FirefoxPortable.exe : tickled pink with this

[Sylvander]

I've had it for ages on my external USB HDD, but never bothered to try using it until "ComputerActive Magazine" did an article on it in todays issue.

Copied over my Firefox profile from my D: partition to the [external] P: partition, and everything works great. My bookmarks are all present, and it even remembers my PC-Guide password and signs me in automatically. :D :cool:

Don't see any sign of it running slower or such.
Using it to do this.

[jlreich]

Yeah it works great. I have it on three thumb drives.

It takes a little longer to load, but once that is done it works just as fast as if it was running from a hard drive.

Tried Thunderbird portable yet?

It's very handy to have all your browser and email settings right there with you anywhere you go. :cool:

[Sylvander]

"Tried Thunderbird portable yet?"
Not yet, but I'd like to.
I've been attempting to switch [5 identities] from OE in Windows [C:] to [5 profiles in] TB in Windows [C:] AND Mandriva Linux [part of F:], with both using the same sets of [emails & address book] data files on D:
Tried a couple of attempts, dipping my toe in the water, more complicated than I'd like.
Need some instructions.

"It's very handy to have all your browser and email settings right there with you anywhere you go"
Sounds like it's the way to go; the way it aught to be done. :)

[jlreich]

I have never used profiles so I can't help you there. But I have never had a problem importing folders and address books from OE. In fact I just went through this changing over my kids email to TB.

When you import the folders they are separated into an "outlook express" folder in TB. So you have to move the imported emails into their respective folders in TB. The same goes for the address books. This can take some time if you have a lot of emails.

I have had problems importing during the TB install. So I just waited until it was up and running then imported manually from the menu.

[Sylvander]

These portable applications...

Will they work with different Operating Systems?
With various Linux distros and different versions of Windows?

I'm wondering if the user would need to be aware of the [limited?] range of OS's with which the program would work.

[jlreich]

From portableapps.com for FF-

System Requirements: Windows 98/Me/2000/XP/Vista, Wine on Linux/UNIX

You will have to look at the requirements for each app, but some of them like TB can run on 95 as well.

As of a few days ago I have a dedicated Suse Linux 10.2 box. So I need to see if I can get Wine up and running...

[Sylvander]

I'd be interested to know how good/bad you think "Wine" is. :)

"Computeractive" says:
"Applications running on Wine are unpopular with some users because they tend to integrate less well. Wine is still a remarkable achievement, and is free, even if it looks a little odd."

See http://www.winehq.org/

Also Google's Picasa for Linux (http://picasa.google.com/linux/).

[Sylvander]

Just noticed lots of files related to Firefox in the Recycle Bin of the Partition on the external USB HDD that holds FirefoxPortable.exe

Anyone have any idea why those should be there after running/closing Firefox Portable?

[Whyzman]

Anyone have any idea why those should be there after running/closing Firefox Portable?Interesting you brought this up... I was thinking about one of our newer members who was looking for information on how to delete her browsing history from work computers.

http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=54806&highlight=index.dat

It appears that although portable, you're potentially leaving behind a "history" that you might desire to go bye-bye...

I wonder if the solution mentioned in the linked thread might be a download also worth putting onto the thumb drive...if it can take care of "history?" Although, I'm not seeing the index.dat IE apparently uses to track...

[Sylvander]

"I was thinking about one of our newer members who was looking for information on how to delete her browsing history from work computers...I wonder if the solution mentioned in the linked thread might be a download also worth putting onto the thumb drive...if it can take care of "history?""
I downloaded the "No-Install" version of "Index.dat Suite" to the P: partition, on my USB HDD, where I keep all the portable programs.
Ran it to scan my C: partition and found so many Index.dat files with so much varied content it put my mind in a spin.
Spent ages checking out the content and ticking them for cleaning out, but just before doing that Windows reported my USB HDD had been incorrectly "removed", so all of that was aborted. :(
I then had a long discussion with my wife regarding personal privacy in the workplace.
She'd been surprised to hear that there had been a legal ruling that workers on company time did indeed have rights to personal privacy.
At her workplace, workers are given rules about when and how they can use the company computers for personal browsing.

"I'm not seeing the index.dat IE apparently uses to track."
That's because I don't run IE from this partition on the external USB HDD, only "FirefoxPortable.exe", which doesn't use Index.dat.

Any idea why all those files are in the recycle bin rather than in the folder along with the program?
Does portable Firefox delete lots of its files when it closes?

[Whyzman]

Any idea why all those files are in the recycle bin rather than in the folder along with the program?
Does portable Firefox delete lots of its files when it closes?I missed that fact that they were found in the recycle bin...Perhaps it does do its own housecleaning...

"I'm not seeing the index.dat IE apparently uses to track."
That's because I don't run IE from this partition on the external USB HDD, only "FirefoxPortable.exe", which doesn't use Index.dat.Sorry I didn't pursue the thought on paper... I glanced for the infamous Index.dat employed by IE...realizing that this was a Firefox browser and probably had no need for such a thing...which is apparently a good thing! I noted the History.dat file and wondered if that was FF's version of a sites visited...brain whirling, fingers sitting on the keyboard idle. :rolleyes:

[Jiggy]

I`ve just tried this with Operausb and it works great.

[Whyzman]

You folks are getting carried away with all this portability... :rolleyes: