Install Firefox ESR in addition to Firefox

[Ice4]

Is it possible to try out Firefox ESR without installing it over my current version of Firefox? The download page talks about 'switching' over, and I'm not ready to do that.

Thanks for any insight.

 

[plodr]

I think you can but I haven't done it myself. I may have run a portable version at first.

If you are worried, try the portable version of FF ESR
https://portableapps.com/apps/internet/firefox-portable-esr

If you like it, then install ESR.

I've been using ESR, installed, since at least 2016, according to my notes. It gets all the security updates; it just doesn't have some of the other things that constantly need fixing.

 

[Couriant]

The ESR version is for large corporations to install through the servers and allow policies to manage FireFox. While you get the security options the base application is not updated as often.

If you are not using a work machine, it's not really needed to be on a home computer.

 

[Ice4]

Thanks for the link to the portable version. I'll try that one out for a while, and see how it goes.

I believe it was actually some folks here who recommended I try ESR quite a while back, but I hate changing my browser, which is always set up just how I like it, so I was slow to act. But I'm having issues with Pale Moon, which was a good substitute for the regular Firefox for a while, but now I have to make a move

I'm not willing to update to the newest Firefox. Some changes were made a few years back that really didn't work for me (can't remember what it was called, but I'm sure lots of techies in our midst know what I'm talking about, since it was a huge controversy). That's when someone told me that ESR doesn't have that problem, and to give that a try.

The only other alternative for me would be to go try out all the other Firefox-based browsers, but I'm really not up for spending the coming weeks tinkering with browsers. I just need something that works. So I'm crossing my fingers ESR will do the trick.

Thanks so much!

 

[plodr]

What problems are you having with Palemoon? That has been my default browser so I might be able to help.

(I'm, annoyed that Moonchild doesn't include anything to render some videos so I end up firing up FF ESR or Vivaldi when I want to see something.)

 

[Ice4]

A lot of my problems with Pale Moon has been about videos too. I still sometimes go to a very old version of Firefox when I need to access certain videos. I'm not really sure what the problem is precisely with the new versions of Pale Moon, except that a friend of mine pointed out to me that there was a huge controversy about the latest updates, which he said were similar to the problems I encountered when Firefox made those changes some years back. I'm sorry I can't explain the details of this, which were over my head, but I was advised not to update Pale Moon anymore to avoid the same frustrations I had when I updated Firefox after a certain point (I rolled back to an older version later). But now that I've not gone along with the updates, some very basic things no longer work, like my email, which I can only access as text-only, and which interferes with some of my work.

 

[plodr]

Problems with videos is simply because Moonchild does not include video plugins and there is no way to install them.
Much as I dislike going to the Palemoon forum, I went. After having me jump through all sorts of hoops, remove addons, use the default theme, Moonchild said, "oh Palemoon can't display that video".
Here's the thread.
Basically what I wanted to watch was a free YouTube movie. Yes, YouTube does have free movies with ads. I don't mind the ads. When nothing else is on tv, watching a movie on my laptop works for me.

You do need a patched browser. Because everyone spends so much time on the internet, an old unpatched browser is asking to get hacked.

 

[Ice4]

Yeah, that's why I need to get off Pale Moon. I downloaded the portable ESR and will try it out over the next couple of weeks.

A big issue for me are often video-related addons that worked perfectly in older versions of Firefox, but don't work in any other browsers since. I don't usually watch videos online. My internet connection is not fast enough to watch some of the higher resolution files that people post on video sharing sites, so I tend to download the videos and watch them in my media player, then I delete them again.

 

[lunarlander]

I think in the firefox installer, it allows you to change your install directory. So that you can have 2 verions of Firefox installed.

 

[Ice4]

Oh, great! I was worried my system would just interpret anything Firefox as an update, but that sounds like it's worth a try. Thanks for the tip.

 

[cornemuse]

Install a portable version, which version do you want?
I have 2 portable versions on my comp.

 

[plodr]

I gave the link to the most up to date portable version in post #2. ( v78.5 ESR)

I never advise people use an older/unpatched version of a browser.