the beginning).
Anyway, it's just a report, I'm sure it will be fixed soon for FF 6 (and SeaMonkey too, plz)

I completely agree with you concerning these 'natural' traces.

ottosykora
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tested just now

tested with seamonkey, as this machine is otherwise full also with local firefox etc., but never had any seamonkey before.
w7x64, german

installed seamonkey on my usb stick

folders are created when seamonkey run, the file installtime too, but *all* is removed when seamonkey closed.

There is possibility that the folder seamonkey itself is not removed when the windows explorer is open and the folder seamonkey open on the screen, then only the subfolder is removed.(crash reports)

So ok, but what does it say? Nothing, as this is an empty folder and contains *no personal data* and this is what it is about.

see also: https://portableapps.com/about/what_is_a_portable_app#definition

Otto Sykora
Basel, Switzerland

ottosykora
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just with ff

just tested similar with firefox, thought this is slightly different as there is local one.

the crash reports folders are backed up extensions as well, are then deleted when closed and the originals restored from the backup.

Nothing unusual

Otto Sykora
Basel, Switzerland

John T. Haller
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So Nothing Behind

So nothing left behind on a fresh install of 6.0 portable and then running? Has anyone besides Gimme_P been able to confirm this? I have a system backup running but will test this out in a couple clean virtual machines with the current version to check on my end.

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

John T. Haller
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Can't Reproduce

Ok, I tried to reproduce this on both Windows 7 and Windows XP and in each case, no files were left behind and everything was cleaned up. The only InstallTime* file created was created within Crash Reports (which is normal and always happens) and it was cleaned up properly on exit of Firefox once the FirefoxPortable.exe launcher had finished cleaning up.

So, it's something else going on on your system. If you're sure you're only running FirefoxPortable.exe and have not set Firefox inside as your default browser, there are some other possibilities. First, are you sure you're closing Firefox normally and not using something like EjectUSB that will crash both it and the launcher? Second, are you sure the whole Mozilla directory is empty before starting this test? Third, are you sure you don't have an Explorer window open to one of those directories as this will prevent the launcher from being able to delete them? Fourth, have you tried this with a clean build of Firefox Portable without any extensions or plugins you have added (there are some plugins and extensions that behave incorrectly and are not portable)?

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

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