FAQ : Why do I have problems logging in using Firefox?

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chgpa
Site Admin
Posts: 129
Joined: Fri Dec 05, 2003 12:50 am

FAQ : Why do I have problems logging in using Firefox?

Post by chgpa »

If you use Firefox, and are experiencing problems when logging in at the
CHGPA forums, then a re-install of your Firefox application might solve them.

I started with a fairly early version of Firefox (maybe 1.5.x) and then performed
multiple updates for subsequent releases. Somewhere along the way, I noticed
problems logging in at the CHGPA forums : My attempts would just hang
forever; if I eventually stopped loading the page and clicked on a forum
link, *poof* I would be logged in, but the URLs for the forum web pages
would look weird, including long strings like:

Code: Select all

sid=239683482309345723402
After some research, I found a post at Mozilla that seemed like it might
apply to me:

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Multiple_cook ... es_created

I did not see some of the symptoms described (multiple numbered cookie files,
and the like), but certainly some of the problems seemed a lot like mine.
Perhaps the permissions on a file or folder in my Firefox Profile got out
of whack somewhere along the line.

I decided the best course would be to perform a "clean re-install" of the
latest Firefox version. A description of the process can be found here:

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Uninstalling_Firefox

As the 'Administrator' user on my PC, I downloaded the latest/greatest
Firefox and left it on the desktop.

Then, since I don't have a highly customized Firefox install, I elected to
do a complete uninstall, including all Profiles for all users/accounts on my PC.
See the instructions at the above link.

But first, I exported my bookmarks to a file, so that I could later re-import
them.

The uninstall process went fine, as documented. Be careful. Read and
re-read the document. Print it out before you start. And be aware that
with a complete un-install/re-install, you WILL lose all plug-ins, themes,
etc. (but if you are like me, that might not be much of an issue, just save
your bookmarks).

Click on the Firefox download after the un-install, and re-install the application.

The good news is that the login problems went away after this process.
A more targetted fix might also have done the trick, but I didn't feel like
messing around.

Follow this advice at your own risk :)

MarkC
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