Can't prevent the addon checker from installing on DL even though I uncheck the box so I cannot do updates, help please.

Question

I finally decided to give ver 21 a chance. I did not use the help option in the browser but came directly to the Mozilla site and did the download from there. I chose the custom install and accepted the choices until the screen with the check box for the auto-maint. stuff. I do not want it and never have and have always unchecked the box and all went fine.
This time no matter what I try, I cant prevent it. I finally had to roll back using system restore. I can not figure out out to turn this thing off once it down loads and I just wasted another couple of hours getting a usable version of Firefox back in place.
I would like to update, but I am not willing to go through this again. Any suggestions?
Thanks
Chris L.

Answer 1

I did the install in the default folder- and have done upgrades this way for years.
What happens is after doing the update, when I first click to open a Firefox browser window, before it opens I get a pop-up that says it is checking to see if my add-ons are up to date. After several seconds it then says they are and it closes.
Somewhere in the past when this feature started to appear, it did so automatically if I did an update through the help page link.That is why I refuse to use it. It did not respect my choices as using it always returned that dang add-on stuff. Plus it never asked if I wanted it nor did it offer the maint. box option.
What I used to do was use Explorer (not IE) on XP to get on the net. First I would delete Firefox, leaving my info. Then I used Explorer to go to the Mozilla site and downloaded Firefox as if it were my first time. Then I unchecked the box using the custom install route, the new version installed and the add-on thing never happened.
I can't do the Explorer trick in Win 7 and I don't let IE be functional on my system. So I just went in the front door, clicked the install for Firefox and went the custom route, unchecked the box and got the dang add-on checker back,
So what I did this time was to save a download of version 20.0.1 from the rollback site I have used over the years instead of installing. Then I uninstalled Firefox, keeping my info, rebooted the PC and ran the download. When I did, I unchecked the box as always and when done, the add-on checker was back anyway.
I finally had to do a system restore and and got version 20.0.1 back that way and am using it and no add-on checker runs. I am loathe to lose all my extensions or add-ons and settings that may be at risk doing a reset. I have been down that road before. I have been a Firefox user for a number of years now, it is the only browser I keep on my box.
However, I am not a fan of software functions that try to take decisions away from me. I am rarely a fan of anything that gets labelled or actually named as smart for the most part. I do not mind software to help others who don't care if it usurps their ability to decide, I do object to being forced to use it. All I want is the off switch for it.
It wasn't until I learned that two features included with ver. 21 I would not let on my system could be turned off that I was even willing to download the upgrade. And when I did, it took me a couple of hours to get back to a working version of 20.0.1 and rid myself of the add-on checker.
On light of the above additional detail, any ideas?