Firefox and Thunderbird non-repository Installation

[TWPonKubuntu]

You can, of course, install both Firefox and Thunderbird from the normal linux repositories.
This is not about using the standard repository as source.

Since I also run Firefox Developers Edition, which Mozilla updates daily, installation was done from a
downloaded deb tar / gz file downloaded directly from Mozilla. I installed in my home directory.

I also installed Thunderbird, the email client, from a separate deb tar / gz download from Mozilla.

It's not relevant, but the reason is to make both apps immediately available when I do a full OS upgrade.
My home directory is not overwritten during OS upgrade so I can use Firefox immediately after the
upgrade is finished.

The source urls for these two debs tar / gz files are:

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefo...nel/#developer

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/?icn=tabz

The reason I'm posting this is to point out one step that may not be obvious.

The ownership of the installed software should NOT be root.

Both apps will run under root owner, but cannot complete the periodic updates offered by Mozilla.

Change the ownership of each directory and the sub-directories and all files.

I was stumped by this for several weeks, until realizing it was a write privilege and ownership
issue.

[edit] download from Mozilla were tar.gz files, not debs...

[vinnywright]

The reason I'm posting this is to point out one step that may not be obvious.

The ownership of the installed software should NOT be root.

Both apps will run under root owner, but cannot complete the periodic updates offered by Mozilla.

Change the ownership of each directory and the sub-directories and all files.

I was stumped by this for several weeks, until realizing it was a write privilege and ownership
issue.

ya ,,,something is not right about this ,,,,,,,,how did you install the .deb's ,,,,,,,,,,,,,the files in your /home/you/.mozilla (and the .mozilla directory) should be owned by you.
But the files and directory in /usr/lib/firefox/ should be owned by root .

if you are saying that the files/directory in your /home/you were owned by root ,,,,,,then some thing strange happened.

VINNY

[Wheel Inventor]

Tar balls

Not Debian package archives but tar archives -

firefox-40.0a2.en-US.linux-x86_64.tar.bz2

-> What are tar, gz, and bz2 ? : http://www.dslreports.com/faq/3999


Older - FAQ: Firefox: https://www.kubuntuforums.net/showth...85-FAQ-Firefox

You just download tar ball. Unpack it into your home folder and run firefox...

[TWPonKubuntu]

Vinny, not incorrect, but simply a result of the method I used to extract and install the files. I did it as root, which created the access rights and ownership as root. I forgot to change them after installation, resulting in my posting this thread as a warning about what to look for.

[TWPonKubuntu]

Not Debian package archives but [FONT=arial, sans-serif][COLOR=#222222]tar archives -

-> What are tar, gz, and bz2 ? : http://www.dslreports.com/faq/3999

Older - FAQ: Firefox: https://www.kubuntuforums.net/showth...85-FAQ-Firefox

Wheel Inventor - You're correct, I will edit my original post to correct that, thanks.